day 6: Lameshur Beach and the wild things

Lions and Tigers and bears OH MY…we’ll kind of! Today turned out to be animal discovery day for the kids!

We woke up to another beautiful (duh!) day on the island. The kids had been waiting to do some art and so we took the pencils, brushes, and paints outside to paint and be inspired by the landscape! What a treat to sit outside, listen to the waves, need sunscreen, and create to our heart's delight.












You can see more of the kids art here: LINK


After we finished up (used all the paper and paint up) our art, we headed out to the south east end of the island to Lameshur Beach. Lameshur beach like most beaches on the island are part of the Virgin Islands National Park. On the way through deeply rutted dirt and rock roads we spied quite a few Mongoose! Graham had his heart set on seeing this small furry animal, so he nearly jumped from the car while we were still moving to try and capture a closer look. He ran through the catcus and shrubbery with his camera in hand. Lucky for him, and unlucky for the rest of us, since he scared everything away, he got his photo!











At the beach Graham snorkeled with Eric while the girls and I played on the shore. Ella and Claire sat at the waves edge and let the small waves crash over them while screaming and laughing. We also built sand volcanoes and sand castles. I will never ever tire, no matter the age of my kids, of hanging out on the beach and playing together. My kind of bliss.















After the beach we headed into Cruz Bay to search for iguanas. After all no trip to the Caribbean would be complete with outseeing lizards and chickens. Of course, in no time we discovered a stream with trees that were coverd in large iguanas. The kids all took pictures and watched the creatures.





Finally we headed back to the remote location of our tent. On the way we happened on a spot where we could actually stop and see some of the wild donkeys. And, while these donkeys are truly wild they have certainly been tamed by people offering snacks from their car windows. The kids fed them our leftover lunch while I of course took some photos.













Back home we noticed that Ella had what at first I thought was sunburn. Upon inspection, we decided that it was more likely an allergic reaction. Just how many times are we going to have to call a doctor or travel to the pharmacy? She took a nice long, hot shower, in the solar shower and afterwards I smeared aloe from a plant I found outside on her rash. I think she’ll survive…hopefully even without a trip for medical advice. Beginning to wonder if we’ll have a day ailment free!









MORE photos from the day can been seen here~ LINK