My trip to the Caribbean
A travel report

U.S. Virgin Islands

Day 17 - "While I was taking a picture of a license plate, a donkey came near me, first only watching, then trying to smell my bag. Later I found that donkeys are very common in the island. Their droppings too."

I took the 9:30 am ferry from West End, Tortola, to Cruz Bay, St John. The day was very sunny - what a contrast with the previous day! The trip takes only 20 min and many islands can be seen along the way. I went through immigration and customs, then to my hotel, The Raintree Inn, a 5 min walk from there. The room was not ready yet, so I left my luggage in the office and went to the Wharfside Village, a small shopping center, where I rented a snorkeling gear. I found no place to check my watch's battery and so I bought a new one, not very expensive and supposed to be water resistant up to 200 ft.

In the National Park's Visitor Center I got some leaflets and a map. Virgin Islands National Park occupies about 75% of the island and it was celebrating its 40th anniversary that day. Most of the beaches belong to the park, though there are many private properties inside the park. I saw a video and displays about the park and made some questions to the helpful staff.

Back to the hotel, my room was ready. It's a non-smoking hotel all made of wood, conveniently located (though the town is very small and you can get anywhere quickly by walking). Rooms have air conditioning and ceiling fans. Very pleasant. It was time to go see the beach, but which one? I decided for Hawksnest Bay. I checked the taxi tariffs in advance, they are fixed in the USVI, so you always know how much you are going to pay.

Hawksnest Bay is a very beautiful beach of fine sand, though narrow like most of the beaches I saw in the Virgin Islands. Very empty and quiet too. The sea was still a bit rough for snorkeling, but visibility was otherwise reasonable. Many fishes and corals. Swimming was good too. The sun goes down very early, though, and at 4:30 I was back to town.

I went for a walk to choose a place for dinner. Cruz Bay has many interesting restaurants, specially for seafood lovers - which is not my case. My option for this first night was Italian food at Cafe Roma, where I had a delicious "spaghetti alla carbonara". I saw their pizzas, looked very good, but they were too big for me.

Day 18 - "A woman who was walking along the beach asked me 'Haven't the other tourists discovered this wonderful place?' Apparently no."

I woke up at 7 am, but I should have woken up earlier. The day was wonderfully sunny! I had breaksfast at Joe's Diner - a bagel with cream cheese, a muffin and juice.

My destination that morning was Leinster Bay, which is reached through a trail that starts on the parking lot of Annaberg ruins. It took me less then the 30 min they said it would take and I was there by about 9:30 am. A group of joggers passed me on the way, and from the beach they went to their boat anchored on the bay. The beach was thus empty, only later arrived a couple. I went snorkeling and it was just great!

Crystal clear calm waters - a snorkeler's paradise! First at the eastern portion of the bay, an area called Watermelon Bay. Then I swam towards Watermelon Cay, a small island off the bay. The sea was rougher there, but I had no problem going around the island. I saw the same kind of fish I had seen before, only bigger. Corals were also bigger. I even saw a small barracuda! Schools of blue tangs and yellowtail snappers. Plus parrotfish, starfish, groupers, squirrelfish, bar jacks, butterfly fish, angelfish, flounders and so many others, I can't even remember all their names.

Back to the bay, I explored a bit more the corals, hoping to see something different like lobsters or seahorses, but I wasn't that lucky. This was the best snorkeling in the trip. Most of my best underwater photos were taken there and can be seen in the Snorkeling page.

After resting on the beach - I had been in the water for over two hours - I started my way back the trail and walked towards Francis Bay. As I had been told by a ranger, this is probably the only flat road in the island! So walking was easy, in spite of the hot sun. On the way I saw Mary Creek, a lovely bay that is also part of Leinster Bay. An extremely narrow beach of very shallow waters. I was offered a hike by a truck driver, Hamilton, who dropped me off at Francis Bay parking lot, saving me a good walk on an unpaved road. I arrived there at 1:30 pm.

Francis Bay is a gorgeous beach, a bit wider than the others. It was really surprising that such a gem was so empty, since unlike Leinster Bay, one can get there by car. It seemed to me that most of the tourists simply go to the more famous Trunk Bay and don't venture elsewhere. Poor ones. They probably lost the best of St John.

