Day 6 - Hawknest, Donkeys and the East End

Thursday we awoke to the typical sounds, a rooster 1/2 hour before daybreak, a dog barking in the distance and goats doing their goat naying thing in the hills, and the tree frogs. However - the realization that the week was all too quickly coming to an end was in the back of our minds.

We drank our coffee and watched as the islanders went about doing their normal daily routine. Workers below us running the catch the bus, the school children in their uniforms running to catch THEIR bus, a pickup with 3 workers standing in the back pulling up to a villa. All was going smoothing atop our perch.

We were told by friends to check out Francis Bay for sea turtles so packed our cooler and headed to Francis. My 1st wrong turn happened but I corrected myself (yes it can happen) and we arrived at a totally empty, long beach. The water was calm and we looked for a place to make camp. Walking to our right the sand gave way to rock (although it looked like sand), DJ was lagging behind as it did not look like a GREAT place to play and people watch (especially the people watching part). I entered the water and was doing what snorkelers do, just wallowing slowly. In the mean time DJ had made friends with another woman who had been to Francis 29 times. The sea turtles, she was told, were in the middle of the bay and her husband did not like Francis so SHE came by herself to see the turtles. ANYWAY, I saw the sites, nothing GREAT but I did not go to the far end where there was more coral.

Final take on Francis, probably a nice place for snorkeling if you want to make it a day, not great for beauty (well LOL, compared to other beach' s on St. John), Sand is hardish between the rocky outcroppings and not like Trunk at all, it is shady in the morning. It's a snorkelers bay.

We drive to Hawksnest. Let me tell you about Hawksnest. It's like Trunks smaller, immature brother, very pretty, sand is nice but not the velvet of Trunk. Beach is long but skinny. Only room for single file beach laying. The water is clear blue like Trunk. There are two groups of coral in the middle that would have been good for snorkeling except for the 3-foot breakers thundering over it. STILL - feeling more confident with every water adventure I go out and dabble around the edge of the breakers. As I'm coming back about 20 yards from shore and spot a stingray on the bottom. I follow him around for awhile and lose him when I look up to see where I am.

We spend the day at Hawknest, eating jerky and P & J sandwich's while drinking 7up and rum. Very relaxing.

About 1:30 we get the real hunger and . . .HEAD TO SKINNYS!! While waiting for food I attempt to take photos of the pelicans diving into the water for food but I was always at the wrong angle. Afterward I buy a Skinnys T-shirt (they make them big - be aware). We look at a little shop (Awl Made Here??) and DJ buys a St. John checkbook cover and a little necklace. As she puts it on the counter the sales person says "The person that made this is standing right beside you!! SNAP!!

It's time to explore the East End. 1/4 mile out of Skinnys we encounter friendly donkeys (we saw no unfriendly donkeys and we saw MANY people petting them). NOTE - BE AWARE - we also saw dogs sleeping in the middle of the road at night!. As we drive buy slowly we get an unexpected guest in our front seat looking for a sandwich. We have nothing so we move along, he does not seem to disappointed.

Typical roads. I think I have mentioned why nobody has photos of how steep the roads are haven't I? It's because there is no place to stop a car and take a photo. The East End seemed calm enough so I could attempt a couple shots. The photo on the left is a typical hill.

If you have a chance you have to drive out to the East End. It's longer than you would think. After driving the rest of the island I had gotten to know the roads pretty well but this was untraveled area and an adventure. IT was beautiful. AND THERE IS VIE'S SNACKSHOP. I had forgotten about her. Wonderful lady. I wish I were not so full!

Again we were shut out of any sunset by clouds.

Looking for something different for supper Sweet Plantains called for us. Very nice East and West Indian food. Very nice place, very very nice looking inside and comfortable. I had some sort of curry chicken and DJ had some sort of chicken Burrito looking thing that was bigger then her head.

Tomorrow is Friday - the last real day. AAAAAAGH!!! Drunk at Trunk :-) the Rams Head fiasco, blue lady at the Annaburg Ruins.

Day 5 - Trunk, WOW!

Wednesday - It was a beautiful day, the wind, as predicted was getting calmer and we were tired of the South side of the island. It was Trunk Bay day for sun and fun. We packed our cooler and this time added some Coconut rum and lime to the mix for afternoon (or morning) rummin'.

We were the first to arrive (9:30) and parked in the lower lot. This is a mistake, park in the higher lot. You will see that when it's time to leave there are 15 of the pick-up Taxi's right behind your jeep. They will gladly move but it's a hassle. On a side note - the people of St.John are very nice and very friendly, I did not see one person that was unfriendly (well maybe one).

