DixieDreamer
<font color=blue>Instant Human - <font color=brown
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2001
<bgsound src="http://www.lyonfamilywdw.com/CalypsoMidis/jama2.mid"loop="3">
If you have been following along with my posts - this is number 5 of 6 in a series of WDW and Cruise trip reports. If you missed the first posts... there will be links to them at the end of this report.
On Wednesday we arrived early in the morning at St. Thomas. I woke up early enough to get up and watch from our verandah as the captain maneuvered the boat into port. It really is amazing how they can handle such a large boat with such finesse. The boats in the harbor, the blue sky, and the amazing blue water beckoned us to get up and get moving.
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For our day in St. Thomas, we signed up for the "Coral World and Drive" excursion. This included a driving tour of the island and a trip to Coral World - which is a great marine center with opportunities to do lots of hands on exploration of the sea life around the islands. Our DD (age 10) had specifically voted for this excursion and was really looking forward to it. The driving portion took us through various parts of the island - and our driver Henry was very knowledgeable. He pointed out not only landmarks and historical information - but he talked about life there. Showing us some of the interesting things about everyday life on St. Thomas. He took us to several vantage points high on the island - allowing for some great pics of the vista below.
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At one point, we stopped high above a private garden - terraced into the steep hillside. He discussed the different common native plants growing there and proceeded to show us a cashew plant. Being a gardener... I found this highly interesting!
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We then went to the highest point on the island. The switchback roads climbing up the steep hillside was interesting... glad I was not driving! At the top we had grand views of Megan Bay.
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Of course, I found the local flowering shrubs just as beautiful to look at! LOL!
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Then it was off to Coral World. This is a very interesting place and I only wish we had had more time there. There are several different exhibit areas. One of which sat out in the bay and allowed you to go below sea level and view the native fish and reef life.
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The view from the shoreline was captivating too.
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Our DD was much impressed with the iguanas. There was one that we found walking up the pathway steps ahead of us - everyone gave him his own space LOL! - but I managed to catch him when he stopped to sun himself.
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DD was in heaven here. She loves animals, science, and getting her hands wet!
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Besides the iguana that was running wild in the exhibit area... there was actually a large PLANNED exhibit of iguanas. They were literally everywhere you looked!
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When we had concluded our stay at Coral World we headed back to the ship. On the way down into the harbor area... we caught a beautiful view of the Magic waiting for us in port.
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We returned to the ship, had a big lunch on board (because we were starving by that point!) and then we headed back off the ship and did some walking around and shopping. Later we returned to the ship and settled in for another day at sea on our way towards Castaway Cay. My next and last post will cover the highlights of this final (and best) destination of the Magic! I hope you are enjoying these posts so far. If you missed any of the previous trip reports - here are some links:
A Day at Epcot
A Day at Animal Kingdom
All Aboard the MAGIC!
A Day at St. Martin
I will add a link to the last report when concluded.
(Edited to add the link for the final report)
Final Day - Castaway Cay
If you have been following along with my posts - this is number 5 of 6 in a series of WDW and Cruise trip reports. If you missed the first posts... there will be links to them at the end of this report.
On Wednesday we arrived early in the morning at St. Thomas. I woke up early enough to get up and watch from our verandah as the captain maneuvered the boat into port. It really is amazing how they can handle such a large boat with such finesse. The boats in the harbor, the blue sky, and the amazing blue water beckoned us to get up and get moving.
<center>
For our day in St. Thomas, we signed up for the "Coral World and Drive" excursion. This included a driving tour of the island and a trip to Coral World - which is a great marine center with opportunities to do lots of hands on exploration of the sea life around the islands. Our DD (age 10) had specifically voted for this excursion and was really looking forward to it. The driving portion took us through various parts of the island - and our driver Henry was very knowledgeable. He pointed out not only landmarks and historical information - but he talked about life there. Showing us some of the interesting things about everyday life on St. Thomas. He took us to several vantage points high on the island - allowing for some great pics of the vista below.
<center>
At one point, we stopped high above a private garden - terraced into the steep hillside. He discussed the different common native plants growing there and proceeded to show us a cashew plant. Being a gardener... I found this highly interesting!
<center>
We then went to the highest point on the island. The switchback roads climbing up the steep hillside was interesting... glad I was not driving! At the top we had grand views of Megan Bay.
<center>
Of course, I found the local flowering shrubs just as beautiful to look at! LOL!
<center>
<center>
Then it was off to Coral World. This is a very interesting place and I only wish we had had more time there. There are several different exhibit areas. One of which sat out in the bay and allowed you to go below sea level and view the native fish and reef life.
<center>
The view from the shoreline was captivating too.
<center>
Our DD was much impressed with the iguanas. There was one that we found walking up the pathway steps ahead of us - everyone gave him his own space LOL! - but I managed to catch him when he stopped to sun himself.
<center>
DD was in heaven here. She loves animals, science, and getting her hands wet!
<center>
Besides the iguana that was running wild in the exhibit area... there was actually a large PLANNED exhibit of iguanas. They were literally everywhere you looked!
<center>
<center>
When we had concluded our stay at Coral World we headed back to the ship. On the way down into the harbor area... we caught a beautiful view of the Magic waiting for us in port.
<center>
We returned to the ship, had a big lunch on board (because we were starving by that point!) and then we headed back off the ship and did some walking around and shopping. Later we returned to the ship and settled in for another day at sea on our way towards Castaway Cay. My next and last post will cover the highlights of this final (and best) destination of the Magic! I hope you are enjoying these posts so far. If you missed any of the previous trip reports - here are some links:
A Day at Epcot
A Day at Animal Kingdom
All Aboard the MAGIC!
A Day at St. Martin
I will add a link to the last report when concluded.
(Edited to add the link for the final report)
Final Day - Castaway Cay
