The Virgin Islands
November 29th-December 6th,
2000
The U.S. Virgin Islands National Park is located on
the island of St. John with its pristine beaches and spectacular marine
environment. It is an ideal getaway for travelers who want to
escape from it
all and relax in the great outdoors. We decided to do just that and booked a
cottage at the Cinnamon Bay Campground. Rustic and bare necessities describe
this cottage best. It has two walled sides and two screened sides with four
bunks on which to sleep. Sleeping with you will be several geckos and other
interesting guests. We roomed with a scorpion who hid under a hutch and a
tarantula who hung around the outside of the doorframe. You would think all of
this would be a good way to ruin a vacation but it actually was quite wonderful.
We spent seven days on the island and entertained ourselves with excellent
kayaking and snorkeling.
We rented a double kayak for the entire week from the
Beach Shop right at our campground. The kayak would be there right on the beach
whenever we wanted to take it out, all you had to do was take the paddles back
to your room with you at night. The kayaking was my favorite part of the trip.
We would start at Cinnamon Bay every morning and head out into the blue water,
stopping to snorkel from the kayak whenever we found a good spot. Just about
everyday we would head over to Trunk Bay where we would have lunch at their
beachside grill. After fueling up on hamburgers and fries we would head back out
to the kayak. The water is absolutely amazing from a kayak. The clarity and
infinite shades of green and blue are intoxicating.
Our most adventurous kayak trek was when we paddled
from Cinnamon Bay to Leinster Bay. We cruised past Maho Bay and Francis Bay to
the passage between Whistling Cay and Mary Point. After rounding Mary Point you
enter the Sir Francis Drake Passage and the water becomes rough. It takes a very
strong, experienced kayaker to succeed at this adventure so don’t overestimate
your abilities. Once we arrived at Leinster Bay we could relax and enjoy the
tropical surroundings. Leinster Bay lies in the shadow of the Annaberg Ruins.
The remains of the old sugar mill can be seen standing vigil on top of the hill.
It is an impressive sight from a kayak as well as from land. We paddled along
the mangroves of Leinster Bay and could see several conch shells lying on the
sandy bottom. I reached down to inspect an empty shell a little more closely.
Long abandoned it was weathered and covered in algae but still a unique
inhabitant of the bay. At the eastern end of the bay is Waterlemon Cay. This is
a great place to snorkel! We encountered tons of starfish and other marine life
including a sea turtle and a stingray. The coral that lives on the side of the
cay is spectacular. There are soft and hard varieties in a rainbow of colors. If
you only snorkel once while on the island make this your stop.
We also took a day to hike from Cinnamon Bay to Reef
Bay. Completing this hike meant trekking from the Atlantic side of the island
all the way to the Caribbean Sea on the other side of the island. To read a
detailed report of our hike visit our hiking website
Natural Born Hikers.
St. John
is one of my favorite places to enjoy nature. Two thirds of the island is
designated as National Park keeping it as nature intended. The only nightlife
you will find here are frogs, lizards, and iguanas.