The water was also calm, though not as clear as Leinster Bay, so snorkeling wasn't as good as in the morning, though still very good. Nothing new regarding fishes though. Many pelicans in the area, near the beach or on the rocks along the northern edge, where I went snorkeling. Swimming afterwards was delicious. A great day, but it was time to go back. Taxis seldom go to Francis Bay and I would have to walk back to the main paved road to get one. But an American in a small jeep asked me if I wanted a lift, he was also going to Cruz Bay, where his daughter lives. It was a fun ride, he was having problem handling automatic gears in the winding steep roads and he was probably causing a traffic jam behind us! He took the right lane to drop me off - but there they drive on the left!! What a thrill!

I had an icecream on my way back to the hotel. That night I had a chicken fried steak at JJ's, by a park in front of the docks.

Day 19 - "My eyes must have sparkled when the waitress brought me that wonder. Each bite was a delight. Divine. I couldn't have left the island without trying this!"

I had breakfast at Joe's Diner again, but had a milk shake instead of juice this time. At the Visitor Center I was told the sea wouldn't be so good today, because a cold front was coming. First stop, Cinnamon Bay. Nice beach, long for the island's standards. It has a camping, restaurant, theater and shops. There's a place to rent snorkeling gear, bodyboards and windsurfboards. They have a locker room, so I left my valuables there before going to the beach. The day was beautiful, but the sea wasn't really good and visibility was poor, anyway I went snorkeling for a while. I tried two different spots, but it wasn't good, so I laid on the beach to read, going back to the water from time to time to swim. More people here than I had seen in other beaches, probably most of them staying at the campground.

At about midday I arrived at Trunk Bay, the most famous beach of St John. Part of this popularity is due to its underwater trail, which is very interesting for first time snorkelers, explaining some things about corals and reef fish. The beach has many facilities: snack bar, shop, showers and lockers. Many people who stay at St Thomas go spend the day in Trunk Bay. For what I saw of St Thomas, they should do the opposite...

After doing the underwater trail, I snorkeled a bit at one side of the small island in front of the beach. I had to be careful because the sea kept on forcing me onto the corals. At 1 pm I went to the lifeguard stand, where a ranger would meet those interested in a guided snorkeling. Normally they take people to the rocks on the southern edge of the beach, but the ranger, Mildred I think, said she wouldn't take us there because the sea was too rough. Instead, she took us to the same place I had snorkeled before. Not what I had expected, but it wasn't bad anyway, because she explained things and named many of the fishes we saw, like the trumpetfish, whose name I didn't know.

It was difficult to find a place to spread my beach towel! I finished reading a book while I was there. It was funny to observe a japanese family. While the husband went to the water with the kid, the wife stayed under the shade of a tree, dressed in jeans and t-shirt, recording with her videocamera how everyone else was having fun at the beach... Weird!

When I left at 4 pm, lots of taxis waited for the tourists, most leaving at that time. One of the girls in mine asked the driver to stop in one of the pullouts for a picture and he actually stopped in two, one overlooking Trunk Bay, the other Caneel Bay. Everybody in the taxi tooks pictures.

Attracted by a dessert called hot fudge brownie, I had dinner at The Lime Inn, a very nice restaurant. One of their specials that night was the chicken breast on a tortilla, with salad, beans and cream cheese on top. My eyes were probably sparkling when the waitress brought me the dessert: a hot big slice of brownie topped with three scoops of vanilla icrecream and chocolate sauce. Heaven!! A group of Germans in the table next to mine looked enviously and asked how was it called. This should be listed as one of the island's top attractions! :-)

Day 20 - "If laziness could be expressed in an image, it would be me ready to sleep, looking at the packing that waits to be done. Forget it, I will leave it for tomorrow morning..."

Last day, another beautiful day. I bought a big tuna salad sub at Joe's Diner, having half of it there and leaving the other half for later. I went to the Visitor Center for some advice, since the sea wasn't supposed to be much better. I had thought of going to Mary Creek, but the ranger didn't know anything about snorkeling there and suggested me Hawksnest Bay.

Hawksnest Bay was in fact better than in the first day. I tried to explore some new areas. First I tried to reach another beach north of it, but visibility was very bad there, with waves crashing on the rocks, I thought it wiser not to insist. Then I decided to try another group of corals more in the middle of the beach and it was reasonably good. I could go very far in the sea and, although I didn't see anything new, I opted to observe some of the fishes interacting with the corals. For many minutes I tried to photograph a squirrelfish, but it didn't leave the burrow in the coral where it was hiding. It was fun to keep quiet observing the fishes, being ignored by them at some point, and share with them the fun of being dragged by the waves...

