The Next Trip. December, 1999 edition I was thinking about a trip to St. Croix in December of 1999, to be there during January of 2000. It is the prefect place to be for the y2k event. If power fails and the civilized world is plunged into chaos, the west coast of St. Croix will hardly know the difference. But since hurricane Lenny has done extensive damage to the island and electric power has been slow to return, I have made plans to spend that time in Aruba. It is not as good a place to be in case of a power failure, since Northside Valley has bottle gas (+ enough fruit on the trees to live for weeks), but it is much better than Wisconsin in January without power. A St. Croix trip would be much less expensive if there were a group to share the cost of a van. But for just me and my wife, the costs are about the same since we don't need a car in Aruba. Some people who have expressed interest in a St. Croix trip in the past the include. bamitche@execpc.com (BRIAN MITCHELL) "Meyers, Shirley" dietzsl@jmu.edu (Stacie Dietz) paul.borowski@ohr.gatech.edu Brian Mitchel is a diving instructor who has been there with me before. If you might be interested in a future St. Croix trip, contact me at: jeblair@facstaff.wisc.edu Here is some information from the last time I was there in January 97. CRUZAN DIVERS (now "Capt'n Dick's Scubawest") The resort course was $60. Tank rentals were $8 per day for a full tank, and weights may be $2.50 extra (but Tom Long has traditionally thrown it in. I talked to Steve Hess and he will check with Tom). Besides I now have about 35 lbs of lead at Northside Valley: this was enough for 3 divers on the last trip. A weekly tank rental rate was $40 per week which includes 7 air fills. Boat dives were $45 for one or $60 for a two tank dive trip. Packages wer 2 day (4 tanks) = $110 3 day (6 tanks) = $155 up to 5 day (10 tank) = $250 I suppose we will want to combine shore and boat. Think about it. The non-certified can do the resort course with CRUZAN DIVERS and then can do boat dives with them. If they don't want to go to Salt River, we may want to make a separate trip there. Anchor Dive Center charges $65 for a two tank boat dive, and this is the best dive site on the island (or in the Caribbean!) when the weather is good. From their shop, the dive sites are about a 5 minute trip, (or about a half hour from CRUZAN DIVERS.) The cost for housing and the van was $50 per day. In general, it is not a good idea to take a lot of cash (or other valuables). Money for incidentals is better as travellers checks. Be sure to bring sun lotion, a facemask, snorkel and fins. It is a good idea to pack a swim suit sun lotion and what you need for the first night in your carry on, just in case your luggage is delayed a day (it has happened!). Bring a flashlight; divers bring an underwater one for night dives. Sandals are useful, and bring a beach towel, soap and shampoo. I will have a blender, and powered drink mixes are useful. We should have fresh limes and sour oranges which go good with the local rum. There is usually good fresh fish in the local market. Enough food for the first night and a breakfast is a good idea. I have found powered milk handy. Even if there is fresh papaya (and with all the rain this fall there should be), it needs to ripen for a few days after bring picked. There are plenty of fresh limes growing on the estate. You may want to bring along extra food items, but the local stores are better stocked than they used to be. Dress in the islands is casual: shoes and long pants is considered "formal". The best time to be in the Caribbean is during the winter. I have been there as early as Christmas and as late as St. Patrick Day. Both are celebrated, as is Three Kings Day. Summers are nice in Wisconsin and late summer into fall is the rain and hurricane season in the islands. Watch the weather channel on TV at 50 minutes after the hour to see how the storms, tropical depressions and hurricanes are doing. The rainy weather usually clears up about Christmas making January is beautiful and green, February is nice. By late March it is sometimes rather dry. I will use this file to keep people up to date on the next trip details. ,,,,,,, ____________________ooo__(_O O_)__ooo_________________________ (_) Jim Blair (jeblair@facstaff.wisc.edu) University of Wisconsin, Madison "This message is brought to you using biodegradable binary bits and 100 % recycled bandwidth."