Cruise Log: Day 6

We docked at St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands around 7:00 in the morning. After a quick breakfast we were off the boat for more island fun. St. Thomas was gorgeous! St. Maarten was more of a desert landscape, but St. Thomas was definitely a tropical island. Green, green, green land and blue, blue, blue water. Oh, and iguanas everywhere! On rocks......in trees......

We decided to do an excursion on this island {thanks Marla & Rich!} so once off the ship we boarded our "taxi" {which was more like the shuttles at Disneyland} & our driver took us on a scenic drive through the neighborhoods {on the wrong side of the road, I might add} which were pretty run down. I definitely would not like to live on an island that has no fresh water source & whose main source of income is tourism, but I'll come visit anytime!

The driver let us off at Coral World, a small {very small} version of Sea World that housed tropical fish, turtles, birds, and stingray. Before we explored the wonders of Coral World, we boarded a semi-submarine for a close-up view of the ocean life. We all turned a lovely shade of grey once under the water {color pigments are dulled under water, we learned from our guide}. It was really cool to see fish swimming all around. Some people even saw a stingray & a turtle. Our guide got her scuba gear on and swam around the semi-sub feeding the fish cat food, which brought them really close to the windows.

After the semi-sub adventure we were free to explore Coral World. We were there during stingray feeding time, so we got to feed the stingray. They're weird little creatures! They'd practically jump out of the water trying to get the fish. Matt took pictures because he's a big fraidy cat of the ocean and all sea life that lives therein {Jaws scarred him for life}.

I was enjoying the scenery, but not as much as Alayna, who was looking too closely at an iguana {or was it the turtles} and proceeded to fall down the stone stairs. I didn't witness the event, & no one really knows what happened. It was all a blur to Alayna! She got some nasty cuts on her leg & her pants were ripped {and then strategically taped back together by Marla}. It looked so painful!! Luckily she didn't let it ruin the rest of her day & continued on like a champ! She was wishing they had a shirt that said "I went to St. Thomas & all I got was severe leg trauma". Rich was wishing they had a shirt with an iguana on it that said "I-guana stand up in St. Thomas, but I just can't"!

Our driver took us to a look out area, which was beautiful. There were, of course, people there trying to sell their goods. One of them was a friendly man with a steel drum & a plethora of CD's. I asked him how to play it & he showed me. In only one lesson I was able to play La Bamba to perfection. He then began playing Christmas songs for our enjoyment. Also, if you paid to use the restroom you got to meet Monica Lewinsky, a donkey wearing a sombrero.

The rest of the afternoon was spent walking the streets of St. Thomas & trying to find a shop that did NOT sell diamonds & jewelry {they were few and far between!}. While at the outdoor bazaar a comment was made about how much cheaper things were on the previous islands. One vendor replied, "Welcome to the U.S."! People were loving the blood dripping down Alayna's leg. I could tell. She should have said she was bitten by a shark. That would have been impressive.

Once back on board we resisted the urge to scope out the friends of dorothy get-together and instead played a rousing game of Balderdash on the Lido. Then it was time to enjoy another fabulous formal night at dinner. We then headed to the Princess Theater for What A Swell Party (a tongue in cheek look at the Cole Porter era). I really enjoyed this one! The ship was really rocking again but the dancers never missed a beat. After the show there was just enough time to catch the last half of The Incredible Hulk on deck before my nightly rocking to sleep.