During a break in my snorkeling, I met Rocky, a guy from Florida. He told me that his wife, who died this year, loved the Virgin Islands and they even got married there. This time he returned with his brother and sister-in-law. It was noticeable that the place brought him many memories.

Back to town about noon, I returned the snorkeling gear and got ready for my last adventure: hike Lind Point Trail to reach Honeymoon Beach. I am glad I had with me a guide I got at St John's home page, including a map, because the trail is not very well marked and sometimes I got to bifurcations where I wouldn't know which side to go. The trail starts among shrubs and was very muddy, in spite of all the sun of the previous days. I had to be careful also with donkey droppings. The Lind Point Overlook offers a great view of Cruz Bay. From there the vegetation turns into woods and the trail was even muddier. There is a fork leading down to Salomon Bay, but it was very muddy and my guide said the beach and the view were very similar to that of Honeymoon, so I went ahead.

I reached Honeymoon Beach after a 50 min walk. What a beautiful place! The sea had all shades of blue, the sand was fine and in spite of the boats anchored nearby, the beach was almost empty. I spent the afternoon there, walking, swimming and sunbathing. I couldn't have expected a more perfect place to end this trip.

Honeymoon is close to Caneel Bay and is part of the Caneel Bay Resort. I thought the hotel was much farther, but in 10 min I got there. It is not the public beach of Caneel Bay, though, and maybe this explains why in order to get there one should hike and not go through the hotel. So I arrived sooner than I had imagined back to town. I bought a t-shirt for me and postcards, after "window shopping" at Mongoose Junction.

Dinner was at the Fishtrap, my hotel's restaurant. I had the "Vegetarian Primavera" pasta, with chopped chicken, very good. Their garlic bread was also delicious. I wrote my last postcards that night, while listening to the reggae party in a bar nearby.

Day 21 - "St Thomas is completely different from St John, more urbanized and looking very dull. Not even the beaches I saw seemed attractive. It's amazing to think that so many people come here in the cruise ships and maybe many don't even know what they are missing in unforgettable St John."

Breakfast this time was at the Barracuda Bistro, in the Wharfside Village. I couldn't imagine their blueberry pancakes were so big, so I ordered a bagel too. I had really too much. I checked out in time for the 9 am ferry to Red Hook, St Thomas. It was another sunny day, I was very lucky in St John. The crossing takes about 15 min and I shared a taxi to the airport. My flight was only in the afternoon, but I did an early check in, so I could go shopping in Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas' main town and a busy commercial area.

I left my underwater cameras for developing while I looked for a new camera. Only two shops there sell cameras - most of the shops sell jewelry and perfums - and I felt Boolchand's looked more trustworthy, so I bought mine there. Then I spent some time looking at the jewels, but I really don't like shop assistants bugging me, specially when I know that I am not buying anything. The streets were crowded, probably mostly with people staying at the huge cruise ships I saw on the port. I went back to Blazing Photo to get my pictures and bought an album for them. I must say I didn't like their work, some photos had stains and some negatives had fingerprints.

Back to the airport, the checked luggage was waiting for me to go through customs before being taken to the plane. This procedure is because the U.S. Virgin Islands are a free port. Beside me on another of those strange small planes in the flight to San Juan, an Argentinian who lives in New York. She often travels to Puerto Rico and St Thomas to visit customers. She had never had time to tour the islands though. Pity.

The flight from San Juan to Miami was delayed because the plane had an unpredicted stop at Bermuda. Strange... Before the delay I had enough time to arrive in Miami and go to Varig's counter, but then I started to worry, since the flight was likely to be overbooked and arriving late at the check in could be a problem. It took ages for my luggage to arrive and then I had to run through the airport, but everything went ok. I even had time to stop at the newsstand to buy magazines and books before my night flight back home.

My mind was full of memories and my body a tan I hadn't had in years... First time in the Caribbean, hopefully not the last!

My trip to the Caribbean
The report Turks & Caicos British Virgin Islands U.S. Virgin Islands	The info Snorkeling Geography Related sites

text and photos by Maria Adelaide Silva - no reproduction is allowed without the author's agreement

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