The "Creole or Bust" Story

It was an ordinary day. Carol and I have just returned from our adventure of the day on the island of St. Martin and are headed back to the pool at our villa to relax. Boy, do we need to relax! Today's adventure was a thrilling ride to Creole Rock to snorkel. It was a 2 1/2 hour guided tour which is called "The 3-Time Winner of the Prestigious Tour of the Year Award. Thrilling is a little weak to describe the tour. We rode what are called Rhino Boats which are small rubberized rafts that are equipped with very large Mercury outboard engine. You attempt to sit on and straddle the center console on the raft. I steered the Rhino and Carol held on to me. REALLY HELD ON! We were with three other couples who rode, skipped and splashed our way to Creole Rock. We were definitely the oldest couple, but probably the best skilled at staying on the seat and in the raft. You fly across the water at about 35 MPH, but it feels like 100 MPH. At times there is nothing but air between the bottom of the Rhino and the water. Lucky for us, the waves today were very slight. I can't imagine doing this when the waves are higher. We followed our guide Peter who has done this for a few years and at times seemed to be trying to lose us. We arrived at Creole and Peter tied all our Rhinos together and then fastened them to a buoy. Everyone in the water. We experienced some of the best snorkeling we have ever done on St. Martin. Colorful fish as well as colorful coral. Water was 30 to 40 meters deep most places. An hour later it was time to get back in the Rhino boats. Yea, right. They are extremely slippery and we are covered with suntan solution and have life vests which are also slippery. Luck for me I managed to pull myself up on the first try. Carol was struggling and I couldn't seem to help her. OK, here comes Peter across the tied up boats to assist. He has her face away from the Rhino, reaches under her arms and in one smooth motion lifts her out of the water onto the edge of the boat. She was so surprised at how quick it was that as she started to lift her legs to get in, she fell back into the water. OK, Peter. Again. This time he pulled her the whole way into the raft. On our return trip we hugged the shore to do some sightseeing. Much easier to stay on the seat when traveling at a slower speed. After returning we exited the boats and headed for the car. Our legs were extremely wobbly and sore from the experience. The Rhino Boats were probably one of the highlights of our trip, but I'm sure we will remember them way more tomorrow morning. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - top pix shows us with Peter our guide while bottom pix shows just how thrilled Carol was on the Rhino. Held the camera over my shoulder to take the pix.