I have never seen such a majestic animal up close and personal before. About eight feet beneath the ocean surface, a spotted eagle ray.
The ray was about 14 feet long and had a wingspan of about 8 feet. He sported the common black and white polka-dot coloring common to his species. I alerted my boyfriend, and we followed the creature until it swam out into the ocean depths.
I was lucky enough to make contact with this ray because I was on a snorkeling trip to Saint Thomas, one of the Virgin Islands, during Masters Week.
My mom was kind enough to pay for my boyfriend Chris and me to fly to Saint Thomas. Chris has both an uncle and a cousin who live on the island, so we had a place to stay. I packed a suitcase full of summer shorts and bathing suits and prepared to be a beach bum all week long.
Chris and I landed in Saint Thomas on a beautiful warm Monday afternoon.
Before immigration would let us into the country, we had to show that we had taken a COVID-19 test and had negative results. Otherwise, the entry process was more relaxed than I anticipated.
We showed the workers our IDs, and they cross-checked them along with our COVID-19 documents. Once we made it through customs and immigration, we waited what seemed like an eternity for our luggage before we could walk outside and be picked up by Chris’s uncle who was driving a sporty white Jeep.
St. Thomas showed us its first surprise as we drove to Chris’s uncle’s home. The surprise was that people here follow the British custom of driving on the left-hand side of the road. This was confusing to us since we’re so used to driving on the right, and sometimes we’d see a tourist trying to drive on the right-hand side.
Chris’s uncle lives on the North Side of the island, which is considered to be the best area on the island. As we made our way to his house, I had to sit in the front because the roads were rough, and winding, and I did not want to get car sick.
The house is a pretty shade of pink, and it has flowers growing all around. It also has a driveway that goes up a steep hill that I would definitely not want to walk up. Once inside, I was surprised by how spacious the house was and impressed by the huge deck that made up a significant part of the home.
The house did not have a built-in air conditioner but instead used wall-mounted ductless air conditioners. This was fine during the day, but at night I would often wake up in a pool of sweat, even with two fans on me.
On our first official full day in St. Thomas, we went to Sapphire Bay, a popular beach with an equally popular bar where we got a lesson in COVID-19 precautions, island-style. The Sapphire Bay beach was beautiful with crystal blue waters and silky white sand.
To get to the beach, visitors had to walk through the bar area, and they were required to wear a mask on. We also had to wear masks when we ordered food and drinks. The bar staff were very clear about customers having to wear a mask.
My first drink in St. Thomas was a piña colada, and it did not disappoint.
After some time at Sapphire Bay, we spent the rest of the day barhopping, and we even made a stop at a casino where I had a chance to try out some of the slot machines. The other people playing found more luck than I did.
The rest of the week, we spent our days at the beach and went to restaurants at night.
On one special night, Chris’s uncle took us to a lavish Italian restaurant called Virgilio’s. The restaurant was filled with custom-made artwork by a local artist. My favorite piece was one of a cowboy playing his banjo alongside his horse.
The food at Virgilio’s was some of the best I have ever had in my life. Chris’s uncle ordered multiple appetizers for the table, and they just made my mouth water. He was kind enough to order me a Margherita pizza (my favorite pizza), and it was the best I have ever tasted. The cheese wasn’t runny, and it didn’t fall off the pizza at first bite. For my drink, I ordered a lemon drop martini that was the perfect combination of sweet and sour. The bartender even put sugar on the rim. After this meal, all we could do was go home and go to sleep. Our bellies would be full for the next 24 hours.
My favorite part of the trip was taking a ferry over to Saint John’s Island. The ferry workers packed the cars in so tight that it was a little claustrophobic.
The beach, Cinnamon Bay, though, more than made up for the ride over. It was gorgeous — one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen. Cinnamon Bay has calm, clear waters that you can see through.
This is where I probably got most of my tan! Cinnamon Bay beach was so calming that everyone in our party took a nap. Once we’d had enough time at the beach, we drove around the island. My lesson of the day: the shops on St. John are significantly more expensive than those on St. Thomas.
On our last day, Chris and I boarded the Snorkel Cat, a snorkeling boat located in Margaritaville. This boat took us to the hot snorkeling places located around St. Thomas. Our first stop was right in front of Little Saint James, or more recently known as Epstein’s Island, named for its owner, convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Approaching the island, I felt a little unsettled, knowing what Epstein had used the island for.
The snorkeling, however, was a key highlight of the trip. This is where we saw the spotted eagle ray. I was never fond of snorkeling, but this trip may have changed my mind.
Our captain and crew-served us up a great lunch that even had an open bar! This was a perfect way to end our adventurous trip.
Sarah Beth Battles is a correspondent for The Augusta Press. Reach her at producers@theaugustapress.com.