I think the reviews about Trunk are misdirected. If you are looking for a fantastic beach THIS is the one. We pay the fee (well worth it) and walk into the most incredible view in the world. The water is bluer here then anywhere I have ever been, the sand is ultra soft and feels like velvet, you sink 3 or 4 inch's into the amazingly white powder. The ocean is crystal clear. We stand there stunned. WOW.

Looking around there are perhaps 3 other people on the entire beach. We walk to the left and find a spot where the sun will hit us and camp out. Unpacking the wooden chairs that were at the Trade Winds we figure out how they work and relax. Waves are crashing in front of us and it is perfect. There is no other beach on St. John that can compare with this.

Slowly the beach starts filling in with people, The lifeguards arrive and I go on thong watch.

I have heard that snorkeling is not great at Trunk and even though there were moderate waves I wanted to see what the scoop was. I walked about 1/2 mile to the snorkel trail and entered the water. Before I knew it I was being churned like I was in a washing machine. UP, DOWN UP DOWN, before I knew it was in in 20 feet of water and fish were doing somersaults below me. The pressure on my chest was actually making it uncomfortable for me to breath. AND it was getting dark.

I made a circle and headed in, content to try another day. The excessive wave action and the surprising deepness of the water made it a quick snorkel.

I walk back to our set up and as luck would have it, a group of Italians have setup next to us and one woman is thong enhanced. Now let's make one thing very clear. If DJ owned a thong, this would not be a bad thing. BUT, to be honest, if you live in Wisconsin, thongs are not one of the things that are in the bottom drawer . . . . at least not for swimming :-)

We go for a swim and the warm, clear water and the magic happens. We're turned in to giggling children. In fact this is something that we saw over and over and ONLY saw it at Trunk. We see a group of older men, looking like they should be on the Soprano's speaking Italian, what are they doing? Jumping up and down in the waves laughing. We see this over and over, age means nothing on this beach.

The complaint I often hear about Trunk is that it's crowded. Well , it's MORE crowded then the other beaches but, really, who cares. Is it a bad thing to be around a lot of happy people?

As I said, there are many people but they are happy people and are all friendly. A funny thing happened. At the Beach bar some New Englander made fun of how I said WisCONsin. Now, I'll admit that Midwesterners do not sound like east coasters so it was no big deal. HOWEVER - while we're basking in the sun a group of Cruisers (you can tell by their towels) spread out beside us and we exchange pleasantries. As I'm laying there I replay the 2 sentences in my rum induced haze . . . . . . OH MY GOD! I ask "Where are you from" (hoping I'm wrong). "We're from WisCONsin". In fact they live 40 miles away from us. I tell myself not to talk the rest of the trip.

DJ and I break out the Rum/7Up and lime and soak up the happy!

ANOTHER thing I want to mention. Patriot fans. YEA YEA YEA - ya won the Super Bowl, big deal, been there, done that, blah blah (We're cheeseheads). When your on St. John, don't come to the beach in full New England Patriot regalia. This family of 6, gets off the taxi and every stitch of clothing down to their black socks says Patriot including their jersey's. I'm here to get away from the world!!!!!

As our skin begins to heat up we decided to call it a day before the sun does any damage. We shower up at the showers and get the sand off our feet - HINT - always carry a gallon on water in your jeep to wash off sand. Refreshed, we jump into Robin and cruise to Cruz Bay for a bite to eat.

Rumbalaya is a great place for a ocean side lunch, it's just this side of the Beach bar near the ferry. Very relaxing and friendly, their Quesadadillas are great. As usual, it's a $30 meal OH - I forgot, for some reason I had a Kraut Dog at Trunk. I ask myself to this day why I wanted one but, I saw it and had to have one. It was pretty good, VERY large dog (as are all dogs on St. John . . . hmmmmmm)

That night we ate at Island Blues again and DJ wants you to know that the pasta salad is YUMMY! She had it as a side the 1st time and asked for ONLY it the 2nd time. $4! I had blackened chicken that was pretty darn good.

Tomorrow - donkeys in the jeep, The east end, Vie's and Francis Bay

Day 4 - Crabs, Skinnys and Settling In

Tuesday we awoke at the normal time 7ish. I got up and checked out the sunrise and measured wind and temperature. Sunrise was pretty, temperature was AGAIN 74 and wind had died down a little but still blustery. It was a glorious day.

We ate Cheerios, made a couple peanut butter sandwiches, packed some beef jerky, tossed in 2 bottles of ½ frozen water. We were going back to Little Lameshur to soak up sun and snorkel.

