Since our sailboat captain had described a location atop one of the small islands where we could look down on the reefs, and might even be able to spot a small shark, our first activity for the day was pretty much a no-brainer. Rick even woke up with a shark fin in his hair in anticipation!

Yvonka makes a tropical appearance. (Just for Matt!)

We grabbed a quick breakfast, then took a Boston Whaler to Eustatia island where we pulled the boat up on the beach and set off up the steep trail the wound around the island.

The rock at the peak is where we headed.

This is looking back down to where we came ashore.

A few minutes of hiking brought us to some very large boulders at the top of the island. The view was breathtaking. Blue green sea with coral reefs everywhere. We stayed for over an hour looking around at every angle.

That private island can be yours for just $31,000 per day.

The views were spectacular.

Everything was so blue.

Rick looks for sharks, Randy set up a camcorder.

Rick kept jumping from one rock to another, hoping for a glimpse of a shark, but they seemed to be hiding. We decided that the view was well worth the trip, even without any sharks. It was great to be up so high, all by ourselves.

There were a huge number of cacti up on top of the island. Click here to view even more.

The variety is amazing.

Afterwards we went around the island in the boat, looking at the reefs up close. Then back to the resort for lunch. We both decided that we're not going to eat for two weeks after we get home!

Our friend "Snorf", the cactus beast.

A quick nap, then down to the beach to relax, read and get some sun. We floated for a while on some lounge cushions, and Rick even gave sailboarding a try, even though there wasn't really enough wind for it, so he ended up in the trees to one side.

Off he goes, into the wild blue yonder, or at least into the trees.

On the way back to the room, Rick stopped to take pictures of a little lizard on a tree. I'm sure it was trying really hard to blend into the background, but someone just kept snapping pictures of him!

This lizard just wanted to be left alone.

Dinner was, once again, delicious (though Rick's lobster tried to escape his plate and managed to fling some rice across the table). Afterwards we walked down to the dock with two little tiny flashlights, looking for fish. We saw hundreds of little reflective red dots, which were shrimp eyes. Then we saw a four foot long moray eel which came out of a hole and went under the dock. So much wildlife around!

Then back to the room to watch a movie and sleep.