It's My Turn

This is Krystal. It's my turn to blog. I'm sitting here on our balcony watching the sun set and thinking about our last three remaining days here and trying not to get depressed that our vacation is nearing the end. My only solace about returning home are my Hermes & Ramona. I really do miss them a lot and think about them everyday.

We took a private boat to Stingray City on Tuesday but the conditions were very rough so we didn't get a chance to spend too much time with the stingrays. But, the little time that we did have with them was amazing! As soon as we got in the water, they started to come up to us and we petted them. They are very docile and love to rub up against you. We both got a chance to hand-feed them calamari! The waves were overpowering and we were scared about stepping on them and/or their stinger so we didn't hang out long with them. I'm a little bummed b/c I wanted to play with them some more. I did get a little scratched up by their tail but nothing major. I think that I'm going to come back for a weekend in May just to see them again. The conditions should be more calm at that time - I hope!









Our captain's first mate dove down and grabbed 4 conch from the bottom of the ocean. Captain Alan then showed us how to crack it open and pull out the meat. While we snorkeled around Coral Gardens, he prepared marinated conch for us to eat. It was great to hear his stories about growing up on the island while we munched down on the freshest conch that we have ever had.



Wednesday was a huge cruise ship day (about 12,000 cruise shippers) so we opted to just hang out at our beach and do some snorkeling. Visibility wasn't great but we still saw a medium sized turtle and two eagle rays....a parent and a baby. Of course, we didn't have our underwater camera. (Chris thought that visibility was too poor for us to see anything - I almost got Chris Brown on his ass!)

Because of the huge family with their dozens of screaming children on "our" side of the beach, we have been hanging out on the other side of the beach. Two elderly couples decided to befriend us. They are from New York and are really nice. Both couples have been married upwards of 50 years. I've been picking their brain to find out the secret to a long, happy marriage. I have to say - it's stuff I already know :) It's great to hear their travel stories and we've been getting really good tips about restaurants around the island and about traveling to the Caribbean. They actually have been coming here for the last 10 years and usually stay for a month at a time. One of the couples is actually leaving here and going on a 3-week cruise around South America. I want to be like them when I grow up!