The last couple of days we didn’t have plans; we were simply exploring. Always fun! Today, however, our plan was kayaking and snorkeling in the Mangrove Lagoon part of the Virgin Islands National Park. The morning started as the others, walk to a restaurant for breakfast, then around to the sea and back to our condo.

At the restaurant, we noticed a peninsula adjacent to our beach, which we decided to explore this morning. Geologically fascinating!

The iguana didn’t move the entire time we were exploring the peninsula.

We wisely found a taxi to get us to the Ecotour that we had booked in the afternoon. No more walking along highways for us.

First, lunch — but not for the iguanas wandering under the tables!

Our group consisted of six people: a couple a little younger than us who each wanted their own kayak, a young strong couple who had never kayaked or snorkeled before, and us. We got a two person kayak.

We followed Nash, our guide for the afternoon, out to the mangroves. On the way we saw lots of upside-down jellyfish (Cassopiea) on the seabed. They looked like white rocks at first glance, but when you leaned over, they were obviously not rock.

The rare yellow leaves on the red mangrove trees are called sacrifice leaves because all the salt from the environment goes to them until they fill up and die. The less common black mangrove trees kind of sweat the salt out of every leaf. You can taste the salt on the outsides of their leaves.

We beached our kayaks to look at nature a little inland.

From the beach, we swam out to the place where lots of fish stayed. We had snorkels but no fins because they are not allowed in the lagoon. Cool raindrops on one’s back while swimming face down in warm ocean water is an unusual experience. Unfortunately the rain made seeing in the water difficult.

Overall, we kayaked over three miles and swam half a mile —without fins! A good excursion!

Staying in a condo after a tiny room feels luxurious. We love having a living room space and a balcony which overlooks a small harbor. Unfortunately, the only grocery store is a mile away. When planning this stay, we figured that was no big deal. We didn’t realize that most of the walk would be along a highway with no sidewalks.

One thing that stands out about the driver being on the same side of the road and the direction travelled is that cars tend to hug the sides, leaving the middle of the road more open. Our taxi driver yesterday explained that he thought this was the better design for road travel. But it’s nerve-wracking for us pedestrians.

Lindquist Beach at Smith Bay was worth the terrifying walk on the highway (half as far as the grocery store). Few people, clear water, smooth, small waves. We spent enjoyable time playing in the buoyant salt water.

We didn’t see any iguanas at the beach, but their tracks were everywhere. Last night we counted six in one small hedge along a walking trail near our condo at Sapphire Beach.

We swam for a long, happy time. The current kept moving us away from our picnic bench, so we had to keep swimming back, parallel to shore. We even swam out to the buoy, the allowed limit at that site.

We started walking back along the highway to find a restaurant that we had heard about, but it was closed. Back to the highway when a taxi, a modified pickup truck, offered a ride. We gladly accepted, and got back to our condo for late lunch, showers and rest.

Dinner was at the Sea Salt Restaurant and Bar, which had a lovely view of Sapphire Beach, near our condo. The clouds this second evening were astonishing similar to the previous evening.

What a great day!

We woke up chipper and ready to go. After breakfast, we did the cultural stuff in Charlotte Amalie. The “Trail of 99 Steps” (meaning stairs) was calling. This led to Black Beard’s Castle at the top of a hill, which might not ever have housed the famous pirate, but now showed beautiful sculptures of a wide variety of possible pirates. The views of the bay and surrounding lands were spectacular!

And, around the castle.

Exploration continued at the bottom of the stairs, at an old fort with a long history. We had noticed the fort the first day we arrived, because the red walls with green shutters set a striking image.

The receptionist told us to start our self-guided tour in the dungeon —would we ever escape?

Although a lot of objects were exhibited, not much explanation was available. That was OK. It’s fun to explore a place built in 1671.

Next, we walked through the Emancipation Park, with its statues, monuments and Christmas decorations. Then a quick lunch, so we could get ready for our next adventure.

After lunch, we packed up our gear and hired a taxi, arriving in Sapphire Beach for a stay in a condominium. We set down our stuff and walked directly to the beach!

In this area, iguanas are as populous as the chickens were at the last town. Still quite a few chickens as well. Many iguanas were right outside our door, with some interesting color and size variations.

Our tiny room had two double beds rather than the queen size we were used to at home. Because we were so tired, we decided to use both beds. But in the middle of the night, Clare crept into Brian’s, and both of us slept better.

This day, Wednesday, we walked to Frenchtown eager to find the French Heritage Museum which was about a mile from our guesthouse. The automobile traffic was, and still is, a bit confusing. The Danish drove on the left when the United States bought the islands. Driving on the left remains, but now with U.S. vehicles that have left-side drivers. Weird, and happy to not have rented a car!

Near the museum was a large church. Unfortunately, it was closed.

Along the way, we found an egret wandering through some bushes.

In Frenchtown was a restaurant named for the French Quarter in New Orleans, where we had lunch. The photographs and decor were reminiscent of that famous musical city.

Dinner at a large restaurant on the waterfront include 2-for1 drinks!