[This article has many photos]

The transparent columbus landing beach

Shesh under-water!

Click here for the entire photo album of my Caribbean Vacation

This is a long pending post. This actually happened in April 2007.

This should be one of the best vacations ever for me and definitely in the most beautiful of all places!

My cousin Harsha called me and told me that we can plan to go to visit Murali Mama in Virgin Islands. I never knew where it was located. Then I saw it on the map to realize that it’s part of Caribbean and it is much closer to Venezuela than the US. That was enough to make me determined to visit Murali Mama at any cost!

Murali Mama works at the Hovensa Refinery in the tiny island St. Croix which is part of the Virgin Islands. It is so small that it’s maximum length is 45 KM and width is 11 KM! It’s a small Island but has lot of variation in the type of beaches and vegetation found there. One can find calm, still and completely transparent waters and few beaches & one can find wavy waters at few other beaches. There are mountains and Rain forests at one side and dry land at the other end! The Island with lots of coconut trees has a vegetation that reminded me of India.

Murali mama stays in a large colonial house. The most surprising part was that the house is owned by an Indian doctor whose grandfather hails from the same tiny village that my grandfather hails from - Arkere in Mandya District of Karnataka!!! That world is really a small place!

Murali mama had given us a big room in his house and we had his car with us to roam around. What more to ask for!

Just behind Murali Mama’s house there is an amazing beach with total transparent waters. Columbus landed in this beach during his first journey! The water is so transparent that when I was swimming I felt as if I am swimming in a giant swimming pool! Even when I had swum away very far from the shore I could see my shadow on the deep ocean floor!! That was an unbelievable experience!

The island has lots of amazing restaurants next to the sea.

The goods and services on the island is completely tax free! So, we used to get food and drink at great rates. We spent lot of time swimming around in different beaches. We did Jet Skiing in the transparent waters. The water at the Jet Skiing site was as transparent as glass and I don’t think I will ever have such a nice Jet Skiing experience in any other place!

Click here for the entire photo album of my Caribbean Vacation

Picture perfect

Harsha & Shesh Jet Skiing

With Elizabeth, my scuba diving instructor

St. Croix island from the sky