The plane looked like it was going to land right in the turquoise water but at the last minute there came in sight a tiny landing strip out of nowhere. We had landed on St. Thomas, and we had left behind intense work weeks, stress and the regular regular and were looking forward to five days on an island.
St. Thomas is one of three US Virgin Islands (St. John and St. Croix are the other two), and it is 13 miles long and 7 miles wide. It is very hilly and the roads are very windy and narrow (2 lanes only), and it is surrounded by the Caribbean Sea on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other. Nearby are the British Virgin Islands. At any spot on the island either at an elevation or within reasonable distance from the shore, the views are absolutely breath-taking, and as we drove our rental car from the airport to the condo we were renting for the 5 days, we came across views that were stunningly beautiful.
The island, although a part of the US, has a completely unique flavour of its own. The people are a mix of whites (from the US, Europe, etc) and people of African origin (whose ancestors had originally been brought to the island as slaves by the early Danish settlers on the island, to work in the sugarcane plantations.) And then there are tourists such as ourselves. The islanders have a cute caribbean accent and using the word 'laid-back' to define them would be an understatement. They move slowly, they talk slowly, they answer questions slowly, and would rather have a siesta any time of the day than do anything else really. Well, in any case, we were all set to enjoy our time, unwind and soak up some Caribbean fun.
The beaches of St. Thomas
There are many, many beaches on St. Thomas and most of them are pretty spectacular. The condo we were staying in had a fantastic view from the balcony, and we were privy to blue blue seas, a beautiful beach (Sapphire Bay Beach), a marina which docked boats, and islands in the distance, tiny ones dotting the blue Caribbean surface as well as St. John.
One morning we drove to Magen's Bay Beach, which, according to National Geographic, ranks as one of the ten most beautiful beaches in the world. And it was. Absolutely amazing. Picture this - white sand, aquamarine waters, no rocks, no waves (this is at least partly due to the beach being surrounded by land pieces jutting out into the ocean on two sides, forming a bay, or large cove, and because of this, the beach is like a giant swimming pool, with very calm, serene water. Ideal for splashing and swimming around. And we could not get enough of the views.
Keep to the Left!!
We laughed when the car rental official, our condo owner and other literature warned us to drive on the LEFT side of the road. Of course, we would drive on the left side...come on, what are we..imbeciles who dont understand what that means? Well, we rented our car and took off, driving across the island towards our condo. All the roads on the island are just two lanes, and very windy, going up and down hills. Takes a bit of concentration, especially the first time. So, we were navigating between maps and hilly, windy roads...and made a wrong turn. Realizing this, we stopped the car, and decided to mae a U-turn. Having made the U-turn, we found ourselves on the right side of the road, and it didnt feel wrong. In the next instant, a car was hurtling towards us in our lane, and at the last possible instant, reflexes of both drivers averted what would have been a scary and a totally unwanted start to our vacation. Phwew!
Hiking on St. John
On another day, we took a ferry from the town of Red Hook to the island of St. John, which is less inhabited and more untouched than St. Thomas. Here, our plan was to hike down the Reef Run trail, which is a famous trail through the tropical forest of St. John, which housed many of the sugarcane plantations a few hundred years ago, trek all the way down to an abandoned sugar mill, and finally end up on the beach, and then hike back up. To get to the point where the trail starts, is about 4 miles from where our ferry docked. We found an eager taxi driver who offered to take us up there. As he is driving up the winding roads, suddenly he stops right in the middle of the road, gets out, crosses the street to a dumpster, removes a cardboard box, brings it back to the taxi and places it under a seat and gets back into the driver seat and drives on. And we were wondering what the hell just happened. We concluded that we just dont understand these islanders and their eccentricities. :)
We hiked down Reef run trail, and saw abandoned slave quarters, myriad tropical trees and plants along the way, and petroglyphs (carvings in stone made by the Tainos, the very first inhabitants of the Virgin Islands who came up from South America on barges made from tree trunks, some 700 miles in the Caribbean ocean with no navigation aids - sometime around 700 B.C.) Amazing.
Charlotte Amalie
On another day, we drove into Charlotte Amalie and the historic downtown district of St. Thomas. The town itself has been pretty well preserved to give tourists a sense of history, old buildings kept the way they are, etc...and this, with the fabulous views (which are somewhat strangely accentuated by the humungus cruise ships that dock near the harbour), makes for a very good morning of touristy stuff....even though the day is incredibly hot, and within an hour of walking around with the tour guide, we are dripping with perspiration. Some shopping (St. Thomas is duty and tax free!), and lunch in a very darling little local cafe and we drive back to our quiet little end of the island.
Birds in the Sky
On the last day, we drove to Coki Beach, and signed up for parasailing. Within an hour, we were being given instructions and life-jackets. Pretty soon, the boat we were on was in the middle of the ocean, and we found ourselves standing at the edge, all ready to be released into the air. Above us was the huge colourful balloon, that would assist in buoying us up into the air. One, two and THREE - zzzzziiiiiiiiiiiiiiippppppp....the boatman released the cord, and the balloon took off into the sky, and because we were strapped in it, we took off as well......a moment's sheer exhilaration soon gave way to wonderment, as we were being lifted higher and higher up, thanks to more cord being released by the boatman way below and the soaring balloon above us....soon we were 300 metres up in the sky, and the boat was a tiny speck in the ocean below us....what a FANTASTIC view!!!!!!!!! The blue caribbean all around us, but also the myriad islands dotting it....we could see miles and miles around us....suddenly I looked directly below me and I saw that we were above a coral reef near the surface of the ocean....and guess what?!! We actually saw a turtle swimming around in it....it looked so awesome! After a few minutes, we started descending and realized that our trip in the sky was coming to an end...but it was so well worth it!!
