The family arrive.....

They're here! Gesa and the kids arrived on Sunday at the airport in St Thomas. I took along a surprise for them - my new beard! Having not saved for the best part of three weeks I looked a little different (Gesa had been warned so as to avoid total shock from the kids) Issie was a bit shocked, then announced that the FIRST thing I had to do on the boat was have a shave. We walked from the airport terminal, about five hundred yards to the beach where Yan came out and picked us up in the dinghy. They were home.

We motored a few minutes across to a nice bay with a good beach and re-acquainted the family with Caribbean beach life. The next day we went over the Charlotte Amalie, the main town which is an OK yet uninspiring place, but it does have a big grocery store so we stocked up for the days ahead.

This morning we filled up with water (strange to be paying for water again - this is not mainland USA) and motored a tough three hours into the brisk tradewinds to get to a beautiful bay on the south side of St John. A beach, thickly wooded shore, trails, a snorkeling reef - everything we've come to love about St John. Although Issie said this isn't the real Caribbean, there are no palm trees. Sigh.

Yan and Karla have gone off on their own for a couple of days, with tent, and will meet us back here later to explore a bit more of the island and onto the BVI's.

We've discovered margarita mix and cheap tequila, so margaritas are the drink of choice right now. Mmm.

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