St. George and the Crystal/Fantasy Caves

One of the best days so far!  My parents came by and sat in our room to hang out while we ate breakfast.  Loving room service and being able to ask for breakfast at a specific time.  I fill out the card at night and tell what time we would like breakfast and they bring it to us at that time.  Spoiled.  Very spoiled we are.

After we ate breakfast, my parents took Riley to see the dolphins.  She loved it!!  They got her a little stuffed animal dolphin that she named Dolphee.  She also got a little animal pet that she calls Chee-Chee.  She had been telling us that Chee-Chee needed a friend and was very excited to now have Dolphee as Chee-Chee’s friend.  They also spent time at the kid’s pool and played in their room.  Riley was fabulous for them and loved her day.

After we ate breakfast, Jeremy and I disembarked and set sail on a ferry for the other side of the island to the historic city of St. George.  The ferry ride was great.  We sat with Michael and Monica on the ride there.  As soon as we arrived in the city, we found the bus stop – two benches with a red pole and a cutaway in the street for the bus to stop.  One side of the street has a blue pole, the other a red pole and these designate bus stops.  Sometimes the poles are hidden by bushes.  Can be interesting trying to find the bus stops!

We got on the bus and took it to the Crystal/Fantasy Caves.  We had watched a short clip about them on tv at home and were excited to go see them.  The scenery was gorgeous.  There was a very large Banyan tree.  So amazing.  There were also some plants that look like swiss cheese – with natural holes in the large leaves.  The name of it is “beautiful monster.”  We saw large bamboo, extremely large palm trees that were 150 years old – they said we could stand and count the rings as each ring stands for a year.  There were some special cherry bushes.

The tour guide arrived and led us to the Crystal Caves first.  You enter through a small building and walk 72 stairs straight down into the caves.  There are stalagmites and stalactites everywhere.  The water is incredibly clear and makes everything appear closer and smaller than it is.  Much of what you see in the water is actually a reflection of the ceiling.  At one point, they turned off the lights so we could see the darkness.  Couldn’t even see your hand in front of your face.  We made our way across the pontoon platforms – floating walkways.  Was really cool.

Then we entered the Fantasy Caves.  The walkway down was 88 stairs – virtually straight down this extremely narrow walkway.  Incredibly steep.  Once we were down, there was a massively large area to look at.  Not as many stalactites hanging from the ceiling.  There were lots of ‘straws’ hanging – thin, thin round portions.  There were also crystal chandeliers which were composed of straws, popcorn areas, and stalactites.  Really amazing.  Inside of the water, there was a castle looking stalagmite and a pillar.  Both looked small, but the castle is 22 ft. tall and the pillar is 16-17 ft. tall.  When the stalactites and stalagmites meet, they form columns.  It was neat to see the dripping and to notice that it would take thousands of years for them to come together.

Our guide gave us a passage through the trees/bushes to take a shortcut to the buses.  Jeremy and I were incredibly hungry and ready to eat!  We caught the bus quickly and went back into St. George.

Once in St. George, we walked around to look at the shops.  Loved the cobblestone roads and the colorful shops.  We learned that the roofs are made of calcite or calcium carbonite – which helps keep rain out.  They do a limestone wash on the roofs so that rain that runs off of them can be used for drinking and in the homes.  The roofs are bright white and created to have natural gutters.

We found “The Carriage House” to eat lunch on the ocean.  Jeremy ordered fish and chips – I had chicken strips.  We sat under an umbrella at a small table right on the ocean and had a relaxing lunch.  Was $36.27 for the meal.  Well worth it!

Then we walked around a little bit more.  Jeremy got some strawberry ice cream from Mama Angie’s.  Was older than he would have liked it to taste.  We made our way to the ferry and it was incredibly hot.  A/C did not appear to be working.  So I went out on the landing out back and held on to the handle against the wall or on the side of the boat.  The amount of displaced water from the catamaran was crazy.  Great breeze and an awesome view of the island as we went around though.

We got back to the dockyards and walked around the Clocktower Mall.  Didn’t find anything worth buying.  Then went back on the ship and went to our room.  We hooked up with Riley and my parents.  They had dinner with Jon and Allison.  We went to the Venetian and got the best seats to eat dinner – right next to the windows at the back of the boat.  So as the boat disembarked, we were able to watch the ocean as we ate.

The waves have been quite rocky since we left.  Very windy.  And waves of 4-7.5 ft.  You feel like you’re moving all over the place.  Thinking I probably need more Dramamine so I don’t get sick again.

Riley watched some of “Finding Nemo” and we read for a little while.  She kept saying that she is a lover of Mommy and Daddy.  Jeremy told her that we are Riley lovers.  She fell asleep very easy and woke up very happy.