Hello from St John USVI, Geostv you are getting good advice. Wait till you get settled in to do any garden planning or planting. We moved from zone 5/6 to 10/11. I was so excited I could garden year around I ordered plants, had things dug up from my garden and sent and bought lot's and lot's of books. I have found my best source of gardening books is to go to a Barnes and Noble in Miami which has the closest zone to St John. Start a calendar diary of where the sun is and the average wind on each area of your new home. When you are closer to the equator the positon of the sun is dramatically different each time of year. I put an orchid garden in an area which I thought was shaded only to find a month later it got direct sun and burned all the plants. My garden workers which get $25.00 an hour laugh at me and tell me they will never be out of work as I am constantly moving everything.I started my garden in 1997 and it is a huge learning curve. I have learned that the plants and look I want and what will do well are not necessarily cooperative. Other factors I had never considered cows that roam the island and feast on Hibiscus or goats that can climb sheer rocks and eat anthing and everything in your garden. Our entire garden is fenced and I have a cattle guard across the entrance or there would be no garden. On a happpier note I now have a prized and beautiful garden I have just about every tropical plant and some that I have challenged to grow I can't live without such as roses.I have been very successful with Vanda orchids from Thailand heirloom roses from Vintage gardens and Antique Rose Emporium and Plumeria which other gardenweb members have shared with me.I will email you the titles of my favorite tropical gardening books. So many have great pictures but no real information.If I can share cuttings or seeds of anything let me know. I wish I could figure out how to post pictures on Gardenweb but I am technically challenged. I can email pictures with no problem. Congratulations on your move you will love gardening in the tropics.

I wrote the following for Wikipedia. Some editor cut most of it. I do not understand the Wikipedia editor policy. I hope this helps you understand the importance of the Lambs. Dana and Ginger Lamb were a couple who spent much of their lives during the 1030-40-50's on serious adventures and explorations primarily in the areas of Mexico and Central America. Two of their notable expeditions were the topic of books, Enchanted Vagabonds (a trip from California to Panama in an outrigger canoe of their own design), and Quest For The Lost City (two separate expeditions into the then-unexplored region on the Mexico/Guatemala border, preceded by a conditioning hike from San Diego to the Guatemala border). Both books include photos taken during the adventures, and are utterly delightful to read. They challenge many of our common ideas of the purposes and ways of living, and demonstrate the powerfully developed senses of independence, cooperation, and respect for others that were central to the lives of Ginger and Dana. I had the pleasure of meeting Ginger and Dana in the late 1940's or early 1950's when my father took me to a lecture by them. I remember them vividly, not large people, Dana about 5' 8", Ginger about 5' 6", both vibrantly healthy, intense, sun-browned, and wiry. Their lecture was exciting and enlightening, and shaped much of my future concept of reality. I read their book Quest For The Lost City then when I was between ten and twelve years old, and recently purchased and read it again. I found that reading it now had the same challenging and exciting qualities and effect on me as it did when I was a youth. One of the messages that comes through very clearly is the devastating result of the population explosion that has occurred since the 1950's. Relatively few people know that since the mid 1050's, the Earth's human population has more than tripled. This has caused the loss of the nature and open spaces that were the challenge and treasure of the lives of Ginger and Dana. Another of many lessons is their description of the basic qualities of education and proper child rearing. These and other lessons available through reading the books of Ginger and Dana make the books essential for a true education. Especially now, when young people all over the world simply can not experience the incredible beauty of unaltered nature, this statement is literally true. I would be delighted if persons who know more of the lives of Ginger and Dana would add more information to this article. I am reasonably certain that they have passed on by now, but their lives and their example of humanity at its best can serve the world well if we make the effort to remember and honor them.

Thanks for all the info! We will have to do some additional planning before we leave - I will definitely read the blogs. Annie, I remember when Ashley went to CR - I probably will look for some wooden items to buy. I already have a large woven shopping bag that friend from Costa Rica gave me, but I do not expect to find the shopping as interesting as Guatemala or Mexico, which have more folk art. I also like Guanabana - especially the juice and the ice cream. I have a similar tree, Cherimoya, which is just now having ripe fruit. I actually like the Cherimoya better than Guanabana, but the flavor is similar. Cherimoya is sweeter. So far, the best coffee I've had was on Maui and in Antigua, Guatemala, but what I had in Cordoba, Mexico was also very good. It's always better where they actually grow it, and so I will be having some coffee there, even though I do not normally drink it. It looks like the meals will be like what I had in Guatemala and Belize, although in Belize there was a Caribbean Creole flair. Someone told me that Costa Rican food is similar to Cuban, and I've been to quite a few Cuban restaurants here. Kevin doesn't like them as much as I do, but they do tend to serve black beans and rice with every meal. There is a lot more variety to Mexican food, which varies greatly from region to region. I understand that the population in CR is mostly of European descent (except on the Caribbean coast), and so that may make the food a bit more bland. As I said before, I'm not going for the food, but I do have to eat while I'm there. I will definitely shop for unusual fruit and see what I find. Now I'm wondering what they put in their black beans! Lars

collenoz....Australia, Pixie Pinnacle, is my favorite dive site! Ideally....I'd like to MOVE to Australia. Natliewhatley....Provo has fabulous hotels AND restaurants! Been to Turks & Caicos twice. Chaka Khan was loudly playing on the beach, last time I was there. Honestly Glenda...if he's REALLY into diving he'd be doing live aboards. Two boat dives a day is NOT enough to travel all THAT way. We get in five dives a day on a yacht.