Norman Island is said to have been the inspiration for the book Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson.  No one is sure, but the caves there would make excellent hiding for pirate treasure.

  There are 3 different caves you can swim into, and the snorkeling in the area is fun, the coral is not spectacular, but there are usually plenty of fish.  It can get crowded here though.  We made sure we picked a time when the cruise ship wasn’t in the area.  The walls inside the cave are beautiful; you can see lots of red and purples in the rocks.  It can be a bit spooky snorkeling into the dark cave, but we have done this so many times that I have gotten used to it.  The first time I was very intimidated!!!!

Dan, Tessa and I head into one cave, Tristan opts to stay outside.  We are following a group of about 6 people.  The cave goes about 40 to 50 feet back, and gets darker and darker as you head in. 

    The sides of the walls are red and purple, with crabs crawling across them, and sometimes if you look up, you can spot a bat or two, hanging from the rocks. Dan and Tessa are ahead of me, right behind the other snorklers, and I am trying to catch up.  The current is pretty strong here; you really don’t have to swim, just go along for the ride as the current pushes you deeper and deeper into the cave.  Dan sees me lagging behind and motions for me to catch up.  I finally meet up with them, and start to relax and get the camera ready for some photographs inside the cave.  No such luck.  The pack in front of us have reached the end of the cave and have now turned around in mass and are trying to squeeze past me through the narrow opening.  It’s like a stampede that I am helpless to get out of the way.  It’s the Who concert all over again!  Tessa is swept past me, and I try to grab her, but she is caught up in the migrating herd, and I am hit with passing flippers for my troubles.   I yell for Dan to watch out for her and then they disappear in the group.  I struggle after them.  Then the last wave of snorklers gets me and soon I am hustled out of the cave with the masses.  Dan and Tessa are with Tristan waiting for me.  It seems Tristan was definitely the smart one here for staying out of the cave.  So much for a relaxing snorkel! 

    Unfortunately, this is high season here in the Virgin Islands and this is what we will encounter everywhere!  That night, the harbor at Norman Island is filled to capacity with all kinds of boats as now the Puerto Ricans have started to come over for the Easter holiday.  We visited Pirate Bight Pub for lunch.  Several years ago, when we were here, it was Billy Bones and was really a fun place.  Now it is Pirates Bight, and the lunch we ate there was awful and the service slow.  But the kids had fun playing “life size” Jenga and “Connect 4”.