StJohn

St. Johns 1997

In October 1997 we went to the Caribbean Island of St. Johns, staying in a small villa in Cruz bay. Below are a few pictures to give you a flavour of our holiday (vacation). Just click on the thumbnail to view a larger picture (use the back button to return to this page).

EMail sent to family & friends on our return - "Back from Paradise"

"Well it was too short. We had a villa with a view and a half, looking down over Cruz Bay and the azure blue sea.

The beaches were just like a post card: white sand, bordered by green blue sea, framed by palm and coconut trees, and uncrowded. The sea on the north side of St. John was running a small swell, but on the south side the sea was calm and tranquil. Alex did not like the first beach because of the waves, we had to drag him to another beach on the south side. "It sucks" was Alex's constant refrain (I put it down to the boys being tired after the early morning flight and ferry ride to the island), however once he saw the calm water he was quickly into the sea and having a great time in the warm clear water.

Shortly after the four of us were off and snorkeling, exploring a beautiful, colourful world full of tropical fish and sea plants. Alex volunteered that he no longer thought "It sucks" and now thought that it was "remarkable". Both Matthew and Alex were snorkeling likeprofessionals in a few short minutes. Both were happy to dive down and blow their snorkels out like whales as they surfaced.

We left the beach each day to head back to the villa and more swimming in the pool. We met a couple from Cheshire who had lived in America and traded stories of the "Brit in the States", such a relief to find others who had experienced the same problems and frustrations. After a quick shower we then made our way down into the small village of Cruz Bay and sampled the local cuisine. The Roti was just like Eudene's Mum's.

We were in bed by eight and up by five in the morning - no stopping the boys - and back to the totally empty beach before eight thirty ( it was hot even at this early hour). We snorkeled for most of the morning and played ball in the sea for the rest of the time. Back to the pool at three (the bugs start to come out about then and it is time to leave the beach - the only real problem in paradise) and a barbecue at six for the Brits with copious quantities of G&T.

Wrong. Not back to the beach, today we go snorkeling ( so you were partly correct) but this time off a boat that takes us to St. James and Little St. James islands. At first Matthew is scared at being in over 30 ft of water and way away from the beach. Mind you, not as scared as when the Ramora (Shark Sucker) came towards him to investigate what the strange object swimming towards it was! He soon got over both fears and was soon pointing out, and diving down 15 ft to follow a Sting Ray gracefully gliding through the water. I was very proud of both my boys and so glad that I had taught them how to snorkel in the summer. They were both enthralled by the snorkeling experience and made the trip more enjoyable for me, as I could share one of my loves with them. I think you know how the rest of the day went.

Up before the crack of dawn. A quick walk down to the bakery (as I did each morning with Matthew) and a much slower crawl up the near vertical hills back to the villa with breakfast and bread for sandwiches (to take
to the beach of course) before it got too hot at six thirty. Yes the hills, I forgot to mention that the island thrusts out of the Caribbean sea and all roads go straight up and down unless they run alongside a beach. The volcanic mountain landscape accounts for some of the dramatic views on St. John, like the one from our villa. It is also why the main form of transport on the island is by jeep. We hired a small four wheel drive jeep that we used to get around the island and explore (between journeys to the beach dejour). Left wheel drive cars, on the left hand side (remnants of old colonial days) on very windy roads that are almost vertical, makes for interesting travel, even when the speed limit is twenty miles per hour! Every horizon held , and delivered, a spectacular view as each peak was conquered by our gallant sure footed steed.

Our last full day on St. John we were( OK I was) determined to extract every last ounce of sea time. The northern sea had calmed and we spent a blissful morning at Hawksnest Bay and experienced some of the best underwater snorkeling of the whole trip. I convinced every one to brave the afternoon bugs and we went snorkeling at St. Francis Bay. We were rewarded with encountering a massive school of fry being herded by larger fish. The larger fish attracted Pelicans who proceeded to dive into the sea to feed all about us. The water at one point seamed to boil around us us the fish jumped and broke the surface of the water. Quite an experience to end our adventure in paradise - shame about the bugs who did their best to spoil things as we left the beach (you all know Eudenes low tolerance of insects). Even with the bugs Eudene could not help laughing as she recounted Matthew's antics amongst the fry. It seems that underwater (through his snorkel) he was happily singing the theme tune to Star Wars as he pretended to be Darth Vader and set about trying to catch and destroy the "fleet" of fry "star fighters".

Alas all good things, like this tale, come to an end too soon as did our holiday. We left St. John (after quietly swimming in the pool before eight in the morning) to spend our last day in the comparatively over populated shopping center that is St. Thomas. You want it, you can buy it here in the shopping center of the Caribbean. Freddy our personal Taxi service looked after our bags while we shopped around and explored Charlotte Amalie. Freddy later took us to the airport and we were at the end of our trip to paradise all to soon.

Next time we go for at least 10 days. We will send pictures as soon as we get them back. Right now we are facing the after affects of all the snorkeling as the boys have developed ear infections and Alex is suffering from itchy bites (Matthew escaped scott free from bites, not enough meat on him for the bugs to be interested). Pay backs are hell!"

Peter Rossi

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Last Update {November 2006}