Arrived to St. Thomas, USVI safely. Three plus months in the planing, while working and catching up from time off work, we were off! October 30th was a scramble to the end, with a 40 minute nap before setting out. Having only minimal sleep in 72 hours was daunting, but we prevailed...Luke (Tracy's son) was our transport to MSP airport. Not only was he on time,,. Bailey (Luke's Girlfriend), and he had Lei's for our sendoff! Awesome work in my opinion.
We set off at 0528, on time to Atlanta. After a short lay-over, we were on our way to STT. Neither of us truly slept. Mostly a combo of exhausted and excited. Balancing each others mood and outlook was not difficult at all!
Arrived on time at Cyril King Airport. Landing was perfect, except by appearances, we would land in water. Touchdown was a 5 count after seeing the tarmac. Yikes!
Due to NOT having our rental vehicle ready, we had an awesome surprise of a local (Our condo manager, Leah), greeting us with a sign, with our names! It felt kind of 'rock-star' in my opinion. She loaned is a kick-ass Jeep Sahara '14 for the days until we got our rental!
Leah gave us much in the way of being local and not a tourist. Great way to start out! Did I mention we were tired yet? I took driver and Tracy was definitively the co-pilot extraordinaire. We now had to get from Charlotte Amalie to Red Hook. Unbeknownst to me, ALL roads are up OR down. no in-between. I knew I would be driving on the Left, but sitting on the Left made it a little daunting. Tracy was so awesome! We laughed hard at the mistakes and noted future "albatrosses" en-route.
We stopped at a tourist grocery to get what we thought we needed, and were pretty much molested on cost. It was what it was. Arrived at our apartment in Sapphire Village intact and ready to haul our stuff in...let's say island clean is not Tracy or my clean. We settled in and I literally took the first "nap" I've taken in over a decade. It lasted 3 hours. Tracy 'nested'. Upon waking I was wired and hungry. Went to town for immediate type food. Parked by Taco Hell, literally. It smelled great, but decided on a Calzone from the pizza place. I assumed it would feed me, but had no clue it was a pizza folded in half! It was delicious. Tracy finally got hungry after seeing the cheese! Part of the uniqueness was indeed the cheese. Unsure if it may have been goat, but the texture was heavenly.
Then there was sleep.
Beautiful start TJ! I've always wanted to create a blog and now I know who to go to for help. Look forward to many entries as you start your adventure. Good luck at work tomorrow. Love and hugs from us!
ReplyDeleteThanks Kate,
DeleteNot going to be literary worthy, but it's fun! Love and miss you both!
Wonderful to ready you new post. Keep Calm and . . . well, you know. Love you much!
ReplyDeleteThat should be wonderful to read .. . whew!
ReplyDeleteUnless I am mistaken, your Tracy-loving reptile is not an iguana but rather a crested anole.
ReplyDeleteCrested anoles are native to neo-tropical areas, such as Puerto Rico (including the islands of Vieques, Culebra) and islands in the Caribbean (Anegada, Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Jost Van Dyke, St. John, and St. Thomas). They are also considered to be an introduced species in Florida, the Dominican Republic, and Costa Rica. It is uncertain exactly when this species was introduced into these areas, although there is some consensus that the crested anole was introduced into La Romana (Dominican Republic) before 1920.
This is a perching species that is common in arboreal habitats. Males especially will use the trunks of trees as a way of displaying to other animals. Because they tend to remain close to the ground, they have been called a trunk-ground species. They may also perch on walls and fences, which are usually in more open areas and give a better vantage point for spotting prey or being seen by intruders in their territory. For this reason, crested anoles are commonly found in urban and suburban areas.
Crested anoles are known to reach lengths of 10 to 20.5 cm (4 to 8 in). Because this species has such a long tail, the SVL (snout-vent length) is usually just 7.5 cm for males and 5.7 cm for females. Females are much smaller than males. Hatchlings of this species are about 5.08 cm (2 in). Males can can vary from a grayish to a light brown color, and may have a crest on their tails. Males also have a dewlap, a flap of skin located under the neck that is able to be extended for use in communication. Dewlaps vary in color from yellow to red and may be lighter or darker depending on habitat moisture conditions. Females are drab and colored similarly to the ground, with a dark-bordered light stripe on their backs. Young males also have this dorsal stripe until they reach maturity. Females lack a tail crest and dewlap. This species has the ability to change color depending on its environment, lighting or mood.
Little is known about the specific development of crested anoles. Males tend to grow faster than females in most Anolis species. As individuals reach adulthood, this growth rate difference leads to sexual dimorphism. As juveniles, male crested anoles resemble females and their dewlap is not developed. This structure, and the dorsal crest, develops in males over time.
Crested anoles are diurnal lizards that use perching as a means of warding off other males, attracting females, and foraging for foods such as insects, fruit, frogs, and even other lizards. Generally, crested anoles perch parallel to the tree with their head facing the ground. Although, they can climb higher than 3m, they tend to prefer areas where sunlight is more plentiful, such as fence posts, tree trunks, or the walls of buildings. Males will climb to the top of the trees at night to sleep, while females and younger males stay lower
This species is extremely territorial. It uses threat displays that resemble pushups and extensions of the dewlap. Head-bobbing is also common in these displays. In most cases the male will make these threat displays from a perching position in their territory. This will alert any other males in the area of their ownership of that territory. These behaviors are also very similar to mating and anti-predator displays. If these displays fail to chase away other males, they will typically fight with each other over territories and access to females.
It is not surprising that Ritz crackers were ignored because crested anoles are primarily insectivores, eating prey that range in size from ants to large roaches. They also feed on small fruits—maybe he/she would prefer grapes?-- frogs, and even other lizards (including the young of their own species—okay, yuck!). Crested anoles are foragers and typically scan their environment for food from a perching position on the trunks of trees or the sides of buildings.
ReplyDeleteIn Puerto Rico, crested anoles are primarily eaten by birds, mongoosex, and snakes, including Puerto Rican racers. However, coqui frogs and other lizards have also been known to eat anoles in Puerto Rico. In the Lesser Antilles (St. John, Virgin Gorda, Jost Van Dyke, Tortola, and St. Thomas), American kestrels and early-eyed thrashers are the most important bird predators of anoles.
Keep your post coming! Your description of island life is wonderful!!
ReplyDeleteLove you two!!