Jost Van Dyke! God Bless You!

I checked out my sitemeter this morning and saw that someone had been referred to my blog via a website called Cruise News! What a surprise! Here I was innocently blogging about our upcoming vacation and *bing* some website picked up my blabbing about Tortola!

Today I'm going to talk about some of my fondest (or scariest) memories from our stay on Jost Van Dyke, because it's heavy on my mind today, and it's one of my most favorite place on Earth so far! Cannot wait for warmth -it's totally frigid outside today, a balmy 27 degrees...With the wind chill, it's even colder. Really quite nasty!

Of course, in the Caribbean are wonderous and interesting creatures. Snorkeling with schools of tarpon feeding on small silver fish was most memorable. We were in an area of Jost Van Dyke called White Bay (one of the top ten beaches in the world according to the Travel Channel!). One day my husband and I were there snorkeling over the tarpon, watching the feeding frenzy when, all of a sudden, **WHHOOOOSH**, something dove from above, VERY forcibly, literally only about one foot from my head. I SCREAMED!!!

It was a pelican! It was apparently diving in to get some of those little silvery fish for itself! Obviously not at ALL afraid of the human swimming just mere inches from its prey!

Here is a video of a couple pelicans diving - now imagine your head just a foot away, looking downward like you do when snorkeling, and suddenly this huge animal comes barreling down into the water with NO warning! It's mighty scary, I tell ya!

Needless to say, we high-tailed it out of the water to the safety of the shore IMMEDIATELY!

On shore are many other wonderous things! Like this gorgeous white sand beach. A mile long of this beautiful stuff!


The view from the hillside. Sunsets were unbelieveable.


The Soggy Dollar Bar - called this because most patrons have to swim in from their boats moored just past the beach! Therefore, their dollars are soggy! They have a clothesline to hang the soggy dollars so they can dry! This bar is world famous for their Pain Killers. A drink to rival all others. Deeee-lish!


My favorite - Ivan's Stress-Free Bar. You go on, write down what you make yourself for the time you're there, and then you settle up at the end of your stay. No bartender, no waiting, no STRESS, mon!! It's the coolest bar on the planet, if you ask me!


Ahhh, memories! Now I must return to reality. Off to bundle up and go out to get the dogs' food, treats, and their arthritis meds. Also going to the store to stock up on goodies for the house...Amazing how much food one goes through when one has breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks from home every single day!