When we left St. Thomas at the end of the fifth day...it felt like we knew the island so well....and the memory of its gorgeous beauty will be with me forever...
St. Thomas is one of three US Virgin Islands (St. John and St. Croix are the other two), and it is 13 miles long and 7 miles wide. It is very hilly and the roads are very windy and narrow (2 lanes only), and it is surrounded by the Caribbean Sea on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other. Nearby are the British Virgin Islands. At any spot on the island either at an elevation or within reasonable distance from the shore, the views are absolutely breath-taking, and as we drove our rental car from the airport to the condo we were renting for the 5 days, we came across views that were stunningly beautiful.
The island, although a part of the US, has a completely unique flavour of its own. The people are a mix of whites (from the US, Europe, etc) and people of African origin (whose ancestors had originally been brought to the island as slaves by the early Danish settlers on the island, to work in the sugarcane plantations.) And then there are tourists such as ourselves. The islanders have a cute caribbean accent and using the word 'laid-back' to define them would be an understatement. They move slowly, they talk slowly, they answer questions slowly, and would rather have a siesta any time of the day than do anything else really. Well, in any case, we were all set to enjoy our time, unwind and soak up some Caribbean fun.
The beaches of St. Thomas
There are many, many beaches on St. Thomas and most of them are pretty spectacular. The condo we were staying in had a fantastic view from the balcony, and we were privy to blue blue seas, a beautiful beach (Sapphire Bay Beach), a marina which docked boats, and islands in the distance, tiny ones dotting the blue Caribbean surface as well as St. John.
One morning we drove to Magen's Bay Beach, which, according to National Geographic, ranks as one of the ten most beautiful beaches in the world. And it was. Absolutely amazing. Picture this - white sand, aquamarine waters, no rocks, no waves (this is at least partly due to the beach being surrounded by land pieces jutting out into the ocean on two sides, forming a bay, or large cove, and because of this, the beach is like a giant swimming pool, with very calm, serene water. Ideal for splashing and swimming around. And we could not get enough of the views.
Keep to the Left!!
We laughed when the car rental official, our condo owner and other literature warned us to drive on the LEFT side of the road. Of course, we would drive on the left side...come on, what are we..imbeciles who dont understand what that means? Well, we rented our car and took off, driving across the island towards our condo. All the roads on the island are just two lanes, and very windy, going up and down hills. Takes a bit of concentration, especially the first time. So, we were navigating between maps and hilly, windy roads...and made a wrong turn. Realizing this, we stopped the car, and decided to mae a U-turn. Having made the U-turn, we found ourselves on the right side of the road, and it didnt feel wrong. In the next instant, a car was hurtling towards us in our lane, and at the last possible instant, reflexes of both drivers averted what would have been a scary and a totally unwanted start to our vacation. Phwew!
Hiking on St. John
On another day, we took a ferry from the town of Red Hook to the island of St. John, which is less inhabited and more untouched than St. Thomas. Here, our plan was to hike down the Reef Run trail, which is a famous trail through the tropical forest of St. John, which housed many of the sugarcane plantations a few hundred years ago, trek all the way down to an abandoned sugar mill, and finally end up on the beach, and then hike back up. To get to the point where the trail starts, is about 4 miles from where our ferry docked. We found an eager taxi driver who offered to take us up there. As he is driving up the winding roads, suddenly he stops right in the middle of the road, gets out, crosses the street to a dumpster, removes a cardboard box, brings it back to the taxi and places it under a seat and gets back into the driver seat and drives on. And we were wondering what the hell just happened. We concluded that we just dont understand these islanders and their eccentricities. :)
We hiked down Reef run trail, and saw abandoned slave quarters, myriad tropical trees and plants along the way, and petroglyphs (carvings in stone made by the Tainos, the very first inhabitants of the Virgin Islands who came up from South America on barges made from tree trunks, some 700 miles in the Caribbean ocean with no navigation aids - sometime around 700 B.C.) Amazing.
Charlotte Amalie
On another day, we drove into Charlotte Amalie and the historic downtown district of St. Thomas. The town itself has been pretty well preserved to give tourists a sense of history, old buildings kept the way they are, etc...and this, with the fabulous views (which are somewhat strangely accentuated by the humungus cruise ships that dock near the harbour), makes for a very good morning of touristy stuff....even though the day is incredibly hot, and within an hour of walking around with the tour guide, we are dripping with perspiration. Some shopping (St. Thomas is duty and tax free!), and lunch in a very darling little local cafe and we drive back to our quiet little end of the island.
Birds in the Sky
On the last day, we drove to Coki Beach, and signed up for parasailing. Within an hour, we were being given instructions and life-jackets. Pretty soon, the boat we were on was in the middle of the ocean, and we found ourselves standing at the edge, all ready to be released into the air. Above us was the huge colourful balloon, that would assist in buoying us up into the air. One, two and THREE - zzzzziiiiiiiiiiiiiiippppppp....the boatman released the cord, and the balloon took off into the sky, and because we were strapped in it, we took off as well......a moment's sheer exhilaration soon gave way to wonderment, as we were being lifted higher and higher up, thanks to more cord being released by the boatman way below and the soaring balloon above us....soon we were 300 metres up in the sky, and the boat was a tiny speck in the ocean below us....what a FANTASTIC view!!!!!!!!! The blue caribbean all around us, but also the myriad islands dotting it....we could see miles and miles around us....suddenly I looked directly below me and I saw that we were above a coral reef near the surface of the ocean....and guess what?!! We actually saw a turtle swimming around in it....it looked so awesome! After a few minutes, we started descending and realized that our trip in the sky was coming to an end...but it was so well worth it!!
When we left St. Thomas at the end of the fifth day...it felt like we knew the island so well....and the memory of its gorgeous beauty will be with me forever...
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