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NYE! Yes - we finally let our hair down a little and gave in some peer pressure (although it wasnt that hard to twist my arm :-) of some disco, dance, drinks and divine dinner :-) !!!

Wendy, manager of the Golf Course (last pic) that I've become quite good friends with invited us up to their annual NYE party - DJ, 5-course meal and a dancefloor. We ended up on a table with some of the guests from the Spa that I had told about this evening which ended up in new friendships by the end of the night - and we now have a standing invite to DC whenever we like!

Tide Pools Hike

Last weekend we finally did the Tide Pool Hike, which leaves from Carambola and ends up at Annaly Bay, famous for its natural forming tidal pools. The hike itself was beautiful but the beach was the real reward - not your typical white sandy beach, but very rocky - beautiful in its own way!

Let there be light!

Everyone had been talking for weeks about the famous Christmas Boat Parade held annually in Christiansted.. Saturday night finally came so Geoff and I went to check it out and what it was all about.

I think the entire population of St. Croix was there! It was busy, busy, busy - I was surprised we even got a parking spot!

The night started with the boat parade itself - contestants pay an enormous amount of money to participate and the fees go towards covering the cost of the fireworks which follow the parade.

I had to say WOW - some boats went all out with a cruzian flair - there was one boat that even had a mokko jumbie pinned all the way up high on it.

The parade went on for about 30 mins, and was followed by an amazing fireworks display!

Home - 3rd time lucky!

"All For the Better" - the name of our new estate and so, so true... We moved in about a week before Halloween and loving it so far! Our new landlords, Steve and Ellenor with their newborn baby are some of the nicest people we've met yet - and spoil us with fresh fruit and veggies from the garden daily - coconuts, papaya, eggplant, collard greens, bell peppers, mustard greens, oranges...you name it.

Pics - Our View, our swimming pool, our kitchen, our workout area/storage/office, bedroom with bathroom

Jack and Isaac's Beach Hike

I got an unexpected day off today! The resort was shutting off power for 4 hours, of course right during the opening hours of the Spa, so my manager was nice enough to let me stay home.. what was supposed to be a fix-it, paint-it, buy groceries day turned into a spontaneous day out hiking and beaching with Alpie at Jack & Isaac's beach on the East End.

We were lucky we escaped the rain - at least most of it. Check out how beautiful and serene it is here!!!

Renaissance Carambola Beach Resort

For those who havent visited the website, I thought I'd post a few pictures of the beautiful resort we work at...with more to come from the desalination plant and the Spa!

Buck Island

We finally made it out to the famous Buck Island - just 10 mins off the north coast of St. Croix, its a national wildlife refuge which is also a popular place for locals and tourists to visit on the weekend.

Denise, my manager invited a few of us out on Sunday - and it couldnt have been better conditions.

Geoff had BBq'd a beef brisket the night before, everyone else brought along an item and we spent the afternoon swimming, snorkeling and BBQ'ing...it was so beautiful!