It’s about 10 when we get there (the drive was not as hair raising as the 1^st time). And are the first people to arrive. We figure out the very best spot and unfold our supplies.

It’s wonderful, sun is out, water is lapping at the shore as people start to arrive. DJ says – LOOK, a little crab. Sure enough. It’s a little yellow crab skittering across the beach. At about that same time a family moves in to our right. We talk about the crab louder because they have kids that might be interested. I talk about "Finding Nemo" to get their attention but they are not taking the hint.

5 minutes later a little girl asks where the crab is and I get up to see if we can find him. He’s among some pebbles and we stoop down to get a good look. She is mildly interested and her brother comes up (about 6??). We talk and he says "I use you have a crab" I say "cool, that’s awesome" he says "I killed him and threw him in the water". I look up and another adult who was looking at the crab exchange worried looks. At about that time the little boy picks up a rock and stands there. I brace myself for a road runner reaction. Time is frozen, all I can feel is myself lunging forward in super slow motion screaming in a deep voice "NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOO"!

Seconds tick away, the little boy puts one foot forward and I spring, however, I have miscalculated the pebbles under my right, spring foot, and all it does is shoot rocks behind me. The CRAB, who had been watching this whole thing with claws out takes a VERY quick 500 sideways steps and is in the water, safe.

The kid drops the rock and walks back to his mom. The adult and I exchange laughs and shake our head.

Disaster diverted it’s time to snorkel. DJ is relaxing but I’m in snorkel mood, I have Vaseline now to go on my upper lip and feel confident.

AWESOME – it’s so easy! I glide around to the coral on the left side of the bay and see so many fish I am in a trance. I see 7 little squid floating by. I see sea urchins all over but from above. I float back as I see DJ getting her mask on and we snorkel together. I point out a school of yellow fish and she points out a big scary eel.

There are not many adventures snorkeling, unless you get caught in the rip tide at Waterlemon so I’ll just say it’s wonderful. We go back to shore and relax, soaking up the sun again. A while later we’re on a walk when DJ gets this look in her eye. Remember, "2001: A Space Odyssey"? Remember when the apes first come in contact and touch the monolith? That is the same reaction DJ had when she comes upon this perfect, palm size piece of coral.

Long story short, the coral is by our side and sharing our blanket, but, at this moment back in the States, it is STILL at Little Lameshur where it belongs!

The morning runs smooth as I go in and out of the water, snorkeling. However, we have a schedule to keep. Bill (internet friend) is meeting us at Skinnys so we can ring Howies bell.

We arrive at Skinnys and Bill says he is wearing a bright yellow cap. Just our luck, it seems like it’s bright yellow cap day. On our third try I spot a guy with a bright yellow cap taking a photo of a group – BINGO. I yell Howie and he turns and we meet. Drinks for everybody and burgers for us.

We talk and tell stories (you will have to ask Bill about the thong stories). Food is slow but, who cares. They have to get going so we get a guy to talk our photo ringing the bell.

It’s middle afternoon by the time we leave Skinnys with a couple extra tee-shirts and caps and we decide to explore Waterlemon Cay. The 1^st thing about this is it’s a hike. Not a hard one but a long one if you are carrying a lot of beach/sunning stuff. Snorkels are OK but, chairs, drinks, coolers, rum, camera’s, towels and so forth and it’s a hike. We make it 2/3s of the way, see it’s beautiful and turn back. Another couple about 100 yards behind us go to where we turned around and also turn around. We’re just to beat from the morning and full tummies to be enthused about going the whole way. AND, clouds are building We call it a day.

Note - go here before you get worn out.

Back at Camp 1 we relax and watch a cloudstorm move across the ocean creating a beautiful rainbow for 45 minutes.

We eat some Lipton Caribbean Rice and cozy up to each other to Ziggy Marley, read books and relax. Cruise liners drift buy with lights blazing in the distance and a 4 masted schooner is seen drifting past Peter Island. The lights of Tortola are in the distance and we are drifting on a cloud. This is the best comfort zone you can ever imagine.

Tomorrow – The weather turns gorgeous, a day at Trunk, a taste of home (oh my god) and lunch in Cruz Bay.

This was the view we have when washing dish's. hmmmmmmm!
Skinny's

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.

Day 2 In Which A Ballyhoo Gives DJ The Evil Eye

Day 2 actually started around Midnight on Day 1 when SOMEWHERE there was a house party with rasta music blaring. I’m not complaining because it WAS Saturday night and islanders can do whatever they want and . . . the music was not BAD, and it was just loud. We couldn't decide if this was irritating or exciting. About 1:30 I got up to find the culprits. Never found the house and it stopped about 2:30. No big deal Mon!

