Please Register / Login to take part in discussions about the Virgin Islands.
We just got back from St John and St Thomas.
We stayed 5 nights on St John at Gallows Point Resort. The condos were beautiful and the location was great -- easy walking access to town, where there are a lot of nice restaurants and shops. The beaches were spectacular and the snorkeling was wonderful. We took the shuttle to the north end beaches ($3 a piece) and took the bus to the east side of the island ($1 a piece). We met a lot of other tourists who were very fun, friendly, and helpful. As far as the islanders go, though, I don't think I've ever met a more unfriendly group of people anywhere. We were very polite and friendly. We even said "Good Morning" and "Good Afternoon", as the travel guide suggest, instead of "Hey, how's it hangin'?" 😉 Personally, I think that whole "Good Morning/ Good Afternoon" suggestion is a scam. I think the people there are so unfriendly that the tourism bureau is trying to spin the situation into "if you're friendly, they're friendly" type of thing -- kind of like it's you're fault that they are rude to you and act like they can't understand you (unless of course there's something they want from you).
We also took a 2 hour island tour from a Mr. Regis, who emphatically pointed out all the evils of white people and the superiority of the black race -- how the black people who came to the area were all of "religion and royalty" and how the white people were all criminals... The tour felt like 4 hours, after which my husband "felt like slitting his wrists". I think that may have been Mr. Regis' goal. Anyway, I suggest passing on that, unless you're in the mood for a good hate monger... Or perhaps you can ask if you have the option of taking the tour with or without the racism spiel...
We also stayed at the Secret Cove Resort on St Thomas. This was a fabulous resort and the people who worked there were great. There were several iguanas hanging out on the beach there, which was definitely cool, too.
Anyway, my 2 cents for what it's worth...
Wow. This whole discussion has made me look forward to coming down even more than before.
Isolated experiences aside, I doubt that one could characterize any place on Earth as 'rude' or 'unfriendly,' including the Virgin Islands.
Coming from Cape Cod, where tourism creates an enormous population and irritation swell in the summers, I can say with almost 100% conviction that the rudeness or unfriendliness anyone experiences has much more to do with the annoyance that comes with the tourism territory than the actual character and integrity of the year-round inhabitants.
If Mr Regis was speaking about superiority of one race over another, he was displaying racist attributes.
However, if he only spoke about the history of the USVI...and especially of the time when St. John an Akwamu (Africans) ruled state, he was probably telling an accurate story of the criminalist history of the sugar trade, not to mention the descimination of the Indian tribles that inhabited the islands before the Europeans and Spanish arrived.
I'm sure, though, he forgot to mention that the Akwamu Africans, after the rebellion, used the other Africans (non-Akwamu) as their slaves.
But, I would image that the treatment of all of the VI slaves as outlined in the 1733 slave code is enough to harbor a good bit of resentment, to this day. The 1733 VI slave code was one of, if not THE most barbaric slave code in the world.
It is a good idea to understand the history of such a small island before taking off for a vacation in paradise. Such conversation, as with Mr. Regis, could actually become interesting (to watch him stammer) if you have a little knowledge on your side......and you probably would have shut him up. Maybe I'll look him up when I go and be sure to ask him for a taxi ride. 😉
