Got up at 6:30 this morning in Coral Bay to take my son to Low Key Water Sports at 8:30. Much too early for me on vacation.

I've sailed all my life and spent a decade in the marine business working for a boat manufacturer. We sold tour and guide boats all over the world so I can tell a good dive operator from bad. So far I'm very impressed with Low Key (tomorrow he dives the Rhone, so I'll withhold final judgment until then). Today they went to Lovango and Congo Cay. My son said it was awesome. He said the reefs were in great shape.

While my son was diving the rest of my party decided to go do some relaxing on Maho. IMHO, Maho is one of the most gorgeous places on planet earth. I took a two hour nap on the sand, so I can't really tell you much other than Maho's a great place to take a nap. The rest of my group was happy. They saw a couple different stingrays and a very small nurse shark within 15 feet of the shore.

After we picked up my son in Cruz Bay we enjoyed lunch at Uncle Joe's Barbeque. I love Uncle Joes! They do barbeque as well as anybody in Seattle (which is decidely not the center of the bbq universe). My son and I had the combo and my wife and her cousin had the chicken - both dishes were awesome. The sides were great. They know how to do Red Beans and Rice. My wife loved the coleslaw, and the macaroni salad was different than any I've had. It had a slight tang to it, and was great.

Then we met Roberta, in the information shack on the corner next to Uncle Joes. We booked a sailing trip to Jost for tomorrow from her. I think Roberta knows everybody on the island and I recommend you call her if you want to book an excursion of snorkeling trip (Roberta 775-720-7598).

She also gave me Lisa Durgan's name and number (340-693-7060). She rents villas, primarily in the Chocolate Hole area.

Then it was off to Trunk to finish the day. Trunk is still postcard perfect. The beach is beautiful beyond description. We snorkeled counter-clockwise around the island. It was a rough day, with big seas and a little bit of wind. Waves were breaking on the outside of the cay and it wa slowing about 12 - 15 mph and starting to whitecap. There isn't a lot to see on the right hand side of the island, but the left hand side still has a lot of charm if you go slow and pay attention. I saw a tarpon flash by that was probably 4 to 5 feet long.

It would seem that somebody has been feeding the fish at Trunk, because we had yellow-tail jacks follow us for at least a half hour. They didn't mind getting really close, so it was a treat. We saw a really large puffer fish and a a couple of stingrays. There was also a pretty good population and variety of parrotfish. Other than that, there were the usual Caribbean suspects like a variety of brain corals, seafans, and damsel fish.

Big snorkeling tip. Look under things. You will find fish hiding under rocks, broken corals, and entertwined in elkhorn corals. It pays to snorkle slowly.

We jumped out of the water, gathered our stuff in haste and headed for the car to avoid the bugs.

John From Puyallup