Vacation Greetings

[skeptic49]

Sending a digital postcard greeting to my VR.org friends from sunny St.Barths, a little piece of France in the Carribbean. On the plus side: the natural beauty of the island, our accommodations, the weather, the snorkelling and beaches, and the food. On the negative side: driving is a nightmare with rough, twisting, hilly, narrow roads. Today is "Carnival" so we hope to view the parade in downtown Gustavia after lunch this afternoon. I took the fish photos yesterday while snorkelling off the West end of the island at Columbier beach, a most difficult place to reach requiring a hike up and down a mountain, all the way from the vantage point you can see in the photo below! Wait until I tell my cardio how well I did on the steep uphill hike...proof I hope that I'll be in the waiting room for a while yet!

Dan (l) and Jim (r)

 

[Duffey]

I am so JEALOUS!
Enjoy!

 

[njean]

What beautiful pictures, Jim! I too am soooo jealous & wish I were there!

I'm still hoping we can make our Carribean trip next year, if all goes well!

Have fun!

 

[Greg a]

Great pics ....as seen through a "green with envy" fog ...BUT dont worry about us just enjoy and glad you have internet to keep up

 

[Cooker]

Jim, GREAT pics ... have a blast ... looking forward to more reports!!

 

[DebbyA]

Looks wonderful! I think you should take more vacations--they're always so well-reported.

 

[Bina]

Wow...amazing......please bring me back some of those pretty fishies.
It's great that the 2 of you can still do these trips and have so much fun. Thank you for sharing !!

 

[Superbob]

Wow, Jim, that scenery looks splendid even viewed from here in the Redneck Riviera.

Enjoy!

 

[Marguerite53]

oooooooooo..... gorgeous!!

Don't hesitate to send us more photos. Love the little fishies!!
Husband and I honeymooned 30 years ago in the BVI; Nevis and St. Kitts. Haven't been back since, but it is such a wonderful paradise in that ocean. Lucky YOU!!

Thanks for thinking of us!

Marguerite

 

[malibu82]

jealoussssssssss

 

[hensylee]

you are off on another jaunt across the pond! Good for you both. Enjoy. you know that we always love to see you and your pictures. Thank you - blessins.............

 

[skeptic49]

Update and more photos!

Update and more photos!

Sunset in St. Barths

Barracuda at Shell Beach

Trunkfish at Shell Beach

Handsome divemaster John from Corsica

Today, Friday is our last full day on St. Barths. I’ve had so much fun that it will be difficult to leave tomorrow, but it will be time to return to home and get on with things as usual. We’ve been so busy that it has been tough to find time to write about all the fun things we’ve done, all the beautiful places we’ve seen, and the wonderful French cuisine here. Wednesday we visited one of the many beautiful “anse,” or coves that St. Barths is famous for. Each of these coves has a sand beach and crystal clear turquoise water. “Grand Cul De Sac” is on the North (Atlantic) shore and is sheltered by a coral reef. We had lunch at a beach front restaurant. I spent a couple of hours snorkeling over the reef while Dan and Richard went on to explore the East end of the island. Yesterday Dan and Richard went by fast ferry to the island of St. Martin. There they visited both the Dutch and French sides before returning to St. Barths at 6:15 PM. I spent the day scuba diving. I did two private escorted dives, just me and my handsome Corsican divemaster John. It was the first time I had dived in many years but it was a little like riding a bicycle – it comes back to you. I saw several sea turtles, a shark, and a great of colorful fish and aquatic life. It was such a great pleasure to dive once again. I had forgotten how beautiful it is down on the reef and how much fun it is to scuba dive. I’m glad I can still do it. I may not be able to do it much longer due to medical issues. Today we’ll have lunch at perhaps the most famous St. Barths gourmet restaurant: “Le Gaiac.” This afternoon Richard and Jim plan to try our a brand new underwater experience: we’ll don a diving helmet and walk underwater!

 

[Greg a]

Glad you are having a good time and a BIG THANKS for the pics .......happy trails

 

[Bina]

Okay, how do I "Photoshop" myself into that pic of John the Corsican Divemaster.......YOWZA!!!!

 

[nngbwh]

beautiful pictures... looking good. Thanks for sharing the photo.