USVI-On-Line

Has anyone noticed the people sitting under the palm tree all day on the Spice Cam view??? I am guessing they are selling something (?shells?) on a blanket in the shade??

Also, how much rain did you all get over the last week?

Steve

They are selling shells.

We estimate that we got more than 4 inches of rain since we got here a week ago Friday. We head home tomorrow and the sun was shining today.

We'll just have to come back another time and get a piece of the sun.

JIM

There are two people sitting their crafting. One guy is doing paintings on conch shells, quite lovely! The other is carving coconuts and weaving hats and baskets. This guy's work is amazing! It's a treat to see him work. He is a very nice guy. I walk on the beach to get to my office, back and forth more than a dozen times a day, so I get to see a lot of them. I'm not sure what they charge for their pieces, but they are worth a look if you are down by the ferry dock.

But you can't bring shells home, right? And you can't bring the woven palm things from STT, so I'm wondering if the coconut things are legal to bring home?
It's funny....I saw them too, and wondered what they were doing.

That is Daniel painting the shells. He is really good at it. He did one for me and Nicolle on our first trip down, but we left it in our room at Lavender because we thought we couldn't bring it home.

I do not know the other guys name. He does the hats. New to see him this year so I think he may be new to the island, but I could be wrong.

They are usually there every day.

I bought a palm frond basket from that guy and I (shhhhh) mailed it home to myself before I left the island. Shhhhh!

Whats with all this talk about not bringing home shells and palm leaves? This is the first I've heard of it. I always have some sea shells in my bag when I fly back to NY from STT.

We brought a piece of washed up coral. Even set off the TSA x-ray for hand search. They never said anything.

It is illegal to collect shells from any USVI beach. They can be confiscated at the airport. Additionally it is prohibited to collect plants, animals (dead or alive) or inanimate objects from USVINP. Also--don't touch the coral and don't feed the fish.

Take nothing but photos and memories. Leave nothing but footprints.

I don't know about these particular crafters, but some of the crafters use imported shells so that you can bring them home. The latest issue of St. John magazine has an article about a woman who makes birdhouses from shells using all imported products.

At Caneel Bay, they leave you a different shell on your pillow every night, but they usually have sticker on it that says "product of Phillipines." Even if it does not have a sticker, they are always shells that are obviously not from the USVI. I bring the Caneel shells home but not any shells I find on the beaches.