2025-02-02 Bus ride and snorkeling St. Croix, up to St. Thomas

We decided to take the bus in St. Croix, from Frederiksted where we were anchored, over to Christiansted, and stop for groceries on the way back.  The bus in St. Croix only runs every hour and half to two hours so we caught it around 9:00 in the morning, and did not make it back to the boat until 4:00 p.m.

We enjoy taking the local buses, you get a different perspective on the island than you would with a tour, or driving yourself.

The buses on St. Croix are older, and it was quite the noisy ride as well.

Had a nice walk around Christiansted, and a lunch out as well, followed by ice cream at Tropical Ice Goddess - some of the best we have had.  Then it was time to catch the bus to get groceries.

Harbor at Christiansted

Open area and old Customs house

Always chickens

Tarpon down by docks waiting for food - they are well-trained

Downtown street by Government building

Stopped at the Cost U Less, and got some Tillamook Sharp Cheddar cheese, then onto the normal store for more groceries.  Had to wait about an hour for the next bus back, so relaxed in the shade on the side of the street and watch the traffic go by.

The next day we took our Tides marine sail track off, cut it, reversed it and put it back up.  Kris called Tides marine, and had a long discussion, as our sail track was only 3 years old, and the sail was pulling out at the top every time we sailed with a reef.  Tides Marine was excellent, and had a long discussion, and agreed that flipping the track would help for a bit, but more slides for the track were needed.  They are sending us the additional slides for no cost, and these will be added to our new sail.

Dean had a nice view from the top of the mast, he had to go up because we forgot to tie a line to the slide we used to haul the track up the mast, so could not get it back down.  Oh well, water was flat, so up he went.

Snorkelers near our boat while Dean up the mast.  Gorgeous water

Cruise ship at the dock in Frederiksted

Wednesday we decided we had to snorkel the Frederiksted pier again before we headed north, as this could be the last chance to do so.   Kris ended up using only one flipper to protect the broken toe, but no current and small area so all worked out well.  The pier is well known for excellent snorkeling.

One reason it is so good, is water clarity is generally good, and you can get so close to the coral very close to the surface

This coral on the pier is only about 2' below the surface

The piers are coral encrusted

Sergeant Major kept tabs on us

Healthy coral everywhere

Dean snorkeling along with his entourage of Sergeant Majors - used to being fed

Watched this Hawks bill turtle cruise around the pier munching on ??

We saw a green turtle cruise by

More nice coral formations

When we were done snorkeling, Dean went in to check the bottom of the boat, and found our large sail drive zinc was loose.   Don't know why this happened, had never happened before.  So out came the air compressor and hoses, and we took the old ones off, and put new on.  Will have to monitor them closely to see if they loosen as well.

While he was working, a barracuda kept a close watch on him.

Deans barracuda buddy

Thursday we headed to St. Thomas, had a nice sail and didn't need to reef, so unsure if our track flipping did anything or not yet.  Had a nice but short visit by a few dolphins.

Always a great sail when dolphins come to play

Our friends on Cotinga were also in St. Thomas, and invited us to join them for lunch.  Had a very nice lunch out at The Smoking Rooster.  

Dean, Mike and Gloria

Gloria and I got a laugh out of the sign on the bathroom for the restaurant.   We thought the sign was neat, but considering the bathroom was up a steep flight of stairs and a narrow door, we wondered how the person in a wheelchair would ever use it.

Saturday, we took the "bus" (really just a pickup with some modifications to the bed for a cover and bench seats) up to the Home Depot.   Wanted to get some new toilet seats, as ours were looking shabby, and a couple other items.  Also stopped for some fresh items at the Cost U Less for a few groceries as well. 

 

You could forget you are still in the Caribbean, feels like every other Home Depot in the mainland U.S.A.

Derek will arrive on the 11th, so we will hang out here and wait for him.