16/12/2024
“Are you for scuba?” // St. Croix Winter Scuba Trip 2023
Today, last year, I was in a much warmer place.
Last December I was lucky enough to go visit one of my life-long friends who just so happens to be a marine biologist and live on an island in the middle of the Caribbean. When says “this is your last chance…” for visiting, he’s usually on another continent the next time it comes up. I’ll spare you the details, but he lived on Saint Croix and dove for a large portion of his work in marine estuaries and the surrounding coral reefs of the USVI.
So, I knew what needed to happen. I immediately bought a camera housing so I was locked in, and then plane tickets. was inexplicably “down”, so we hopped on a plane and went to visit Hilly and .kraushaar ! Upon arrival, I was presented with a cold local beer before even leaving the airport, which set the tone for the week of island life.
With an island that is only about 22 miles long, you can imagine we drove up, down, and all around the island, checking off the “must-do” list of all the things we needed see, and a lot of the off-map spots that “Wash’a’shores” would never find without a local. Secluded rock beaches, secret coves, scrambling to get through volcanic rock fields and up high enough on the cliff wall before waves come crashing through again to potentially drag you want into the ocean - it was dreamy😍
Being virtually the same size our entire lives, I was able to borrow a wet suit from Hilly and go on a couple dives around the island checking out places they’ve been working on reef restoration and seeing the effects of climate change, poaching, and going to known spots on the ocean floor for specific wildlife to just sit and watch as they glide and dance through their world. We were lucky enough to have been amongst numerous giant leatherback turtles, sting rays, eels, even a small shark, and fish camouflaged so well that if you did a double take, they’re gone.
I’ll tell you what, I sure do Love a bad idea - because the good ones usually wind up like this.
🍻to the next one