Dick Ellis & Shirley Coy

We had two adventures planned! One was leaving St. Thomas where the ship had docked and traveling to a second island. Second, Shirley cannot swim. I mean almost afraid of the bathtub fear of water. So our second mission was to take her snorkeling! Here we go. Enchantment docks at St. Thomas 7 AM and minutes later we were in the theatre for a U.S. Immigration check and before long, we were on the dock ready to take on the adventure. Taxi…. not down town for shopping but to Red Hook, a bay half way around the island to catch a ferry over to the magical island of St. John. As we had researched, St. John Island is about 2/3rds US National Park land. Yes, I mean like Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon and the Washington Monument! National park like showers and snack bar and bathrooms and rangers! It’s called Trunk Bay and they have an underwater-guided snorkel trail that is known internationally. If my Shirley was going to snorkel or swim or go into water over her head for the first time in her life or even drown…. then by golly she was going to do it in a world-class place!

OK…first question? ask before you sit…how much is a ride to Red Hook? $6 each I think it was and we were away. One young couple was on the way to St. John to ride on a private yacht they had rented for the day. Go for it kids! What a hoot on the left side of the road through the capital city of Charlotte Amalie and out into the countryside twisting and turning, ooohing and aaahing at the scenery as it switched from right to left side at every turn. Soon we were rolling into the little village of Red Hook. Ferry runs every hour… $4 each I think we paid…and all aboard. We had planned to visit the Windjammer café early this morning and stock our little collapsible cooler with fruit…water and ice. But gave that up thinking the park would have nice snack shops and opted instead to take only one small bag with swimsuits and beach towels from the ship. A good tip we learned is take the little cooler anyway if you are going to be away from the city for an hour or so. A cool drink during the ferry ride and later would have been good. Ferry pulls into a movie-like little fishing village with cottages, villas and quaint restaurants all around. We jump this time into a covered pick-up truck with rows of benches for our ride to Trunk Bay. Let me explain, the main road goes in a large circle around the island and the taxi’s stop at each location if not filled with passengers. So, a ride back is no problem if you walk out into the parking lot or side of the road from the bay you choose, it will be only minutes before you are headed back to the ferry. There are lots of bays around this wonderful island but we had heard of Trunk and that’s where we were headed. It was all we had seen in the pictures. Palm trees on the beach….crystal clear water and the famous snorkel trail. We checked in the front gate with the ranger and paid a $4 fee. Rental of fins, masks, and chairs have to be backed up with a credit card or around $100 cash so don’t forget to take your wallet. Soon we were on the beach and getting Shirl ready. After gearing up we waded in about knee deep. I had rented her a blow-up life vest and explained that it would keep her afloat in every condition so that was a good start. She was most skeptical when I showed her how to spit in your mask to keep it from fogging up. Not overly enthused, she went through the procedure and later learned it works. I have been scuba diving since the 60’s by the way and she did give me a large degree of trust. We went through the “put your face in the water” phase then the “kick your feet” drill…soon we were seeing fish and little shells on the bottom. I promised to stop the minute she felt we were too deep…..15 minutes later and in 15 feet of water we were gliding over giant heads of coral, pointing out to each other some of the most colorful fish I have ever seen and acting like real diving pros following the famous snorkel trail! I am so proud of Shirl. She overcame a life-long fear and we had one of the most memorable experiences of our lives. Snorkeling is like flying. One feels like they are looking down at the countryside from a thousand feet in the air with no plane! About lunchtime we took advantage of the great park facilities, showered, changed and headed back to the main island to shop. The ferry ride back was beautiful and we couldn’t stop talking all the way about the special adventure.

Check out the shore excursions available in St. John.
St. John, USVI Shore Excursions

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