Day 3 - a Perfect Rainy Day!

It's Monday morning and neither of us slept well. The wind howled all night. Upon further review, when you have 8 open windows facing the ocean and 3 windows shut 98% of the way on the OTHER side of the cottage you have a LOT of wind trying to escape through a very small opening - thus - HOWLING!

Wind speed this morning is a constant 24mph with gusts up to 35 (as a birthday present DJ gave me a hand held wind thingy, the SAME one used by Jim Cantore on The Weather Channel).

Today we have to go pay for our jeep so it's a great day to explore Cruz Bay. We take the mountain road to Cruz Bay and have a little experience. We reach the top of the hill and stop at a beautiful look out - even with clouds it's breathtaking. DJ sees a brightly painted shop and like a moth to light is attracted. I, on the other hand gravitate towards the scenic and start looking for photo opportunities HOWEVER, as I am shooting I hear the blaring of a semi-truck horn. I move to the railing and look up the road.

What I see makes my sphincter squeeze shut. A 100 ton semi is careening around the corner at break neck speed taking up BOTH lanes and is aiming RIGHT AT ME WITH HORN BLARING. IS HE OUT OF CONTROL? IS HE A COMPLETE LUNATIC BENT ON DOING AWAY WITH TOURISTS? I straddle the guard rail waiting to lose a leg as he passes, horn on constantly as he whips around the hairpin turn. I hear that horn all the way to Cruz Bay. Here is the photo I took with shaking hands.

Paying Penns was easy (make sure you only have ONE driver $$) and we park in their lot and start exploring. I'm not sure how to do this, the only real story is we purchased Hook Bracelets from the St. John Bracelet Company for 25% off (Valentines day) - That's DJ and you can see me in the mirror taking the photo.

Nothing thrilling happened in Cruz Bay - we found the Star Fish market but had to circle the lot 5 times to get a place to park. Found out Dr. Goop had passed away so no bug Goop. Prices were not THAT bad, expensive but not shocking. OH - we went to Mixology to buy rum - YUP! We sampled all the flavors and purchased . . .12 LARGE bottles. Price for a liter of Cruzen Rum was $7.05. you can bring 6 bottles per person back. But if you have a lay over in San Juan you can buy MORE duty free liqueur. I got a huge bottle of Kahlua for $12.

We took the coast road back and now I see why there are so few OTHER photos of Trunk Bay. There is NOWHERE to pull over. The road is JUST wide enough for two jeeps. One jeep and one pick-up and you are maxed out. One jeep and one cement truck means the jeep BETTER find a place to get off the road. Literally!

We had our very first view of Trunk and I felt I HAD to take THE PHOTO! OH sure - everyone takes this shot - BUT I CAN DO IT IN THE RAIN!

We also stopped for a rainy shot of Maho.

We checked out Hawks Nest and decided it was a must go back to beach.

That night we decided to try the Ship Wreck Landing for supper. However we were early and the dinner menu was still an hour away. SO! We had a couple drinks and got totally cooked!! I had a Rum Runner and I think DJ had a rum punch and the bartender (very nice, tattooed woman) put in the rum. It was the strongest (in a good way) drink on our stay. (That's DJ in the blue on the right at the bar). We went down the road to eat at Island Blues and it became a regular place for us. This seems to be where locals come (including our bartender a while later) and we felt right at home (except for the breath taking beauty part).

That night we figured out the howling wind problem and had a better nights rest. We found ourselves crashing about 8:30 and waking up 7:00 each day there.

Tuesday - crab story with little boy and rocks, we meet Bill and his cohorts at Skinnys.

This is actually one of th LESS crowded times on the main drag of Cruz Bay

The road up the hill to get out of town - notice lack of sidewalk!

Day 2b - Bees, Butterfies and Cliff/Roads

We left our heroes coming home with a fully tummy and much needed water. Before we go any further let’s take a peak inside their little love nest . . .oops – The Trade Winds Cottage.

We found the Cottage on the Internet and fell in love with it. Somehow we were attracted to it. We later found that Lois Woods who runs (and help build) the cottage went to school in Madison so we actually WERE linked together. Here is a link to the Trade Winds Cottage - beautiful place.

Along with the beauty of the cottage are the birds. There are three kinds that frequent the cottage. A Green-throated Carib, a large group of Bananaquits and "Spike" the Antillean Crested Humming Bird.

Well then - after a nap we decided to check out some more beaches on the south side Little Lameshur was our goal. We drove past the crowded Salt Pond and the road turns into a dirt road, then it turns into a rocky road and THEN we see our 1st obstacle. Half way up a narrow one lane pile of rocks is a jeep and it's backing/sliding backwards down the slope. I stop 50 yards behind him and observe. He backs all the way down and I can tell he's talking to his wife. Luckily I had a internet friend tell me about this barrierr. I put the jeep into 4W-L and as we drive past the backed down jeep I give him the thumbs up and we plow ahead. My fear is of a jeep coming THE OTHER WAY since it is ONLY 1 lane wide. All I we can see is sky as we climb up the rock pile. Robin (jeep name- they like to name their jeeps) crests the hill like a WWII tank going over a hedgerow and we're clear. YIPES - what a rush!!

The road turns back into blacktop and we're OK. UNTIL! we have to go down the OTHER side. HOLY CRIPS! It's cement with black skid marks going both ways and a hairpin corkscrew at the bottom. I've never been in such a steep decent, will we stop? DJ is, well . . . . quiet. I'm basically standing upright on the brakes as we creep down the cliff some call a road. We make it!

NOTE - I have just realized the crab story and little boy with rocks will not be in this addition - wrong day.

We travel the roads and look at the great snorkeling beaches, it's pretty cloudy now and not very good beach photo weather so we (I) decide to take a hike on the trail at the end. DJ is . . . quiet. I can tell she is on edge and out of her comfort zone.

We stumble along a trail of sharp, jagged rocks that some would call a trail and I call it an accident waiting to happen. It smooths out and we see our 1st 4 foot high 3 feet wide termite nest. CREEPY. It looks like something from a horror/alien movie and does very little to lighten DJ's mood. We hear critters in the woods and walk under a tree that is buzzing with bees and THEN, out of nowhere, a wild herd of butterflies appear and block DJ's way startling both of us. She goes into defense mode. It's at that moment we look at each other and break out laughing. We decide to call it a day and head back.

We're hot, the scenery is not so we turn around. Leave the trail for another day. The road back is MUCH better knowing what was ahead.

It was getting a little late (5ish) so we head back to the cottage. The entrance to the Concordia Eco-Tents are right next to the Trade Winds entrance so we decided to take a peek at them. Little did we know that at the end for the road is what we think was one of the most outstanding panoramas of the entire trip (ooooo, darn tripod!!) This photo was taken by DJ and her ultra compact camera.

The clouds moved in like they mean it and the wind is stiffening so no sunset (we were shut out on sunsets).

That night we relaxed, ate some Mac and Cheese, turned on Ziggy Marley's "One Bright Day" (this will be with us the rest of our lives) and listen to the strengthening howling wind (constant 22mph on my wind meter) and cozy up to each other.

Tomorrow - spitting rain, howling wind, our 1st view of Trunk Bay and a tour of Cruz bay.