Alas! Our time in St. Thomas has ended. We spent a month avoiding the recent snowfalls back home. Although I kinda missed seeing those flakes piling up, the comfort of sunny days and white sandy beaches assuaged my guilt. Also, our wonderful neighbors and friends kept us up to date on the weather so we were able to experience the snow vicariously.
The second half of our trip was alternately action packed and relaxing. (See blog post “Paradise Found” Feb. 2020 for the first half). Greg’s family departed and we had a few days to enjoy the quiet. Remarkably, Greg has read more books than me (although that is probably the extent of his pleasure reading for the rest of the year, unless and until Lee Child or his brother write more Jack Reacher books. We can discuss Tom Cruise’s casting in the movies at a later date).
It’s actually been long enough that I can’t quite remember all our excursions, so here goes. DanAnna, our experienced island guides, took us to a few of their favorite places. On Saturday, they treated us to a full day sail with Captain Pat and First Mate John on Captain Pat’s sailboat. She has been a resident of STT since the 60’s and sailing since her teens, having crossed the Pacific from Hong Kong with her Dad at age 16. We departed Red Hook in the morning, sailed across the bay between St. Thomas and St. John, and stopped for lunch at Francis Bay on St. John. We went snorkeling with John (green turtles with remoras!) and Captain Pat whipped up a delicious lunch; John’s rum punches were ‘spot on’. Dan and Greg worked as deckhands, picking up a few tips to test back home on the lake with our Hobie. As we sailed back to Red Hook a windy rain storm caught us which was exhilarating and added to the flavor of the trip. Such a wonderful day!!!
On Sunday we drove out to the westernmost end of the island to Botany Bay and hiked down to Mermaid’s Chair. Botany Bay is an exclusive housing development that allows access to the beach, although you have to walk the mile down on their paved roads after enduring a security check. The walk was well worth it, as Mermaid’s Chair marks the point on the island where the Caribbean and the Atlantic Oceans meet and in fact you can see where the waves crash into each other from opposite sides. The surf was photographic gold and we searched for shells and observed tidal pools as the tide was low. The hike back up wasn’t too bad since there was a slight drizzle which kept us cool. Keep in mind the rain doesn’t last long and we were grateful for the natural air conditioning.
Later that afternoon we visited PhantaSea, a private botanical garden. As with most everything on the island, this gem was decimated with the IrMaria hurricanes but in the the 2 years since the slopeside gardens have recovered nicely. It is a jungle, after all, and the gardens reflect the organized chaos of orchids and coffee trees, palms and lobster claws and birds of paradise, lizards and frogs and birds coexisting. Very nice. We then continued up to the top of the mountain to Mountaintop, the most touristy place imaginable and a contrast to the quiet solitude of the gardens. Ugh. Luckily there were no cruise ships in port that day so the enormous tee shirt and chachki shop was deserted. We took some photos of the view (basically the same as DanAnna’s apartment view), chugged some ‘famous banana daiquiris’, and headed home. Dinner that night was at the French Quarter Bistro in Frenchtown in honor of the upcoming Mardi Gras. Very good wine, fish and yes, I had steak which was delicious.
On Tuesday we welcomed my sister Terry, her daughter Emily, and boyfriend Jim. We dined at Hook, Line, and Sinker in Frenchtown right on the marina with great fish dinners. Emily loves crab and enjoyed a huge dish of it. We spent the day lounging poolside. On Thursday morning we went ziplining! I was a little nervous, being somewhat fearful of heights but since lately I’ve been challenging myself with wall climbing and rock scrambling (not on purpose) this activity fit in with the ongoing theme. Anna works at TreeLimin’ Zip Lines so we requested her as a guide and a very professional, comforting, fun guide could not be had. I enjoyed the swinging rush once my fear of stepping off the platform was conquered and we all agreed it was fun. We observed iguanas warming themselves in trees, as Anna promised we would, and whooped and hollared as we raced past those prehistoric-looking modern day dinosaurs. Jim realized the importance of a tight harness, but luckily his voice lowered to his normal pitch shortly after his ‘free swinging’ finale. Since then, I’ve become a pretty good Iguana tree spotter.
Later we went back to the airport to pick up Christopher, our friend from Boston, while Terry and crew shopped the local market in town for souveniers. There was no hairbraiding for anyone this trip, nor did anyone purchase the ‘bargain priced’ loose diamonds although a few tee shirts were snagged. It was great having Christopher as he added some new tastes to our home cooked menu items; he is a very easy guest as he spent the majority of his time tele-commuting, sleeping, or photographing sunsets and flowers. I can’t wait to see the final photos!
