1st Scuba Adventure 2015

Live, Love, Laugh, Listen, Learn - My rules for living a great life!

One size does NOT fit all -

Live your own beautiful life! - 

Don't let the opinions of others interfere with being true to yourself. - 

Life is not a race! We will all eventually reach the finish line, but I hope not too soon!  Enjoy the journey! - 

Don't measure your life by the standards of others! - 

Scuba and Snorkeling Adventure on St Croix VI

Having never been to St Croix, we weren't sure exactly what to expect...we quickly realized that it is like many of the other Caribbean islands - a picture of diversity and wealth gaps - a juxtaposition of vacationers and local inhabitants - St Croix is no different.  There is a significant volume of dilapidated structures peppering the hillside and downtown area.   But don't get me wrong - it is still worth a visit - just know what to expect! 

Christiansted -

We stayed at the Buccaneer - near Christiansted.  The rose colored structures stand out against the hillside. It appears a little dated on the outside purely because of building style (50s/60s/70s) -  our room was recently renovated.  The pools are adequate, but photography tricks were clearly used for the website - the pictures have a way of embellishing reality.  The food is typical for resort food - decent, but you can find unique high-quality options offsite.  We would recommend dining offsite for dinner at least some nights, if you can - Savant was our favorite dinner location.  If I judged a book by its cover, we would have passed this restaurant by, but do yourself a favor and trust me - go around back and asked to be seated in the outdoor patio area (actually you will be better served to make reservations).  The stars twinkle above your head as you sit in this quaint yet rustic stone and plant encased courtyard.  The menu is eclectic - we steered clear of the regular options to try one of the 6 separate dinner specials featuring freshly caught local fish - go with a special.  I had a coconut and almond encrusted Mahi with hazelnut cream - it quite possibly could be the best fish that I have ever had! The dessert selection sounded phenomenonal, but we were too full to partake. There was a power outage on the island while we were there, so we stayed at our resort for dinner the other nights - they have one of the biggest generators on the island - we didn't even know the power was out at the resort.  If the power had not gone out, we would have enjoyed dinner at Zion Modern or Galangal.  Definitely give them a try if you enjoy good food and Savant is your caliber of restaurant - any of the other options were too "chainy" or casual for our taste for this trip - we enjoy local specialties prepared to order with a chef at the helm - therefore, keep that in mind when taking our restaurant recommendations to heart [see KHSLex on Trip Advisor for more detail].

We came to St Croix to snorkel, but ended up spending more time diving - a shock to us both since neither of us had ever dove before this trip.

Our hotel offered a free dive class in the pool our first full-day (bright and early for us - 9am) - we decided "what the hell" - when else are we going to get this opportunity.  Kaveh and I both were a little apprehensive, but our instructor from St Croix Ultimate Bluewater Adventure was great - patient, informative, and helpful.  After waffling, we decided to take SCUBA up on the opportunity to complete a Discover Dive - we departed from Christiansted at 1:30 that same afternoon!  We dove at Eagle Ray and Scotch Bay...as the boat tied off, the captain went through some safety procedures- I was having second thoughts - was I really going to be able to handle being under for 45 minutes in 40' of water - would my ears hurt - what if I needed to cough - could I remember how to clear my respirator and goggles under water?  Even though I had this dialog racing through my head, I kept as calm a facial facade as I could :).  Needless to say, my "panic" was all for naught - I was about to embark on yet another life-altering experience.  I slipped my arms into my damp vest - weighted down with 14 extra pounds plus my tank - I slipped (more like wedged) my feet into my fins and literally waddled to the back of the boat and stepped out onto the platform - one hand on my mask and regulator, the other holding my oxygen gauge, I took one large step forward as the boat lurched and lunged with each passing swell (3'-4' swells tossed the boat). With my eyes on the horizon, I felt like I was leaping from the high-dive at the local swimming pool.  It was a reassuring feeling to hit the water and realize that I could breath just fine and see through a clear mask.  The line behind the boat offered a lifeline to my husband and our guide - we all were to descend together - the line offered comfort - knowing we could move hand over hand down the line to a depth of about 15' - equalizing our ears and gaining confidence with each passing breath.  We "hung out briefly" - making sure we were "OK"  - letting go of the bar was the last tie to the surface - the beauty and tranquility of what surrounded us and lay beneath us became the focus - we released the last of the air from our vests and made the final descent to the bottom.  At the bottom, I accidentally inhaled some salt water that had leaked into the bottom of my mask; the burn hit my nostrils like a blazing fire, but I exhaled and blew quickly - the mild panic subsided - I could do this!

Scuba Video - Amalgamation of 200+ minutes from 4 dives down to just over 2 minutes:

1st Scuba Adventure 2015

 

I loved snorkeling before I dove - now I honestly think I would rather dive - fighting the waves, purging my snorkel and swimming against the current now seems like a lot more work.  There are definitely times that snorkeling is best and relaxing, but I look forward to having the option in the future. 

We snorkeled at Buck Island National Monument on Day 2 - the water was still rough and we had to fight swells and currents a great deal.  The reef was beautiful; however, 40-60% of it has been destroyed by bleaching - another sad example of our declining reef life. (We used Big Beard Adventures on an all-day excursion-we would recommend them.) 

Buck Island National Monument

Barracuda

Day 3 was meant to be a day to chill, but Kaveh and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to dive again - we booked a 2nd excursion with SCUBA out of Frederiksted- we rented a car (at $45/day-so worth it) and made the drive across the island.  It only took about 40 minutes and was relatively easy (the map of the island even shows traffic lights).  We dived at Strat Bay and Frederiksted Pier - the pier ended up being my favorite dive because of the vibrant colors of coral and fish.  I was quite pleased with myself after the pier dive - I used the exact same amount of oxygen as our expert PADI instructor - we started with 3000 on the gauge and I finished with 1600 left in my tank after a 56 minute dive - my instructor even said "it's impressive that the 'newby' used as little oxygen as I did" - I think we have found a new hobby!