I woke up when a rooster crowed about ½ hour before sunrise. I looked out the window and saw scattered clouds that would make a great shot. I jumped up, ran to the balcony as the sky started to turn red. I grabbed my trusty tripod (which cost me an extra $35 in overweight baggage fare), and quickly and firmly extended the leg which quickly and firmly came all the way out of it’s socket and six little ball bearings and random pieces of metal falling on the floor. I was stunned. I stood there with my new bipod and a new leg of my new monopod. Is this how new tripods are born, like starfish? Was this part of the island magic? Time would tell as I set them aside.

Racing the clock I start snapping photos when I realized that the photo I took 15 seconds earlier look PRETTY much like the one I just took. I decided to only take one every THIRTY seconds.

By that time DJ was up and we were making some real bad Oatmeal which we tossed out. Must find market today! We had a ton of Beef Jerky (very healthy for you). I STRONGLY suggest you should have bags with you as a power boost where ever you go. This is a tip I have heard many times and it is true.

Oddly, we were both . . . nervous. It was like we were afraid to start the day. What if we fail to have fun!!!

Salt Pond – 1^st destination. We decided to go slow and just have a look, let's not lock ourselves into anything YET. Halfway down the trail (more like a rocky driveway) we were hot and changed our plans. The cottage was 30 seconds up the road – swim suits and snorkel gear were in order. FULL STEAM AHEAD!! We left the empty parking lot and zoomed (15mph) back the the cottage.

As we drive back we round the corner and spot 5 jeeps AND as we were wondering how so many jeeps could have gotten there so quick a BUS pulls in with 20 screaming 20 year olds (not that that is a bad thing but it was SO peaceful).

It was a windy day (as AccuWeather promised) and I think all snorkelers on St.J were migrating to OUR beach! This is what happens we fond out later.

We dabbled and hung out and THEN – did the snorkel thing. Well, we both had problems with water in the mask and one fish (a Ballyhoo) looked at DJ the wrong way and she freaked a little and got out. I had minor probs but knew I could fix them but did not want to leave DJ on shore fighting her inner demons of tropical fish becoming amphibious (as part of the magic of the islands), flopping to shore and biting her feet off so I got out and relaxed and ate some Jerky.

The clouds started building so we decided to shower up and head to the World Famous (at least in St. John) Skinny’s. We looked at the shops in front and entered into the well-known burger hall of fame restaurant for our very 1^st St.John eating experience.

Remember – we’re not BIG fish eating people and are not fond of sea bugs (lobster, crabs – all related to cockroach. . . . so maybe they deserve to be eaten) and don’t like eating animals that communicate feelings and save humans from sharks (dolphins). NOTE - I later find out that Mahi Mahi is Dolphin FISH!! Not Dolphin MAMMAL

The special drink for the day was a Rum Swizzle (Sprite, a BIG helping of Cruzen Pineapple Rum and a squirt of lime), we inhaled two and had what I consider one of the top 5 burgers I have ever had in my life. Total bill for 2 Cheeseburgers and chips and 2 Rum Swizzles - $25+ $5 tip. $30, sounds expensive but IT WAS DELICIOUS!!! I had no problems at all paying $30. In fact almost EVERY meal the two of us had ended up costing $30. Coral Bay is 33% cheaper then the other side of the island. SunTan lotion was $6 here and $9 in Cruz Bay.

Side Note - DJ took a photo of the Cheesburger but we think some drool hit the lens and it was fuzzy (the photo, not the burger)

Our next quest was water, milk, and so forth. There are two mini marts and going into both is like trying to drive a large truck around Chaos Bay oops Cruz Bay. They can pack a lot into those little stores. Both mini-markets - this one and the other one up the road going to Salt Pond had ABOUT the same things. Prices were not as bad as I thought they would be, we spent $11 on 1/2 gal milk, 2 gal of water, a big jar of Dry Roasted Peanuts and a loaf of bread.

At the mini mart we had our 1^st close encounter with THE DONKEYS!! who are very sweet. I have been told that they will bite but I'm pretty sure it would not be in anger, there just looking for a sandwich to nibble on.

We went home to plan the next move as it looked like the sun might reappear, to bad the wind was strengthening.

Day2b involves birds, crabs, little boys with rocks, 4 wheeling, an awesome lookout and DJ fighting off a flock of butterflies successfully.