It was fifteen years ago when I picked up a travel brochure in the company cafeteria for a Windjammer Barefoot Cruise in the Caribbean. From that moment it became one of the trips that I need to take... somehow... someday. Fifteen years brought many changes. With the addition two children and traveling companions the honeymoon suite mental image changed to a cabin for four. A 40th birthday seemed like the perfect excuse to turn these daydreams into reality.

  

On fairly short notice we were able to book one of the two ensign cabins on the SV Legacy out of Saint Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. Carrying 120 passengers, this ship is a departure from the larger cruise lines. No movie theater, no shows, and dressing for the captains dinner means putting on a clean tee shirt. The Legacy and the 5 other smaller ships in the Windjammer fleet go to smaller ports not usually visited by the large cruise ships. Our first day was spent snorkeling of the uninhabited Buck Island near St Croix.

  

The second brought a tour of Saint Johns, hiking and shopping in Cruz Bay. The sailing of the Legacy is always assisted by the ships large diesel engines for a somewhat more predictable itinerary. Most of the sailing is done at night so that you wake up in a new port of call. Many of the passengers sleep out on the deck under the stars.

  

The third day brought a morning cruise to Vieques off the shore of Puerto Rico and the very memorable experience of swimming with bioluminescent plankton. These tiny organisms collect energy from the Sun that is released as light when they are disturbed. This turns a night swim into a light show that cameras can/t capture and words can scarcely describe. An arm dipped into the water becomes a cascade of tiny points of light.

We woke the morning of the forth day in Tortola BVI. Many of the passengers boarded a ferry for a visit to the nearby island of Virgin Gorda and the popular beach *The Baths* that hides among the large boulders on this volcanic island.

  

Part of the beach is accessible only through a series of caves created by these large boulders. The path includes ladders, ducking under rocks, and pulling yourself over one of the larger rocks with a convenient rope hand rail.

  

The fifth and final day of the cruise was to the nearly uninhabited Norman Island. Norman island boasts only one building, a beach bar and restaurant. It is a popular spot for sail boats.

  

From there is was a sunset back to Saint Thomas and civilization. After a week barefoot with Rum Swizzles, snorkeling and swimming in the warm waters of the Caribbean, civilization seems very overrated.