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Published: January 30th 2009
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My wife and I took a trip to the Virgin Islands for the Winter Holidays in 2008. It was filled with a paradise of mixed drinks, perfect sunshine, blissful activities and rest. Our observations of a confused clash of cultural forces gave us an unexpected perspective of the various lifestyles on the islands. Our flight landed in St. Thomas on Christmas Day. The Cyril E. King Airport (STT) is a classic tropical airport with hard to find bathrooms and an open-walled baggage claim. We arrived to the Budget car rental kiosk to pick up the jeep we reserved thru Orbitz only to find that it was not available. In fact, every car rental agency on the island had no vehicles on hand. Our plan was to sleep randomly on a beach somewhere, but that didn’t seem like a viable option anymore, so we scrambled to find a hotel room for the night. We didn’t let the rental car thing upset us too much, but we did have fun watching all the other impatient spoiled Americans argue with the attendants until they got nothing. We found a room at the Windward Passage Holiday Inn for $200. When catching a taxi at
the airport, no drivers hustled to get you in their vehicle. Very strange...!? Our stay in Charlotte Amalie was wonderful considering that it was Christmas evening and no cruise ships were docked at the harbor. We went for a jog that evening and had the whole to town to ourselves.
Budget had put our names on a waiting list, and they called us the following morning to inform us that a jeep was available. Driving on the left side of the road is fun!!! We took a sketchy extremely steep mountain road full of unsafe turns to Magen’s Bay and spent the afternoon at the beach. This beach has an on-site bar and even waitresses who serve you drinks while you lounge in the sand. The Magen’s Bay Campground seemed like a chill scene. A group of locals were celebrating Boxing Day and listening to island style Christmas carols. That night we took the ferry over to St. John and settled in to our rental villa overlooking John’s Folly Bay.
In Cruz Bay and Coral Bay the restaurants and nightlife provided excellent entertainment with live music and fun drunk locals and tourists. The culture seemed to
be in a state of confusion mixing laid-back islanders with imported long-term residents from New England. The locals from the states often attempted to justify their presence on the island by stating how many years they had lived in St. John. There was a sense of juvenile egotism coming from these late middle-aged transplants. They seem to think they are better than everyone else because they have chosen to live on St. John. Unfortunately we didn’t meet many locals who were born and raised in the Virgin Islands, so I couldn’t tell you where they were coming from.
The hiking and beaches on St. John are incredible. We did see a big ass shark one day while snorkeling. I also saw a sea turtle while windsurfing at Cinnamon Bay. I have to mention that if you decide to go windsurfing there, avoid taking lessons from the old man who runs the rental outfitters, unless of course you enjoy being continually criticized and disparaged by a screaming imbecile. I didn’t actually take lessons from him, I just witnessed his stupidity. One of our favorite places was the Ram Head Trail. It overlooks the beauty of the Atlantic Ocean and
it provides a serene peacefulness that is hard to find, considering that most of the beaches on the island are quite crowded. We also hiked the Reef Bay Trail, which has some cool bat infested ruins, petroglyphs, a waterfall, and a less crowded beach at the end of the trail.
Hazards, Hassles, and Hints
There is a relatively unknown campground called Vie’s Beach Camping on the East End of St. John that rents spaces for $35 a night (340)-693-5033. The most popular beaches were not only crowded, but the waters were infested with boaters who dock their crafts as close to shore as possible. We discovered no mosquitoes on our entire trip, but the trade winds were blowing almost 20 knots, so that may have kept them off our backs. In any case, the No-See-Ums did attack us one evening at the beach. We came across a few places that sell pirated not yet released movies on DVD, which makes for an interesting souvenir. Beware of being overcharged on your meals if you eat out!!! We were “mistakenly” charged too much three out of five times that we dined out. I took full advantage of the fact that
it is legal to drink and drive in the Virgin Islands, but beware because the seat belt laws are strictly enforced. It is also illegal to talk on a cell phone while driving. You’re supposed to start conversations with a pleasant “nice day” even if you’re just buying something at the convenience store. Water is scarce, so it’s recommended that you take quick showers. The drinking water is said to make you sick, so we used a camping water purifier to filter everything we drank. We did eat the ice cubes, so I’m not sure if the drinking water is that unsafe. The rumor might just be a marketing trick devised to sell more bottled water at restaurants. You have to pass thru an exit customs at the airport, even if you haven’t traveled to any other countries. Keep in mind that a passport does expedite your passage thru this unnecessary checkpoint. There is also a nice hotel and beach within walking distance to the airport, so if your flight gets delayed you can hang beachside instead of being stuck in an airport all day. All imperfections aside, St. John is a wonderful paradise worth a visit and then some.
Links Treasure View Villas Maps of St. John Travel Book - Information
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