I Found an Octopus

(October 13th, 2022)

We got our tickets first thing in the morning in our little boxes outside our door. (It's nice that they drop stuff off for you.) After an early breakfast, we headed to the pier. We found our group easily and boarded an open air bus. We drove about 15 minutes (on the left side of the road) to the Virgin Island Eco Tours.

Our guide was Troy (who was basically a black Brad Pitt). He was super friendly and you could tell everything was very organized. Even though he has probably rehearsed his spiel and given it hundreds of times, it still felt very natural and informative. I think he really likes his job. 

Soren, another tour guy, came along and took pictures all the way, which ended up being a HUGE blessing since the only phone we took on this trip was Jonny's and you all know how that ended. Tyler and I were the first on the dock and into a kayak. We were so speedy, they didn't even get a picture of us in the kayak, but they got Beth and Jonny.

We kayaked into the Bay. It is a sanctuary but also a Hurricane refuge where boats are taken when Hurricanes come. We kayaked down to a small alcove where Troy pried a jellyfish off the bottom of the “floor.” It was one of those cool upside down jellies. I got to hold it first. It didn’t sting, but he recommended not letting the water drip down on your skin. We passed it around to anyone who wanted to hold it. It was really cool. I'm including a picture of what they look like since you can't see it in the pictures.

While we sat there, he gave us lots of information about the red and black Mangroves and the protection they give to animals. They are the only plant that can desalinize sea water, which is pretty cool. Then we were off again, headed closer to the mouth of the bay. Wow, we look so synchronized.

We stopped at a little island. There was another group ahead of us, so we did the opposite of what they were doing. They were already hiking, so we did snorkeling first. This is not Tyler’s favorite part because he can’t see, but I think he saw a few things. He saw a barracuda, and a starfish. I saw LOTS of cool things. Soren took pictures of our trip, but when we bought the package at the end, it also included some of the best photos they've taken of animals and plants, so we got bonus pictures.

I made a little compilation of pictures using ones we took that day but also using extra pictures they gave us so you can actually see some of the other things we saw. I'll list them first and then you can view the pics. I saw: A barracuda, a lobster, squid! (the squid were so cool. They hang out together and move in sync) a multitude of fish including cowfish, file fish, blue striped grunts and the silver sides which are tiny but hang out in large schools. It is really cool to swim through them. We also saw a shark when we first arrived. It was swimming through the shallows as we pulled in our kayaks. 

As I swam around, I really wanted to see an octopus, but that seemed rather unlikely. Troy pointed out a large sea anemone on a rock and I went over to touch it. It is so cool how it feels sticky and shrinks away from your fingers. While looking at the anemone, I saw a crevice in the rock and as I looked further, I saw a red tentacle with suckers on it. Guys!! It was an octopus! I found an octopus. I called Troy over and Soren came too to take a picture, but by the time he got there, the octopus had hunkered farther down and you couldn't really see him. Soren took this picture. You can see the large anemone on the right. 

So, obviously not very exciting, but luckily, they have found many octopi on previous adventures and I chose one that looks a lot like mine. This guy is cool.

It was really a great snorkel. Sadly, it is still super uncomfortable to snorkel for me. My mouth gets so dry and I gagged at one point. Salt water is nasty. But my goggles never fogged up, and they didn’t leak at all. So it was the best experience I’ve had so far.

The animal we never saw was the elusive turtle. They are often around there, but we didn't see any that day.

When we got out of the water, Troy had Kit Kats for us. I know that sounds weird, but it was perfect to put something in my stomach after feeling a little queasy. Then we went on shore to do the Hermit crab races. There were literally dozens of hermit crabs everywhere. They use some kind of scent to draw them there and it sure works. Everyone picked a crab and we put them in a circle. Troy walked around making sure they all held still for a few seconds. And then they were off. A lady in the group won, but Tyler's crab crossed the line at the same time and he wasn't recognized. Bummer. (I didn't see, so I can't verify.) 

We hiked down a trail on the island. We stopped to hear about one of the world’s deadliest trees that grows there. The Manchineel has 8 deadly plant toxins, only six of which have antidotes. They aren’t allowed to tear it out, so they have to warn people. The fruit is super poisonous and the leaves are toxic, so if you took shelter underneath, you could die from the rain water running off them. You can recognize it from the other trees since its leaves point down.

Along the hike, we stopped and sloshed out into the water. We took a group picture and then got to hold some sea urchins and brittle starfish. It was so cool to watch them move across your hand. Notice in the picture we are doing the sign for Virgin Islands. Put your thumb and ring finger together and your remaining fingers form a V, I. Virgin Islands baby!

The hike ended at a blowhole? That is what they called it, but it just seemed like a place where the surf crashed up. But a nice picture spot. This is where Jonny’s phone started having problems that would ultimately end in its demise. Boo hoo. Guess not quite as waterproof as we hoped.

Then we hiked back, kayaked back and decided to buy the picture package. Good choice.

As we bussed back to the dock, it was cool to see everyone driving on the left. It's trippy. I kept thinking the bus was going to drive straight into oncoming traffic. 

Shopping was fun and we found a few last things for the kids. But the coolest thing by far was a sign that was right up Tyler's alley. 

We put that up on our door. We'd all been calling Tyler, Gary, half the time anyway, so it was really funny.

This was the first port that I didn’t take my license since we hadn’t needed it so far and naturally, that is when we actually needed it. I almost didn’t get back, but they called the ship to verify my cabin number. I was wondering what happens when you forget your ID. Good to know there are ways to get back on the ship.

Once again, Tyler saw the ship out of port. Do you like his new St. Thomas shirt?

We took a nice long nap that afternoon before playing some more games. We also saw the Carnival Mascot. Any guesses what it is? It's a large towel animal in a life jacket. Tyler says it's not creepy, but I'm not sure if I agree. Definitely strange.

The show that evening was called Getaway Island. It was the worst. They spent a lot of it pretending to be drunk and they gave you 3D glasses for two really cheesy scenes. They were unnecessary as was that entire show. 

Then dinner, where Joseph was in a weird mood. He kept trying to feed everyone. He fed Beth first and then Jonny. He tried to get me to lick his finger. Oh yuck! It was all really bothering Beth. She wouldn’t put her silverware down because she didn’t want Joseph to pick it up and use it against her.

After dinner, we went up to a pod and chatted about lots of stuff. The monologue jar has given us miles of discussions. Always great to muse with the Hulse's. And we saw a cool moon.

And one last friend for the day.

That is all the excursions and ports. From here, we had two days at sea to get back to Miami. But there are still a few adventures in store.