What have we found?

We had an email from friends on another boat saying where they'd been these last few days and ending with the question 'what have you found?'. Such a simple but great question, I answered it with a long list of the highlights from the last few days....

• Movie at Maho Camps was 'Finding Nemo'. We know every scene so it was a good one.
• Bought beer to take with us. Virgin Islands Summer Ale. Read the label - it's Shipyard Ale from Portland. Ha Ha. One of my favourites when we were there but a little bit of a con to find it masquerading as local beer down here!
• Park Rangers do know if you've paid. We missed a day at the start, it seems, having paid the next six in a row like good campers, and we got a visit and a ticket asking us to pay the $15.
• Leinster Bay on the north east of St John is beautiful, and sheltered. Waterlemon Cay looks really neat but the (much) better snorkeling is on the mainland shore not around the Cay where all the tourists swim.
• Annaberg ruins are well worth a visit. At the old sugar factory, if a gangly rastafarian approaches you and mentions the garden then listen to him, find the garden. He's called Charles and looks after the plants there. Showed us all manner of plants and fruits, cut sugar cane for us to munch on, gave us herbs, got shakshaks for the kids and is just an all round nice guy.
• Three great families. P, S and kids from Cape Town/Denmark just setting out on their Bene411 for six months. R, C and kids from Vermont/Trinidad living on their boat in Coral Bay with great stories and fun plans. J, J and kids from Canada/Montserrat/USA running the Jolly Dog stores around Coral Bay, selling all sorts of stuff including J's t-shirt designs. And many many more interesting and lovely people.
• A community - Coral Bay is much more 'local' than the other end of the island. It's the far end from the ferry landing so only the more intrepid tourists get out here and all manner of folks make their homes at this end of town.
• Best value island tour. The bus from Cruz Bay to Coral Bay and back runs along Centreline Road, along mountain peaks and with great views of the island and ocean. A dollar each, kids negotiable.
• A package of goodies. The reason we took the island bus was to see if a package from California had arrived at the post office. It had, containing a lovely knitted sweater for Max form Nana in the UK, and a lot of chirstmas goodies from Julia in California. Including chocolate covered coffee beans. Mmmm
  
• Free beer. R has only had their new boat for two months and was cleaning out a deep locker. Found four cases of beer. He doesn't drink. Our gain. We'll take over some brownies, I think.
• New outboard propeller, which is why we were at Redhook. Chatted to a chap on the dock who rents powerboats, he called a friend and half an hour later we had a used but serviceable prop for fifty bucks. Saved a trip to Charlotte A. And whilst Redhook is a miserable anchorage it's a darn sight cheaper to buy groceries at the Marina Mart there than on St John so a good call for a hit and run provisioning stop.