Our video from Carnival is up!  Have a look!

If you like it, share it!

LAT:  18º 18.6′ N
LON:  064º 40.9’W

We are anchored in the lee of Great St James Island, just off the east end of St Thomas, about half way between St Thomas and St John.  It is a private island, so we haven’t had the chance to get ashore, but the water exploration has been fun.

We are now in a places with a much higher population of boats.  It is unlikely we will have an anchorage to ourselves for quite some time.  Under the boat, there have been lots of fish, and bottlenose dolphins.  The island itself is beautiful, not totally arid, but not bright green either.  Just full of interesting textures.  Oh, and there is pizza!  You’ll have to wait for our video to learn more about that surprise…

The small island in the middle of the anchorage is home to a colony of laughing gulls.  We have found it a bit unusual to see gulls this far away from town.  One of the interesting things we learned from one of our birding references, is that large seagulls were historically rather rare birds–until the existence of human garbage dumps where they could find unlimited food.  Our travels would confirm that.  It is quite unusual to see a gull away from a city or large town.

Another bird comment…  I always wondered why the common Blue Heron carried the name “Great Blue Heron”.  I figured that it was like the “Great White Shark”, just an extra adjective that added no value.  But, I was wrong.  It turns out there IS a “Little Blue Heron” I hadn’t heard of before…

A Little Blue Heron hunts along the shore line.

Target acquired!

Dirt? Who needs dirt? A crack in the rock is all we need! If you are a plant person who is interested in succulents, this is a fun place.

A Turks Head Cactus and an Aloe share a crack in the rock.

Baby dolphins!

We will be making the short hop over to St Johns later today.