Revisiting St John

April 13 - 28, 2015

This is as close as I get to the engine room.
Looking into it from the salon.
  Sure is clean and tidy.  Brian's pride and joy!

Leaving the BVI, we were looking forward to two relaxing weeks circumnavigating St John.  Maho Bay is a favorite stop and the closest to Jost Van Dyke, our last stop in the BVI.  We were there for one day when the decision was made that four of our six house batteries had to be replaced.  We had been trying to keep them functioning, but it was now obvious that they were not going to make the trip back to the U.S. with us.  They wouldn’t even last to Puerto Rico.  Our only option was to head back to Red Hook on St Thomas, bite the bullet and purchase four new ones.  Budget Marine had what we needed and could arrange for two guys to remove the old ones and put the new ones in place.  Brian replaced all of the connecting cables and streamlined the wiring.  One full day in the engine room and we were ready to go again.   Oh no, not so fast….  A test of the water maker before we left the marina found that the pump that was just installed last month was not working.  The local dealer didn’t have one.  It had to be shipped from California.  Monday evening at 6:30 it was delivered and Tuesday morning it was installed and tested.  All systems checked out and we checked out of the marina!  Next stop St John.

I must admit that it felt great to spend a night on a mooring ball and not worry about the batteries being charged for multiple hours several times during the day.  Most of the spring break visitors had gone home so it was a wonderful time to be there.  We had our choice of mooring balls in all of the bays and the beaches weren’t crowded.  

Some of the ruins at Caneel Bay Resort.

Our exploration of St John was centered in Caneel Bay.  Caneel Bay Resort was built on the site of an 18th century sugar plantation.  It dominates this bay.  The resort was the dream of Lawrence Rockefeller.  In December of 1956 (the same year he gave thousands of acres to the Virgin Islands National Park) it opened with a theme of simple splendor in a pristine natural setting.  Looks like his dream has lived on surrounded by national park land and pristine beaches. 

Wild donkeys, deer and mongoose roam freely
eating the landscaping like it's one huge
smorgasbord.

Approaching Cruz Bay in the dingy.

 



Caneel Bay is adjacent to Cruz Bay, the ‘downtown’ of St John.  It was an easy dingy ride from our mooring ball to the National Parks Service Visitors Center and the shops and restaurants in Mongoose Junction.  We spent five nights in Caneel Bay while we explored other bays by dingy.   

Shops and restaurants on the waterfront.

The very cute Mongoose Junction: shops and food.

The ranger pointed out a lot of
interesting sights on the way.

One thing we were really looking forward to was a hike with a park ranger to the petroglyphs.  It is a popular hike and we were glad to get the opportunity.  The hike begins with a taxi ride to the trail and ends with a boat ride back to Cruz Bay.  It was a full day excursion. 

The golden orb spider and her web. 

There were over 400 sugar plantations on the island.
We walked past several ruins.

My ruggedly handsom hiker!

The carvings date back to 900-1500 AD.
They were created by the pre-Columbian
Tainos and their ancestors.

The carvings are on rocks surrounding a fresh water
 pool that was a sacred dwelling place.  In spite of
rain the spring-fed pool always stays at the same
level.  It reflects the carved images.

Reef Bay Plantation 

One of the interior rooms with the
boiling pots still in place.

And, lots of bats hanging from the
ceiling!

Arriving in Charlotte Amalie for a walk about before
traveling on to Puerto Rico.

  


 

Just one of the three mammoth cruise ships at the dock.  

Then one morning, out of the blue, we were both ready to head over to St Thomas to begin our voyage home.  Originally we had thought we would stay a few more days, but we felt we had seen everything on our list and, truthfully, we were getting excited to get back to the States.  

Gotta smile -- We're lovin the ride!