Sulfur Springs and Seeing Things in St. Lucia

We had a jam-packed time in St. Lucia (http://www.stlucia.org/). We took a full-day excursion offered through the cruise ship to see everything from the main town, Governor's mansion, the twin Pitons (http://www.turq.com/stlucia.html, which made for terrific photo ops), through the rainforest (http://www.stlucia.org/activity/rainforest.asp, where we saw a number of waterfalls), stopped briefly at the sulfur springs (pictured above - Alpaca wasn't getting anywhere near that rank smell, http://www.bio.umass.edu/micro/holden/fieldsites/stlucia04.html) and two snorkeling stops, including one at Marigot Bay (http://www.marigothill.com/en/).

Dog Days of St. Thomas and Coral World

Before we left on our vacation, my aunt joked that St. Thomas (http://www.usvi.net/usvi/stthomas/index.htm) is commonly referred to as the "dog of the Caribbean." Cutest damn dog I've ever seen.

Alpaca was very excited to see Coral World (http://www.coralworldvi.com/, below at the turtle habitat and above in the white igloo structure), where he could see aquariums full of fish, turtles and sharks. With admission to Coral World, tourists are allowed entry into Coki Beach (http://www.cokidive.com/), the private beach neighboring the aquarium, which is full of fish (not terribly varied, but definitely plentiful). Husband saw a nurse shark while snorkeling. While some others chased after the nurse shark to pet it, husband wisely steered clear. Alpaca practically ran out of the water.



We also took a tour of the island, took beautiful pictures of Magens Bay (http://www.magensbayvi.com/), stopped at several beaches and did a little shopping. Despite rumors to the contrary, St. Thomas was not the shopping mecca it was touted to be. The jewelry was the same trite junk you can find anywhere, and the prices were not so reasonable that we were compelled to buy. The beer, however, was plentiful and the bars on St. Thomas enjoy a reputation in the Caribbean for being among the friendliest and best.