Catch Up

Hi Guys...all of you faithful readers, and the not so faithful. Today is Tuesday, November 30th and Roger and I are sitting at computers in Mongoose Deli in Cruz Bay, the capital of St. John, USVI.
So far accessing the Internet on our own computer on the boat has been more difficult than I'd imagined but, you know what, I'm not freaking out! How's that for progress! I'm really happy we have Blackberries so at least we're receiving our emails. It's not easy for Roger or I to type long emails or blogs on the blackberry but we can get and send emails so that's all good. I'm even at the point of saying F--- I- and will make phone calls on the blackberry even though it may be $2 to $3 a minute. We'll see. On my first day in Tortola we bought a local phone (but it cannot be used in the USVI) and was told it would cost us about .30$ a minute to call the states and free for us to receive calls on every island that uses LIME (a carrier which is used on many of the islands we will be visiting) but I'm not so sure that is the truth. We'll learn more about the use of that phone when we head back to the BVI's on Saturday or Sunday and meet up with the boys from the HYC who charter boats down here during the first week of December every year. The plan is to sail around the BVI's with them for the week starting on December 4th or 5th before starting our south bound journey.
Well, we left Roadtown, Tortola, on the Friday after Thanksgiving and went to Sopers Hole, Tortola to check out of the BVI's and did so on Saturday AM. We then sailed all of the 7 miles to Cruz Bay (where we are now sitting) to check in the USVI. That is the routine down here. You need to check in with immigration on every island nation when you come in and check out when you leave. The people I've met here who work in various capacities have all been delightful. They make visiting very pleasant.
Since getting to St. Johns on Saturday we've spent the last three nights on a mooring in Caneel Bay which is just around the corner from Cruz Bay...a 20 minute motor trip on the boat. Caneel Bay is where the Rockefeller's owned a home which is now a luxury resort called Caneel Bay Resort. We've snorkeled and hiked and swam and ate. I feel myself growing more accustomed to the pace here and so am feeling optimistic today. I can only live today so I'm going to try and not think about tomorrow or next week or next month. Todays plan is to catch a cross island bus at 11 AM and view the interior of the island. We hiked into Cruz Bay (St. John is mostly a national park with loads of trails) which took us about 25 minutes and will take the bus back later and then hike back to the beach at Caneel Bay where we parked our dinghy. Our plan is to be back at the boat by 4 PM and cast off for Maho Bay tonight...or maybe Coral Bay. Life is filled with these difficult decisions.
Roger is sitting next to me right now writing about last nights adventure. He will probably downplay the terror I felt but trust me...all of my non-sailor friends would have experienced the adventure as harrowing as I did. On the good side, Roger was so calm and confident and efficient and safe that he is my hero! I fell in love with him on the boat in May of 1997, and he continues to fill me with love and appreciation, particularly on our boat.