St. Croix, June 2004

Cheryl and I took a trip to St. Croix in July 2004. We had been talking about the possibility of moving to the Virgin Islands and have actually applied for several job opportunities there. A faresaver from Travelocity to St. Croix showed up at a price we couldn't refuse, so off we went!We were looking into the housing, job and small business possibilities as well as the scuba diving.

We stayed at the Waves on Cane Bay, a small hotel located on the North side of the island on a beautiful stretch of beach. There is a very nice coral-covered wall about 300 yards off ot the beach that goes from a depth of 30 feet to the bottom of the ocean. We heard differing accounts of what that depth actually is, from 2,500 to 14,000 feet deep. Whatever it is, it was too deep for us to see it or go there!

We swam with turtles on nearly every dive. Some of the turtles were quite large, much larger than we usually see on Bonaire. We saw the largest green moray eel we have ever encountered. It was at least 10-12 feet long. I nearly swam into its mouth before seeing it snuggled in a coral crevice right in front of me! We also encountered a very large Southern Stingray, about 4 feet wide as well as a smaller one on a later dive. We saw many barracudas and some species of fish we had not come across before. All in all the diving was very good and we had a pleasant trip. I think we have decided that St. Croix is not our first choice and will continue looking for our island paradise. So far, Bonaire is still #1!