On Friday, we welcomed Lewis and Louise as guests. Lewis, my original triathlon partner, and Louise were colleagues of Greg’s back in Novartis days and we enjoyed having them visit. More lounging poolside and scanning of the arriving cruise ships filled the rest of the day. Early Saturday morning a few of us got up before sunrise to hit the fish market in Frenchtown. Sketchy characters slouched around pickups with unidentifiable but very fresh fish filling the truck beds (polka dotted grouper and trigger fish among others). With recommendations from the fishermen we made our purchases and headed out back to the fish cleaning station. We found a woman who descaled and deboned our fish for only $5.00 and then returned home for breakfast. Christopher and Anna seasoned the fish (at dinnertime) perfectly. Bayrum leaves make for a wonderful flavor! Another visit to Magens Bay Beach (my favorite) filled the rest of the day with sunshine and waves. Oh, and surprise!, my brother Ed and nephew Edward arrived that afternoon after a last minute decision to visit. I was happy to see them as they both really needed a relaxing winter break. The next day, Sunday, we all hit Lindquist Beach, our guests already sunburned. Emily and I went snorkeling with some pretty good results. Dinner that night was at Mafolie, high on the mountain, our large group enjoying the wonderful sunset views and tasty fish entrees.
The weekend ended and gradually friends and family departures began. Tuesday, however, we took Christopher, Ed and Edward to St. John for another wonderful day exploring and photographing the sights. We visited Cinnamon Bay, the campsite still under repair from IrMaria damage, but the ruins across the road were spectacular. The stone and brick piles contrasted with the verdant, lush jungle growth, glistening from a recent morning rain. We hiked up to America Hill, finding more ruins at the top of the mountain. The National Park Service had just recently cleared this site but the invasive vines were starting to take hold. Nevertheless, it was incredible to think of someone living here until the 1960’s in this remote mountaintop location with spectacular views. A beachcombing hermit perhaps? We spent a while at Cinnamon Bay Beach, then headed back to Cruz Bay for lunch at the St. John Brewery enjoying beer and fish tacos, again, and Mardi Gras beads for all! Afterwards, as we had time to kill before the next ferry, we partook of some rum drinks at an outdoor bar in the square. By Wednesday evening all our guests had departed despite some airline issues due to a blizzard back in Buffalo. As Confucius says about houseguests: Every guest brings you happiness, some when they arrive, some when they leave. I’ll leave it to them to figure out who is who. (JK!)
Some hardcore relaxing commenced to end our stay. DanAnna stopped by after work every day for dinner with us. We visited a few restaurants on our list: Mirador at the Point Pleasant resort, where Greg and I honeymooned 39 years ago come May, an authentic Italian gem in the backstreets of Charlotte Amalie (tableside Caesar salad creations!), Carigas Island Cafe among the mangroves and next to a marina (awesome Bloody Marys), and ROot 42 near Magens Bay. Anna and I took in a local yoga class and then we hit a couple more beachs: Magens Bay again, Secret Harbor (great snorkeling!) and Dinghy’s Honeymoon Beach Bar on Water Island. We visited Water Island (in Charlotte Amalie Harbor) on Sunday, our last day on the island, riding a golf cart on the pothole filled roads to the abandoned WWII bunkers, exploring the graffiti and broken glass filled tunnels, and then lounging on Honeymoon beach. We departed our beautiful AirBnB home and stayed overnight with DanAnna until our flight home the next day.
My friend Kelly and her husband Chris have been sailing around the Caribbean for the last few months. We talked about meeting up but due to unfavorable winds and some sailboat repairs they were unable to meet up in STT until the morning we were departing. Unfortunately, we missed each other by a few yards and 10 minutes as they had to endure Customs Entry and we had to leave for the airport. Kelly and I phone chatted although I could probably see her boat in the harbor as we sat in construction traffic enroute to the airport. We were THAT CLOSE! The STT airport is infamous for ridiculously long lines for USA Entry Customs, bag check, and Security. Allowing 3-4 hours is recommended for departure! Luckily we have Global Entry and TSA precheck so our time was considerably reduced and our travel was problem free. Upon arrival on the mainland we stayed with friends David and Rita in NJ overnight. What fun we had talking talking talking! The next morning we drove home to snow and laundry and repacking. In 4 days we are heading out again, to South America! Patagonia, here we come, Coronavirus notwithstanding!!!
My new reality 