Hi Everyone,

I've posted before as "Dave from Boston" but after registering I guess I have a new board nickname. Over the past months and years I've really enjoyed this board for everyone's shared passion for the Virgin Islands, and my particular favorite, St. John. And, since we just returned from our fourth annual visit (let's hope we can keep that going!!) I thought I'd post my first-ever trip summary... hope that you all enjoy "listening" to my reflections on a favorite place and the activities that keep us coming back for more fun in the sun.

We were lucky enough to have a 10-day trip this year, and returned for the second year to a nice modest-sized cottage, perfect for two, high atop Ajax Mtn. where we enjoyed a SE view over Coral Bay and the Caribbean. The cottage, Creolla Villa, is right up by the ridgeline of Ajax, so it's nice and quiet and private.

Coming down from Boston, we're also lucky to have a direct flight on American, meaning that after the four hours of flying we arrive on STT and revert quickly to island mode, taxi-ing to Red Hook, ferry-ing to Cruz Bay, doing the "check in and get the jeep" thing, hitting the Starfish market on the way out of town... and we get to our temporary home well before dark. Let the fun begin!!

A note on some of our discussion's recurring themes: We do our shopping on STJ, and don't bother bringing lots of foods/meats/wine or beer from up north; and yes we always rent a jeep on island to ensure we can go just about anywhere, anytime that we desire. Both the food, and especially a jeep, could be cheaper but I'm also big on reducing hassles and I just find it easier to do these things on STJ. Besides, I also like to support the local economy.

Our big activities always include solid beaching, enough snorkeling to turn our fingers into shriveled prunes, a bit of hiking and exploring and a healthy dose of boat time, preferably sailing. Ironically, there's also a bunch of STJ activities that after four straight years we've still never gotten around to, including renting a dinghy, snorkeling the mangrove and exploring the SW corner of the island (Chocolate Hole, Rendezvous, Ditliff Point). But Hey: It's always nice to leave things to do the next time 🙂

So if you've read this far, I bet your wondering: so what the heck did you guys do??

We tend to spend the first day or so just relaxing, usually on a north shore beach. This year we started at Hawksnest on Sunday the 19th... this is one of my favorite beaches, just so beautiful with soft white sand, palm trees and that "to die for" water. Sigh... That particular Sunday was neat, because an extended family of West Indians was there having their own day of fun and relaxation. Seeing them made me realize that I think it was the first time I'd been to one of these beaches and it wasn't just "we tourists."

I'm already losing track of what we did on which day, but I think it was the next day, Monday, that we spent about the full day at Francis Bay. We had an awesome snorkel there along the northern stretch of coast... which is always a great spot, and this year didn't let us down. Actually, throughout our snorkels during the week, it seemed to me that we saw more "fry" fish (not the fish-n-chips variety, rather the schools of thousands of tiny little silver fish that swim in a unified group). It was so thick with fry this year! We were a week or two later visiting this year than in the past, so I don't know if there were more fish than before or if we were just seeing a different moment in the ecological cycle. In any event, it was astounding and beautiful... I love swimming through a huge school of fish, and with each movement of your hands there's a corresponding shift to the fish like a ballet or something.

At Francis, we didn't make it out to Whistling Cay (some of you might remember my posts of a few months ago, asking for good snorkeling suggestions). While we're pretty strong swimmers, we'd already been in the water for probably 90 minutes by the time we got out to where you'd swim from Mary's Point to the cay, and it looked long and unprotected. Next year, in a dingy!!

We had great snorkel moments at Haulover (both North and South), Waterlemon (of course... this is probably my favorite STJ snorkel spot) and out at Newfound Bay and Flanagan Rocks on a day sail. We saw many turtles, mostly Hawksbill but also a HUGE Green Turtle at Waterlemon. The Green was facinating: there were two large long fish attached to its shell.. I couldn't tell what they were even with diving down to get a better look. They almost appeared sharklike... I have no idea. Probably 3-4 feet long, with angular, streamlined faces. We saw tons of fish, our always-favorite trunk fish and related boxy and painted cousins. Several nurse sharks, the ever-present parrotfish, baracuda, grouper, and yes several of the most beautiful: angelfish.

One day we hiked to Reef Bay from the Lameshur Bay trail. I love spending a day down on that wild and lightly-traveled beach... with just a little imagination you can glean what STJ was like 50 or so years ago (i.e., sparsely populated, sparking Mr. Rockefeller's dream). It's also striking (to me) noticing the obvious signs of more distantly past human presence - plantations and the sugar mill - that are now reclaimed by the forest and nature. I don't really believe in ghosts, or at least have never had an experience to make me concerned about spirits and apparitions, but hiking through the Reef Bay valley comes close. You can't help but reflect on the lives lived there, the history of slavery and its compounded misery... I don't really know what it is but hiking there puts me in that sort of reflective mood. Many questions but few answers.

We of course had a lunch at Skinny's (great burger and Mahi sandwich), a dinner each at Chateau Bordeaux (always superb... this is probably our favorite STJ restaurant), Miss Lucy's (LOVE those conch fritters), and tried the Aqua Bistro (very good).

Had a great day sail on the Long Distance with Captain Rick and First Mate Robin. They were interesting, informed, funny and considerate. And, we had a BVI day on New Horizons II that was plenty of fun, even if, truth be told, that sort of trip isn't totally our cup of tea. We're pretty easily satisfied just by picking a beach or two and lolling away the hours with swims and snorkels, a cat nap and a long walk with sand between our toes 🙂

The few times we made it into Cruz Bay I suffered from the "on vacation and relaxed" reaction of: "Get me the heck out of here as fast as possible!!" It's pretty funny how, as someone who lives in downtown Boston and loves visiting New York and other major cities, I can get into tiny little Cruz Bay and decide it's too crowded and too much of a scene, and I just gotta flee!

We had a nice late-afternoon and evening at Caneel, first on a sunset sail followed by dinner at the Equator restaurant. Points to the door staff, who, despite not having our reservation before them, quickly found us a table on a busy night. Dinner there was very nice all the way around (great setting!), even if there was a table of buffoons next to us who'se way of enjoying STJ deviated from our own.

Overall, we probably did more straight ahead liming on this trip... quiet relaxed mornings overlooking our Coral Bay view; leisurely days at one beach or another, packing a picnic lunch and cold water to fulfill our mid-day meal needs; rum punches on our deck enjoying the sunset over STT. One night we awoke to three donkeys who visited our place to munch on leaves. They were so close to our heads (on the other side of the window) that we could clearly hear them chew. It was both endearing, but after 20 minutes or so, kinda like "Ok donkeys, time to move along!!"

So, just another GREAT visit to St. John. Really feel so fortunate to be able to return to such a lovely destination!