Advertisement
Published: March 10th 2008
Edit Blog Post
Caribbean Honeymoon
Finally we had the chance to go to our honeymoon...8 months after the wedding - but February is usually my toughest winter month - it is grey and cold in DC, and it is so nice to get away to the sun and warmth. Since I travel so much for work, we decided we wanted to go to a destination that was relatively easy to reach and did not cross too many timezones. So the Caribbean it was!
I have always dreamed about going on an overnight sail trip, so we decided to charter a boat for 4 days and spend the remainder days on St. John and St. Thomas.
The warm Caribbean sun met us at the airport. Kurt and Victoria, our hosts for the sailboat charter were waiting for us at the airport bar (you can actually pick up a beer here and bring it with you as you are picking up your luggage!) and took us to Billy Jean - our boat and 42 foot home for the next four days.
We slept in the marina the first night. Quite warm and uncomfortable, but a little exotic too. You could hear the
Snorkling
First snorkling adventure in the Caribbean crickets "chirping," the boat was rocking, and we were awakened in the middle of the night by a tropical rain storm...Some people liken overnight sailing to camping on the water, and it is something like that, although we had the added comfort of wonderful meals served to us at lunch and dinner every day!
The first day we went out to Caneel Bay at St. John. This was our first exposure to Caribbean snorkling. It was beautiful - blue blue trunk fish, yellow and black striped fish that I do not know the name of, etc, etc. But this was just the start of it. The following day we went to Watermelon island. This was absolutely amazing, and can be highly recommended. The multi-color parrot fish - turqoise, pink, yellow, red, blue - all in one fish, going from coral to coral, eating the coral, and creating beautiful white powder sand coming out the other end, - some yellow and purple fish, all kinds of colors. Absolutely amazing. I have not snorkeled in that many places, but this was definitely on par with my snorkel experience outside of Bali, Indonesia a couple of years ago.
..we also went
Remoras
Feeding the pet fish! to the beach for a little bit - the water everywhere on the islands is so clear, it is clearer than swimming in a swimming pool. It is really amazing....although at this particular juncture it was close to sunset and the "see-ums" were out like crazy. Those little suckers will chew you up and the bites will itch something fierce...so either do not go to the beach around 4-5 ish in the afternoon or make sure you have plenty of bug repellent....
The morning after, Victoria told us she had a pet fish in this bay. A pet fish?! But sure enough, she walked around the boat and found him - a remora - coming right up to the boat, almost eating out of her hand. The fish was acting like a dog chasing treats! Quite neat to watch.
Today we had planned to go around St. John, but due to the winter storms across the US, there were too strong winds, and we had to turn around. We ended up moring at Great St. James in Christmas Cove. The snorkling here was magnificent. You see fish of all colors of the rainbow as well as stingrays moving
elegantly across the ocean bed. They are so elegant and graceful. It is almost as if they have wings flapping under water. Here we also saw the largest starfish I have every seen in my life - they were at least a couple of feet across.
There is something amazing about laying in the surface of the water, getting a glimpse of this completely different world that exists under the surface. It is quiet. You only hear your own breath. And then you watch the fish chasing each other, floating in the currents, eating off of the coral reefs, the coral and the seaweed "blowing in the wind." You can watch it for hours.
Back at the boat, the sunset was beautiful. Nothing more peaceful and relaxing than sitting on a sailboat with a glass of wine, gently rocking, watching the sun set, and then having a delicious meal to top it off!
The next day we were due to start the next chapter of our honeymoon - our stay at St. John. We took the ferry from Red Hook to Cruz Bay. I think it was about 20-30 minutes and it leaves every hour, so this
is quite easy. We decided to have lunch at the Beach Bar - Mahi Mahi tacos can absolutely be recommended! Yummy! And to accompany our meal was a large iguana in the tree next to us! The bar staff had named him Brutus. I guess he was visiting the bar quite often. Apart from going after a ladies' toes for her red nail polish, he was quite calm and content with a cocktail cherry!
The next day we were off to Trunk Bay. All guide books will tell you that Trunk Bay is the best beach on St. John, and normally I am quite skeptical of these typical tourist destinations, but this one is worth it. I think it is the best beach I have ever been to. It is part of the national park system, so it has not been commercialized. This is where you can swim in cystal clear turqoise water, snorkle around the little island (the underwater trail is not worth it - go all the way to the right up beach and swim around the right side of the little island), take a good walk along the palm lined white beach, or just lay down
Trunk Bay
The best beach ever! and soack up the sun.
The snorkling here is great as well. Here I saw my first sea turtle! The shell was probably two feet across and it was peacefully mulling about under water at the outside of the little island. There was also a fish that was about 3-4 feet in length right at the coral drop off. That freaked me out a little and I had to move on!
Today was Valentine's Day and we had booked at Asolare. It is up on a hilltop overlooking Cruz Bay. Romantic for Valentine's day, but a little pricy for the food you get. Oh well - what place isn't at Valentine's day!
The next day we were off to St. Thomas. We stayed at the Wyndham, which was fine. I am not much for those corporate type hotels, but it was decently priced and convenient.
We had an on-and off rainy day the next day, but we decided to got to Coki Beach anyways. There is some really nice snorkling here right off the beach, and the local bar owners will give you dog biscuits to feed the fish! The fish act like a dog would
too - they pretty much swim after you to get the pieces of dog biscuits you throw out! The local beach bar folks take it easy - smoke weed all day, have a few drinks - and make sure that you always have a drink in your hand!
The day after it was time to try Magens Bay. Th eguide books will tell you it was voted one of the world's best beaches, and it really is beautiful. Perfect for swimming! The water is calm, clear, turquoise and you can swim for almost a mile along the beach! We spent the whole day here, and Mr. Mailman, as he called himself, took good care of us!
I think if I were to go to the US Virging Islands again, I would just stay at St. John. It has a quaint, laid back atmosphere, good food and you are away from chain stores, large hotels and large crowds. Quite a little paradise on earth.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.089s; Tpl: 0.016s; cc: 6; qc: 44; dbt: 0.04s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb