Vacation thoughts for STX 2009

Snorkeling
We only got to try a few places. I suspect (I think I’ve read) that, worldwide, coral is in severe decline. So, I didn’t expect to see brilliant colored coral that jumped out of the water. Indeed much of it (90%) is sandy/dull in color. Off of many beaches we found mounds of coral with a few samples of fan type coral, some staghorn coral, anemone and urchin. There were often Parrot fish, Tangs, stingray, non-stinging jellyfish and other small to medium sized fish (sorry, I haven’t learned the names yet). In general you can’t go 10 seconds without seeing some form of sea life. The best time to snorkel is about noon when the Sun is most overhead (brightest light underwater). Be cautious about water current - your guide should show you the current direction and it could easily take 3 times longer to travel up current, than down. I can easily snorkel 300 yards down current, and then slowly make my way back against the current. I tend to float much easier than my wife. She feels much more secure if she uses one of those snorkeling vests with just three small puffs of air for flotation.

The places we tried were:
- Buck Island: this is always spectacular. The coral reef area creates a maze with 6-8 ft high walls of coral. The sea life is the richest that we saw anywhere. Schools of 100 blue Tangs came by; a lone barracuda, flounder and various other fish. I always enjoy the boat ride over. We enjoy the half day more than the full day: I don’t think the full day gives you any more snorkeling at Buck... it just adds a cook out at another beach. We go for the snorkeling. We went with Big Beards. I remembered Erin from two years ago and she is very pleasant and helpful (it is lots of fun for us to follow up with people that we met on previous trips. Erin is getting married in Dec to the guy she was dating when we last visited). I think the cost was about $70/person. I now snorkel with a T-shirt on because I need to avoid the sunburn I get while snorkeling. And, suntan lotions are bad for the coral. We tried the environmentally-friendly suntan lotion and had a bad allergic skin reaction.

- Cane Bay: this wasn’t that spectacular for us... maybe we just didn’t get to the good sites. I went out about 30 yards from the ramp and headed east about 200 yards. It was “OK”. I debated going out further, but I figured I wouldn’t see anything at the wall if I was up at the surface. When I stood on the beach and looked over the water for dark spots underwater (indicating coral areas) I didn’t really see anything past about 30-40 yards offshore. If anyone can correct me on this review, it would be helpful.

- Carambola: this was a very pleasant surprise. Go to the far west end of the beach - It’s easier to walk out in the water because of the sandy floor. Head straight out about 30 yards to get past the sandy water (from the surf). Then, head west, parallel to the rocky shoreline. There are 6 ft diameter staghorn corals, and coral mounds that are 4-5 ft high. Lots of the rocks that jut out into the water have been washed out below waterline. In the afternoon, the Sun lights the rock faces that face west. Since the current is heading west, you can get very close to these rocks without fear of the surf smashing you into the rocks (the current is pushing you away from the west sides of the rocks). We saw schools of fish, 50-100 strong; thousands of jelly fish (that don’t sting); a lone stingray (I saw him in the same area two different days); and all of the usual locals (Tangs, Parrot fish, clown fish, etc). I met a young couple (he works at Gallows Bay Hardware) that said they hiked along the rocks to a cave that leads to a tide pool (not Annaly Tide Pools). He says that you swim through the cave. I would swim along the coastline, 20 minutes each day for exercise. I saw the cave (I think) that he was talking about. I snorkeled out to explore more closely the next day. Maybe it was low tide, because the cave was up on the beach a bit. I thought about crawling through it, but worried that maybe it wasn’t the same cave, and abandoned this idea. Just out in front of the beach at Carambola is snorkeling that looked as good, if not better than I found at Cane Bay. There are outdoor showers at Carambola so you can rinse off (self and gear). Like I said in another post, the food at Carambola is good, and the outdoor seating is pretty nice also, so that’s a plus. Carambola is a gate/guarded facility so I felt very safe leaving equipment in the car, overnight, or on the beach while we snorkeled... never had any trouble.

Now that I've snorkeled a few beaches, I want to study Google Earth a bit more to see if I can predict good snorkeling areas from their imagery.

Restaurants:
Dinning to me is about more than just the food and/or the price. I enjoy an outdoor atmosphere, relaxed setting, attentive and personable servers, healthy food that is fresh and tasty. I must say that overall, I was really impressed with our dining experiences. There was only one restaurant that I was disappointed with... more on that later. The fruit was wonderfully ripe and fresh, as were the vegetables. Meat and fish were very tasty and very well prepared. The portions were large enough that my wife and I were always able to split our meals (we eat 4-6 small meals a day instead of the traditional three large meals). Service was always very pleasant and we really enjoyed getting to know our servers a bit. We ate every meal, except one, outdoors. The setting was always very nice but we were careful to find seats with a breeze; otherwise dining outdoors would not have been as pleasant. We had no problems with mosquitoes or other bugs.

So, with that general introduction, here are a few specific highlights:
- Carambola: we had (split) a burger with fries one night and then a burger with salad (instead of fries) for lunch another day. I have to say that the burgers were really delicious. The meat had that grilled flavor and the lettuce and tomatoes were fresh. I’m sure the burgers are not healthy (some of the “juice” was most likely not water from the tomatoes), but we were active everyday, so we indulged (and like I said, we had a second burger another day... they were very tasty). We also had one of their salads with pine nuts, goat cheese and balsamic dressing. Again, very fresh, and the chicken was not the flat, dry stuff you get at many chain restaurants - it was juicy and thick. We had breakfast everyday there. We just split a fruit plate and bagel with cream cheese. I really enjoyed the fruit, but by the last day my wife thought that it started to taste a bit like it was kept together too long. Pineapple, banana, oranges, honey dew, cantaloupe, grapes. One night we had their Red Snapper in coconut/mango sauce. It came with asparagus and red potatoes. We really enjoyed this plate as well. Again, we were easily able to split it. By now, the restaurant knew that we split all meals so they just brought it out on two plates. It was plenty for each of us. The flavors were really good together, and the dish is not too filling. We found the prices to be very reasonable at Carambola. Of course it helps when you’re splitting meals. I like to drink a half and half mix of lemonade and club soda (I don’t know what to call yet... I need a name like an Arnold Palmer). This is a really tasty, light and refreshing drink (with half the sugar). They would not charge extra for refills (more on that later). We enjoyed the local servers... it’s a more relaxed culture than mainland, which is fine, on vacation... we found them very personable, once we got to know each other a bit.

- Angry Nate’s: We had lunch there once and dinner another night. We wanted to try the other boardwalk restaurants, but they just didn’t have much of a breeze. For lunch we had hummus and baba ghanough appetizer and a salad with almonds, mango, orange and chicken. Very fresh vegetables, thick juicy chicken and very nice flavor. Later in the week our dinner was Tilapia with garlic shrimp. It came with saffron rice and squash medley. This was very tasty as well, and reasonably priced. Our server was really friendly and very attentive. Of course the sunsets over the marina are really pretty, and if you get a nice breeze it makes the whole dinner experience very nice.

- TopHat: OK, so I picked this place because of a review on this forum that described Hanna and Mike as running the restaurant just to meet friends; and that they cooked want they wanted. This sounded really quaint to me, so I couldn't pass it up. It was the only meal that we ate inside; and it was the most wonderful dinning experience. When we got there (about 6:30 PM), there was one other couple seated; Mike greeted us warmly, and the seating is such that it would have been a bit rude to not acknowledge the other seated couple. The other couple replied warmly, so I moved my seat to the other side so that we could mingle with both Mike, behind the bar, and the other couple. Two hours later, we were well acquainted with Mike and Hanna, and Hans and Barbara of Annaly Farms. We split the frickadeller Danish meatballs and had the asparagus appetizer. They brought the meal out on two plates and it was more than plenty for each of us. The meatballs are on red cabbage (usually I would gag at red cabbage, but this was really tasty with meatballs and gravy. Mashed potatoes would have made this a really heavy dish, so I was glad that we had split the meal. A side plate of beets had some spices added...like cinnamon... very tasty. My wife enjoyed their cosmopolitans and I had two Heinekens. We walked through the art gallery with our second drinks (after our meals and mingling). Hans, Barbara, Mike and Hanna followed shortly after so we got the story on the artists and the architecture of the building. This was such a fun and wonderful evening. I left thinking that this is like life in a small town... you like to support your favorite restaurants, and you’re probably going to end up mingling with folks you know.

- Rum Runners: We went here only for dessert. We wanted to bring rum cake home with us and we heard that Anna makes the best rum cake, and sells them to Rum Runners. So, we had a piece of rum cake and a frozen lemon meringue. We really enjoyed the frozen lemon meringue. The rum cake was “OK”... it was a little dry for my taste, but I’d definitely give it a second chance. The waiter was a little spacey, but was entertaining and attentive. He brought out a coffee even though we said we only wanted water. He left the coffee on the bill even though we clearly didn’t touch it. So, like I said, a little spacey, but no big deal in our book.

- We had a smoothie out at the small zoo near Dominoes. We were there to meet Lumumba and to see Villa Gorilla... we didn’t know this smoothie place was even there (nor the zoo). It was perfect timing for a smoothie so we gave Hazel a chance to woo me (I make my own smoothies, so I’m a bit of a smoothie snob). She just uses what fresh fruit she has on hand. It really was delicious. Again, perfectly ripe and fresh fruit. A real treat and Hazel is a sweetheart (she ran half way up the road in front of our jeep to show us where Lumumba lived - Lumumba told us later that she was on the track team in college).

- Off the Wall: We had a sunset meal of pizza and beer. We really enjoyed the pizza. Some probably won’t like the pizza because of the thin crust. But, we found the thin crust to be “crisp” and not “burned” and the toppings were ample and tasty. Our waitress was very warm, friendly and attentive. She brought out shots for the sunset which was a fun addition. It was a little warm there (only a slight breeze at the time), but the cold beer made up for it, and the sun soon set which made it more comfortable. Of course the sunset was a carribean sunset... so a really pleasant experience.

- Eat at Canes: I had forgotten they had a limited menu. I was a little disappointed when I saw the menu, and we almost left. But we were hungry enough that we decided to give them a chance. We ordered the turkey/avocado sandwich. I am really glad we stayed. Again, the avocado, lettuce and tomato were ripe and fresh. The turkey was thick and juicy, not the thin sliced stuff that you expect. I was afraid the fries were badly burned, thin french fries, but they were actually sweet potato fries. They were “OK” but I couldn’t get the same enjoyment as regular fries (ketchup doesn’t really enhance their flavor... maybe I needed a different garnish with them). The waitress was just a ball of cuteness once we got her talking. She was very attentive but she looked busy, so we were reluctant to really engage her. But, by the end of our meal she started to have a little more time for us and was just cute as a button. She talked about her move here, with their trailer that they brought over from mainland. I think her fiancee is a poster on this blog and I seem to remember him writing about strapping the trailer to ground in prep for hurricanes. Anyway, it was fun to get to know the waitress a little bit. I wish they had my lemonade and club soda... maybe someday.

- Buccaneer: This was my only disappointment. We had lunch there before heading to the airport (we noticed many other patrons at the airport later, so this must be a tradition). I thought we’d be eating at the main dining hall, up on the hill. Nope, they directed us down to the beach. There wasn’t much of a breeze and we were more indoors than I’d like. It took a full 10 minutes for a waitress to greet us at our table. If there had been another restaurant nearby, and we had more time (before our flight), I would have politely left. Our waitress was very nice. I don’t know why they had problems serving the patrons. I think there were about 10 tables of people (average of 2 per table), and I saw at least 4 “servers”. I was worried that the food was going to take too long, but really it was fine. We got a burger (with fruit instead of fries) and gazpacho. My wife said the gazpacho was good, and I thought the burger was “OK”. They had my lemonade and club soda, but they were the only restaurant to charge for a refill. We got a chicken wrap for the airplane, and I must say it was about equal to what you can buy at airports these days. Now, I must say that I really expected this level of “quality” everywhere on an expensive island. But, every other dining experience was MUCH better than I expected.

Hike to Annaly Tide Pools
We decided to hike to Annaly Tide Pools one day. We were staying at the Carambola, so we were already at the starting point. If you’re visiting the Carambola, ask the guard where to park for the hike to Annaly Tide Pool. I suspect they’ll let you park just outside of hotel registration. You’ll walk along the main hotel road, heading west, for about 200-300 yards. You’ll see a fenced in area on your left, which is the tennis courts (a sign there points to the tennis courts also). Go along the road on the right/west side of the courts. Up that road, 50 yards, you’ll see a 20 yard long arching wooden bridge crossing over to the west. This leads you to the start of the trail. The first 200 yards of the trail is the only portion of the trail that I’d consider “moderate difficulty”; only because it’s steep; no switch-backs. After that, the trail is “low difficulty” (as long as you take the “easy option path”, explained shortly). The entire hike to the pool is about 30-40 minutes at an easy pace. After the first steep part of the trail you’ll come to the first of two grassy sections. There are great views back to the Carambola and east, and out to sea. The path is easy to follow in the sense that it’s obvious where the path is at every moment. You’re back in shaded brush/trees until you come to the second grassy area. In this second grassy area, you’ll come to a Y in the path. To the right on this Y is the harder path option with supposedly steep rocky sections. We were advised not to try this, and being in our 50s, we heeded that advice. Taking the left option of the Y we continued in tall grass and then went back into shaded brush. At this point the path was a bit wider. Eventually, we came to a dirt, jeep road T-intersection. The jeep road to the right is down hill and leads to the beach next to the tidal pools. The jeep road to the left goes up hill and leads to a short path to ruins that you would have seen from the intersection (and are maybe 5 minutes from the intersection). Go downhill to the beach, beside the tidal pools. It took about 5-10 minutes on this jeep road to reach the beach. The beach is rocky (very smooth stones... no sand). It was so cool to hear the grinding of stones each time a wave washed up and down the rocky beach... I had never heard this sound anywhere else. Walk the 40 yards to the left/west end of the beach. The hill-ridge juts out into the water and blocks your path to the tidal pools. The tidal pools are literally 10 yards beyond this jutting out ridge... you can see the walls of the tidal pool from the beach. Tide must have been very high, because it looked like we would have been almost waist deep in surf to get around this jutting ridge. My wife was afraid to negotiate this surf so, believe it or not, we left. So, I can’t tell you anything about the tidal pools, but I can tell you that a man and women in our 50’s, that exercise lightly every day had absolutely no problem with this hike. It’s a beautiful hike through the shaded forest and the tall grass. There is at least one bee’s nest in a tree right on the path. We were told the bees will not bother you, and I passed by without even noticing them... my wife did. We saw a few centipedes on trunks of trees so don’t grab a tree trunk for support without looking first. We saw hermit crabs on the path about every 20 yards. They’re easy to spot, so I don’t think we stepped on any.

Carambola hotel
We got our flight and hotel package through CheapCaribbean.com. We chose the Carambola over the Divi because we had already stayed at the Divi and wanted to try something else. We did not choose the Buccaneer because of price. The Carambola is on the beach, in the rain forest, on the west side of the island. It is very close to Cane Bay. It took about 15 minutes to get to the airport; 20 minutes to get to C’sted.

The Carambola is a group of separate 4-room cottages, two downstairs, and two upstairs rooms per cottage. The central area has the restaurants, a shop, a few meeting rooms, pool and registration office. There is no parking at each cottage so you either drag your luggage a ways to your cottage or ask for a cart ride. This seemed a bit of a hassle at first, but we quickly accepted this as a proper compromise that allowed us to walk the grounds without dodging cars.

Our cottage was about as far back from the beach as you can get. I’m guessing that this was either because of our cheap package, or because our travel agent noted that we were on a wedding anniversary. However, the room location was of no real concern... the beach and restaurants are all within easy walking distance. The room was very dark. Some people will describe the rooms as dark, musty and old. Some will describe them as having old English-colonial charm with wonderful dark Mahogany furniture. The rooms are very dark, due to nestling in very lush landscaping. The furniture is all Mahogany. Large shuddered french doors lead to a screened in porch. The sleeping area was ample size. The bathroom was a great size and has a nice walk in closet. The shower is a walk in, with seat and wire to hang clothes on. So, I found the room to be very practical, and the age of things did not bother me.

The air conditioner is standard LOUD style... this was the biggest problem. The room always seemed damp, so I’m not sure the A/C was working properly. It took us a couple days to get used to this, but given the high cost of electricity and the tropical environment, I was not surprised. Since we had beach towels and bathing suits, we had things draped over chairs and doors to dry overnight.

Internet is not available in the rooms, but was always available (and free) in the restaurant/bar areas.

We really enjoyed the grounds, the restaurants and the beach. They’re like post cards. The landscaping is spectacular. The restaurant areas are beautiful... nice views, nice tables with umbrellas, lush settings. There is a large pool with nice seating and small tables for drinks. The bar and restaurants are right next to the pool, so that’s a nice convenience as well.

There are various walkways to the beach. These walkways also go to the restaurant/bar/pool area. The beach is sandy and has many chaise lounge chairs set up. You can sit in shade of palm trees, sun on the beach, or water at your toes. There are multiple shower stations at the beach so it’s easy to rinse off before leaving the beach. The views from various locations in and around the property are spectacular, with the turquoise and blue seas, high hills surrounding the site and rocks jutting into the sea.

Staff was attentive and for the most part prompt. I did have an issue with laundry. I had spent a day wacking my way through my property. I wore jeans which I wanted to wear for the trip home. Two days before departure I turned in my clothes for cleaning. I was under the impression that I’d have them the next day... no luck. The night before checkout, the staff was unable to resolve the issue. Checkout morning I let the desk know that we were leaving and my laundry had not made it back. I really thought I’d never see those jeans again. But, they were at the desk when we checked out at noon. On the positive side the restaurant staff were all very good, and our room was always clean and made up by the time we returned in the afternoon.

About the sound of the rocks at Annaly Bay... I completely agree. That is one of my favorite sounds in the world. I love to sit there and just listen. Thanks for your input on everything!

Yup, I'm with ya, roadrunner... and the way the cove is carved out, depending on where you sit, the sound of the waves can just roar. We really enjoyed this hike. It's an easy morning hike that doesn't leave you exhausted. I loved the tall grassy areas too... that movement in the wind. But, now that I've heard there are ticks on the island, the tall grass worries me a bit... but, I've checked myself for ticks... none to be seen.

Getting around:
A few years ago I found 3rd party Garmin-GPS maps for USVI (sorry, I don’t have the web site anymore). I think current Garmin GPS units come with complete maps of USVI roads, hotels, restaurants, etc. I was really glad that I had this GPS unit. It’s hard enough to remember to keep left, stay on narrow roads and stop on some straight roads to give right of way to people turning. I find that I don’t “learn” the road systems as quickly, but the reduced anxiety is wonderful.

We rented a jeep this time. I wanted a jeep because I knew that we were going to go off road a bit. I considered driving to Annaly Tide Pools... glad I hiked instead. I was a bit worried about the jeep because of the potential cloudy soft top windows. The jeep was great. The air conditioning worked well and it rode well on and off road. We went up and down a very steep road in Eliza’s Retreat... the jeep had great power and traction. The jeep is a little loud at high speeds, but there are very few roads where you (or at least I) can get fast enough for this to really matter. $49/day is a good price for the jeep. I couldn’t figure out how to get the back seat down when we first got the jeep, so putting the luggage in the car at the airport was a real hassle. My son has a jeep, so I should know how to get the seat down. Of course, by the last day, I had figured out how to get the seat down, and of course, it wasn’t that tough.

I never found the traffic to be that bad. But, given that I’m used to metropolitan area traffic (suburb of Wash DC), almost any other traffic would seem mild. A few times I pulled out into traffic when I had misjudged the speed a bit. In this case it seemed that people would honk and ride my ass. But, I also saw people stop in traffic to let others out into traffic. So, I think in general traffic is somewhat “polite”, but you’re expected to know the driving etiquette.

The centerline highway is really ugly. You see the ugly end of Hovensa (is there a “handsome” side?). There is the most depressing looking housing, backed right up against this highway (I think it’s housing, but with sparse, tiny, closed off windows, the buildings look somewhere between dog kennels and prison quarters). There are some really beautiful drives through the rain forest, roads between north and south shores, and along the shores. Personally, I kind of like the drive through C’sted with the narrow streets (remember, I’m on vacation... I don’t HAVE to get anywhere), but I think C’sted will be nicer when the bypass opens... less cars to dodge while walking around.

FInally, I was very worried about leaving stuff in the jeep. We never had any problem. We got back from a Buck island trip one afternoon... monday, about 1:30. We had parked in the gov lot in C’sted. We laid out our wet towels and clothes on the seats in the jeep and left our snorkeling gear in the back. We locked the doors, but of course this is a waste of time in a jeep since anyone can easily just unzip or cut the windows. We then went to lunch and shopping in C’sted. We were gone for about 3 hours. We parked in C’sted about 4 other times. Most of the time, I park beside the gov lot... it’s closer to the boardwalk, and I can usually find a spot. Again, never had a problem. I’m not advocating leaving stuff in the car, but it’s not a given that jeeps will automatically be broken into.

Many older homes/apartments here do not have glass windows. They have screens covered by metal louvers. People leave them wide open during the day and close them slightly at night. The look of these buildings takes some getting used to.

Glad you had a good time! 🙂

A couple notes: the guy Erin is marrying is none other than Gordon, one of the captains for Big Beard's. Gordon is an awesome guy, very friendly.

Those bugs on the trees were most likely millipedes, which are harmless. Completely the opposite of centipedes, which are minions of hell sent forth by Satan himself.

Good point Linda,
I just think it's a shame that the first major road that visitors most likely drive on, take them immediately by the most depressing housing scene. They must wonder "what have I gotten myself into!?". Especially when there are SO MANY gorgeous homes all over the island.

There has to be low cost housing, and unfortunately it tends to get built on low cost lands (next to highways, land dumps, airports, etc), but if you're going to rely on tourism, then maybe there is value in buffering the views with landscaping.

Many will not like the older apartment complexes with laundry hanging out in open view. Personally, I find this more "quaint" than ugly, and these days the "green" aspect is appealing.

That's all the old aluminum plant housing.

Thanks NugBlazer,
Yup, you're right... I looked it up... they were millipedes. I didn't see any centipedes. I was probably walking over them constantly.

Capt Gordon was never on our boat, so I haven't met him. So, if you know Erin, then you might also know Darby and Austin. We met them on our Buck trip, three years ago, and then caught up with them again, two years ago. Darby is from Virginia (like we are) and really friendly. She was off/on dating Austin, and you could tell that Austin really liked her. We were hoping that we'd catch up with Darby this trip, but she's no longer working at Big Beards. So, one night we're at Rum Runners, and my wife hears someone talking to our waiter, saying ".... Darby...". So, she says, "hey, did you just say something about Darby?". I turn around to see who she's talking to, and it's Austin. So, we spend 20 minutes, right there, catching up with Capt Austin. He's such a nice guy. He and Darby are getting married in March. For us, it's lots of fun to see what these young kids are doing, and it's good to see them doing well.

I have to tell you, this really was one of the best vacations I've ever had. I can't believe how well everything worked. I usually don't try to plan a vacation... it turns into something other than a vacation. But, I had built up a list of so many things that I wanted to do and see, over the past two years (thanks to these forums!). So, I looked at the top items on the list and shuffled a bit to avoid excessive windshield time. I mixed in rest periods with running around. And, it all worked as I envisioned! My wife was just as happy as I was (this is VERY rare)... well, OK, she wanted to shop more than I did... I'm good for maybe 5 minutes, then I start sighing and pouting. I didn't get everything done on my 2 year list, but I didn't expect to. There were plenty of pleasant surprises; the weather was great (we were able to see STT a few days); the cost was good; we got a lot accomplished.

I believe the road you were on was HWY 66 (Melvin Blevins -sp?) not Centerline Road (Queen Mary). It was the four lane divided road, correct?

Terry,
I think you must be right... I'm looking at Google Earth... looks like it's Rt 66. Yes, 4-lane, divided highway.

Sorry for any confusion.

... like I said... when you use a GPS, you don't have to learn the roads... sigh.

EngRMP,
"Blowing out someone else's candle doesn't make yours burn any brighter"

Getting around - continued (I forgot to add a few topics under this heading)
We used CheapCaribbean.com to get our package travel deal. We paid just under $1200 for:
- 2 people
- flights (we got to choose, with the help of a travel agent):
Reagan National Airport (depart 0800) to Miami; Miami to STX (arrive 1530)
STX to Miami (depart 1630); Miami to Dulles airport (arrive 2330)
- Carambola hotel - 5 nights
I didn’t understand what the transfer fee was when I was dealing with CheapCaribbean.com. Ten minutes after the trip was booked I realized that the “transfer fee” was to pay for the Carambola van transport between hotel and airport. Since I was going to get a rental car I didn’t need this ($50). So, my travel agent told me to quickly call the “customer support” group. Customer support is not quite as cheery and helpful. The only thing they would do is put the $50 into a one year account to use against the next vacation through CheapCaribbean.com. So, I’ll lose that.

One trick I wish I had figured out before the trip (of course I figured this out on the flight back home) was on the baggage fee. American charges $20 to check a bag in (as opposed to a carry on bag). My wife and I each had bags, and they probably would have fit overhead. But, of course if you have toiletries, it’s easier to check the bag instead of packaging all of this for security and then carry the bag in/out of the airplane. BUT, we could have put both toiletries into one of the suitcases and then carryon the other suitcase. It would have saved $40 ($20 each way).

Miami airport was pretty easy to navigate. We had about an hour between flights and this left plenty of time to find a sandwich and get to the gate.

I really like the STX airport. It’s tiny compared to any metropolitan airport. You walk off the plane. There’s a tiny baggage claim area. The rental cars are right there. It’s all pretty easy. However, when you depart you have to go through customs. They give you a form to declare anything that you’re transporting out (purchases, no agriculture). They also inspect every checked-in bag, with you waiting right there (you bring your bag to the inspection station). We only had our driver’s license. Customs asked for Birth Certificate or Passport or Voter Registration. We only had driver’s license... they really didn’t fuss much. It might have been easier because we “owned” passports and they maybe could look us up from that.

We paid about $275 (with fees and taxes) for the Hertz jeep. I did not get the Hertz insurance, but I kept thinking about what my State Farm insurance agent told me a year ago... better to get this Hertz insurance, rather than pay State Farm for any accidents. Hertz was very easy to deal with. Very friendly agents at the airport. When I returned the car, the young kid receiving the car offered to give me a ride back to the airport. The jeep ran fine and we only put gas in it twice (once when it got down to 1/4 tank and the 2nd time it was at 3/4 tank while heading back to the airport).

More on roads on STX. There are a few intersections that are pretty weird compared to most mainland roads:
- think of a T-intersection
- now imagine stopping on the straight-through section of the road to give right-of-way to people on the side road.
- in some cases, given the thick vegetation, the stop signs can be hidden until 5-10 feet from the intersection.
So, be very careful. I’m guessing that this is where visitors get into accidents. We fell victim to this the first year we visited, and luckily the other driver was able to stop in time (it was my fault and we would have been creamed).

OK, I think this is the final bits of info that I have....

Odds and ends:

- Farmers Market. It was lots of fun to go to the Farmer’s Market in La Reine. Those little old farmer ladies. Of course we didn’t know anything, so I think the little ladies had fun telling us about things. I loved the Tamarind Jam. We also got some Guava Jelly... haven’t tried it yet. We also got some spice mix. It’s supposed to be good on chicken or fish. We tried it on Tilapia... it was great... a little peppery. We also saw fish being sold there. Anyone know if the fish is OK to buy there... free of ciguetera?

- World Food Day. We went there to see UVI and to see the aquaponics system. We got there about 3:00 PM. We asked around and found out that the tours were earlier in the day. But, they said that we were free to just go see the aquaponics system ourselves, and maybe someone would be up there. Sure enough, Jason (I was hoping to meet Aquaponics from this forum) had just finished feeding some of the Tilapia. He offered to give us our own tour!! It was great. He spent about 30 minutes with us. And, as an engineer, I was fascinated by this system. They’re using fish to feed the plants, and plants to filter the water for the fish. The fish and the plants get sold for food when matured. UVI is one of the world leaders in this technology!

- Lumumba. Lumumba leads eco-hikes/tours through the island. I was hoping to go on one of his hikes. I also wanted to see if I could hire him to walk my property with me, to learn the flora and fauna on my land.
We didn't actually get to tour with Lumumba. He was roaming around his property as we came by to visit his neighbor’s property at Villa Gorilla. I was hoping that I'd find him, because I had tried getting him over the past 4 days, by phone and then email, with no luck. I told him that I was hoping to meet him because I had heard so much about him; and that I was hoping to hire him to wander my property with me to help me understand what was growing there.
He's such an inviting guy that he immediately started showing us the various plants around his property. I think he got excited when I passed his first quiz and “guessed” that the tree in front of his gate was a BaoBab. So, we ended up spending an hour with him as he showed us more plants, and then into his home to show us how he lives.
We then hit it off even better when I told him that I freeze bananas and other fruits for my smoothies, just like he does. His of course are much more sophisticated than mine (flax seed, ginger, etc).
I really enjoyed spending time with him. I didn't repeat my offer to hire him to wander my property with me, because I figured maybe he was busy with a project (he had a camera around his neck when we ran into him). So, I didn't get to tour the islands with him. But, I'll try again on our next trip... whenever that is.

Crime worries. Unfortunately (fortunately?) after reading so much about crime on this forum, I was much more paranoid than I would naturally be. In general I think we only had one occasion to be concerned about... more on that later. As time went on I became more and more comfortable, but always kept aware of my surroundings.
I found it interesting that people that we met who knew about these forums were as paranoid as I was. Other people never even brought up crime issues. I never initiated conversation about crime. I’m not sure what that means: are people on this forum paranoid, or more informed???
Like I said already, we left towels and snorkeling gear in plain view in our jeep with no problems. We walked the streets of C’sted in early evening with no incidents. We left gear on the beach at Carambola and Cane Bay with no problem. We left laptops out in our hotel rooms (they didn’t fit in the safe), all day long. We locked wallets, car keys and cameras in the hotel room safe when not on us.
The one potential crime incident was on the C’sted boardwalk. We had finished dessert at Rum Runners (about 7:30 PM). We were leaving when I decided I should visit the bathroom before driving back to the hotel. My wife walked over to the benches near the webcam and sat down to wait for me. Five minutes later I walk over to see her talking to a large, young man with lots of bling. I joke that she’s harassing him, and he clearly seems a little worried to see me, but shakes my hand and starts to discuss $10k prefab concrete homes. He has three on the various islands and thinks they are great (ummm... I doubt it). When we’re alone, my wife says that he immediately sat down next to her and asked if she was alone. When my wife said no, the guy was questioning her on it. I showed up within a minute or so after that. So, maybe he was sizing her up for a mugging. I’m not sure how it would have worked, since there were plenty of other people on the boardwalk. But, he didn’t follow us, and that was that. Who knows, maybe he was trying to pick her up. He was about 30, and we are in our early 50s.... I think my wife is very cute... but... we’re in our 50s!

- Weather. We only had rain during the day twice. Once, I was snorkeling and I could tell it was sprinkeling... it only lasted for about 3 minutes. The 2nd time we were at Gallows Bay Hardware. It was sunny when we went in, and as we walked to the door to leave it was pouring. We waited under their entry cover and it stopped within 5 minutes.
We did have storms during the night, the first two nights. And there was really loud thunder! At one point, I’m half asleep, and there is a loud clap of thunder. My wife starts shaking violently and I’m wondering how she got hit by lightening and I didn’t. To be even more insensitive, I realized that she just got scared, and it made me laugh. I mean she was convulsing for about three seconds!
Two of the days, the air was clear enough to see STT across the water. The air temp seemed a little lower as well. It was pretty comfortable air. During these times it was more comfortable to have the car windows open instead of using A/C.
The water temperature feels like it’s just barely cooler than air temp. So, it’s just cool enough to be refreshing... very nice.

i wanted to thank you for this great tour of STX. My husband and i are going down the four five days before Thanksgiving. We usually stay at Carambola, and too like it so much. If possible, can you give us and idea of how to get to the Annaly Tide Pools? I am not sure how to hike there.
thank you for the nice people on this message board.
kini

sorry, i just found the directions to the Annaly Pool you had written out, thanks

Hi Miki,

I hope you enjoy the Annaly Pool hike. I forgot to add one thing:
As you come out of the 2nd section of tall grass you'll go on to a wider dirt road. The dirt road will come to a T-intersection with an even wider dirt jeep road. To the right, downhill, leads to the tide pools. Not knowing the trail, I was worried that I might not recognize this intersection on the way back. So, I put a big stick at the intersection, as a marker for the return trip. However, there aren't any other intersections, so it was not necessary to mark this intersection.

And, of course we failed to actually get to the tide pools because we couldn't quite figure out how to get around the rocks at the west end of the rock beach. Please let us know if you just waded out in the water to get around.

Also! There are apparently some/one geocache(s) at the tide pools. I haven't been able to get my wife interested in geocaching (yet), so I didn't look for them.

If you decide to go the steep path to the tide pools, please let us know what that hike was like.

Re: getting to the actual tidepools after reaching the beach (we always drive there, not hike):

You do have to hug the rocks and climb up them a little bit to get to the tidepool(s). The first pool is the biggest, but watch out for the sea urchins if you take your shoes off! You will get your shoes wet because of the tide rushing in. That's why I have never waded out and around to get to them-the rushing water.

It's not like the walk to the tidepools over on Virgin Gorda-those are a greater sight, by the way, and what a pretty beach.

Getting around:
A few years ago I found 3rd party Garmin-GPS maps for USVI (sorry, I don’t have the web site anymore). I think current Garmin GPS units come with complete maps of USVI roads, hotels, restaurants, etc. I was really glad that I had this GPS unit. It’s hard enough to remember to keep left, stay on narrow roads and stop on some straight roads to give right of way to people turning. I find that I don’t “learn” the road systems as quickly, but the reduced anxiety is wonderful.

Just an update on this:
- I just got a new Garmin NUVI GPS: model 1250, $153
- out of the box it has maps and points of interest (hotels, restaurants, etc) for STX, STT and STJ
- I'm not sure the maps have as much road-detail as my 3rd party maps (yes, I have "max detail" set)... I'm checking this

A few more notes on these GPS units:
- I've been using them for 6-7 years
- I don't know how I survived without these devices... it's really like having someone in the car with you that knows the roads
- they don't always take you the best way... but, if you don't know the area, you'll never know, or care
- every few years I try the Magellans (Roadmate) and the TomToms... I don't like their screens... the TomTom voice is better than Garmin's... overall, I prefer the Garmins. You can buy both and return the one you like least.
- I don't like the wide Garmins (4.3" screens) because they're harder to carry when I'm just walking around
- I bought the 1250 because I wanted to go back to a GPS that says street names. I thought I liked the distance prompting better (ie. "in 200 feet, turn right"), but I found that in dense road areas (like cities), the roads are too close together, and hearing the road name helps.
- when you get your first GPS unit, I highly recommend using it around your own neighborhood, so that you get used to what it's saying, how it says things and when it says things. Also, disregard it's instructions sometimes to get used to dealing with it's recalculating routes (my wife and mom seem to get quite concerned when the unit announces that we're "off-route"... it doesn't seem to phase me a bit).
- I don't stick the unit to the window or dash anymore. I just hold it in my hand while driving, or put it down in the console area. I am able to hold the unit and the steering wheel at the same time, for most driving conditions. I have to put it down for sharp turns.
- don't leave the mount on your window or dash when you park. Someone will think you've got the GPS in your car and might smash the window to find out. In STX, I wear those hiking shorts that have the additional front pockets... wallet, keys, GPS, small camera, money, hotel keys. When I go swimming, I lock the GPS and charging cable in the glove compartment... no signs of GPS.
- just for fun, I sometimes turn the GPS on in the airplane. It works fine (if you have a window seat and hold it close to the window to "see" satellites) and you can use it to identify areas that you're flying over.

Thank you VERY much for this information! We're getting one, but didn't know which unit to buy. I looked on epinions.com and other places but only got confused. (I like the airplane tip!)

Paula

We just got & returned the Tom Tom unit..............we called it dumb dumb!
Garmin replaced tom dumb & we really like it!