From: paul.graveline%travel@wugate.wustl.edu (Paul Graveline) 
Newsgroups: soc.culture.caribbean
Subject: CARIBBEAN TRAVEL ROUNDUP4
Date: 1 Sep 92 13:19:00 GMT
Distribution: world
Organization: Travel Online, St. Louis, MO
Reply-To: paul.graveline%travel@wugate.wustl.edu (Paul Graveline) 

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topography.  Near  the  shore, set a stern anchor and make sure both  
are  set  well.  We're awfully glad that our Skip, Dave, insisted on  
setting  both  as evening brought squally winds and rain that didn't  
abate  'till  dawn.  We had to have an anchor watch all night as the  
old  ship  was  yawing and groaning pretty good, and the neighboring  
yacht  dragged  hers  to  within  a few feet of shore, had to cut it  
loose,  and  spent  the rest of the night trying to set anchor again  
(to  no  avail).  Not  too  many  people  slept that night in Little  
Harbor, Peter Island.  
 
Sandy  Cay  is  a  small  uninhabited island just off Jost Van Dyke.  
Reminds  one  of  Gilligan's Island's paradisiacal setting with good  
snorkeling  and great picture potential. No good place for overnight  
anchoring.  
 
Pelican  Island  /  The  Indians,  south  of Tortola are a great day  
trip.  Moorings  are  available, no overnight use. They fill up fast  
early  in  the day. Best snorkeling we did. It has great topography,  
dramatic  stone  formations.  Good photo opportunity if you have the  
right mooring. 
 
These  were  the  highlights of our trip. There are undoubtedly many  
others.  I  recommend  provisioning yourself. We heard very few good  
things  about charter provisioning, and with a little effort you can  
eat  like  a king and save some money. We brought nonperishables/non  
breakables  with  us,  with each couple bringing a box of food, etc.  
from  home. We then bought the food, booze, ice, etc. we needed at a  
supermarket  down  there.  The  fish  looked  iffy,  and  the  meat,  
vegetables,  fruit, etc. are not as good as in stores at home. Aside  
from  food,  you  will  undoubtedly  overpack.  You  won't need many  
formal,  cool  weather  clothes.  You'll  spend  most of the week in  
shorts  and T shirts. Even in the restaurants it's very casual. Even  
women  shouldn't  need  more than a fair sized dufflebag/suitcase of  
clothes at most.  
 
Regarding  music:  Jimmy  Buffett  is  mandatory, Top Gun soundtrack  
while  the  rail is buried is essential and inspiring, Classical for  
breakfast  is  perfect,  and  be  sure  to  catch  The Roots and The  
Latitude  Stars  at  Sydney's  on  Jost  Van  Dyke  and  Pusser's on  
Leverick  Bay,  Virgin  Gorda, respectively! We're not sure what the  
islanders thought of the line dancers.  
 
You  can't  help  but  have a good time doing this. Knock yourselves  
out, and call me if you need a tourguide. 
 
Cozumel by Donna Balmat 
----------------------- 
My  trip  to  Cozumel  was great. It was a different experience this  
trip  because  I was there alone for a few days. This is a great way  
to  meet  people.  I  started  the  trip  with  my  sister  and  her  
boyfriend.  We stayed at Hotel Mara, and the people that work at the  
hotel  remembered  me from my last trip, so they really took care of  
me.  I had called the hotel directly to make my reservation (the day  
before  we  left for the island) and they gave us a 20% discount for  
this.  
 
This  was  my  first time to visit Cozumel in July. This is the time  
that  Mexican children are out of school. It makes for a nice change  
to  see  more  Mexicans than Americans, even at Carlos and Charlies.  
The  first  day  had  great  weather,  sunny  and  much  cooler than  
Houston.  We snorkeled by the hotel, which in my opinion has some of  
the  best  snorkeling  around.  Then  we went to Las Palmeras for an  
early  dinner.  We  were pretty well worn out from getting ready for  
vacation  the  night  before  and  the  whole  day of snorkeling and  
sunning.  I  believe that was one of the only nights that I actually  
got to bed early.  
 
The  next  day  was  not great weather, but it didn't rain on us. We  
rented  a  convertible  VW bug. It was more fun than renting a jeep.  
We  drove  around the island, which is a must do for anyone going to  
Cozumel.  It is beautiful and very quiet. This evening we went to La  
Mission  for dinner and it was excellent as usual. They even gave us  
all  a  free shot of tequila. That was the start of a great evening.  
We  then  went to Joe's Lobster Pub as recommended by Leonardo at La  
Mission.  They have great live music. As soon as we walked in we met  
an  American  family  staying  the  summer  in a cute house in town.  
(This  is  another  great alternative to a hotel on the beach. It is  
very  reasonably  priced and the longer you can rent a house for the  
cheaper  it  is.)  Well  we  closed  this  place up as we drank more  
tequila  and had a great time. We then went to Scaramouche, which is  
a  fancy  club  that  stays open all night. Little did I know that I  
had  been  there  all  night,  until I was driving back to the hotel  
while  the  sun was coming up. What the hey! I never get to do crazy  
things at home.  
 
The  next  day  was  more  snorkeling  and  sun.  A  great  time  to  
snorkeling  is  at sunset. The colors are wonderful and the fish are  
feeding.  There are hundreds of them at this time. We went to Carlos  
and  Charlies  after  the  fiesta  in  town on Sunday night with the  
family  we  met  the  night before. This was a lot of fun. It's very  
hot  and  sweaty,  especially  if you're dancing and we met a lot of  
great  people  here;a  honeymoon  couple  from Mexico City, a couple  
from  right  down  the  street  from  where I live in Houston, and a  
couple  of  really  good  looking  guys from Ixtapa. This is not the  
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