OT: ST JOHN USVI

anyone been there?

yea man, nuff times......smallest of the 3 islands.
from st. thomas u take the ferry from red hook harbor...about 35min easy ride.
u dock in cruz bay...which is the city (compared to the rest of stj)
3/4 of st. john is protected so it's not very developed at all.
st. john is beautiful....plenty of secluded spots, beautiful beaches...
Maho bay will remind u of swiss family robinson type vibes
u can grab a jeep rental or campground pretty easily...

the old sugar plantation ruins are def worth a visit, as well as driving across island to see the whole place.
st john had one of the very 1st 'slave rebellions' set off by groups of warrior africans who could not and would not be broken.
any of the tours to sugar plantation mills/ruins is worth it...

Cinnamon Bay is very nice, probably my favorite beach on the island...I camped at thier campground twice and roughed it before I discoverd Maho camps...Maho is sweet!!...Im glad to see they found a way to stay open....i believe a tent is 120$ per night and i think they will cut the price in half if you travel alone, so 60$ bucks a night for a tent with everything you need...ice chest..stove ect is a great deal.

My first couple times to St. John I hitched rides no problem everywhere, last time i went there i rented a jeep and it was well worth it...especially if your staying at Maho...its a bit further from town than Cinnamon Bay. And St John has the only brewery in the virgin islands, across the street from the brewery there is a trail that takes you to a nice tiny beach, i forget the name of it though...its basically next to Cruz Bay.

I think you are talking about Honeymoon beach. It's about a 15 or 20 min walk from Cruz Bay.

My wife and I went at the beginning of the year and had an amazing time. We were only there for about 4 days because we also went to STX. It's beautiful. Can't wait to go back.

Yes, took a hike to Honeymoon Beach last year with the wife (who at the time had just become my fiance). VERY cool place. Had been there once before and visited another beach - white sand like you've never seen before: more crushed seashells than rock. When the wind came up all the tourists (myself included) looked like snowmen due to the fine sand sticking to sunscreen.

Sadly, both times it was an excursion off of a cruise ship, so didn't get to stay long - but long enough to know it really is a jewel in the Caribbean. Water is so clear you almost don't need snorkeling gear. Gorgeous island, enjoy your trip!

"I'm gonna put on a iron shirt, and chase the devil out of earth" - Max Romeo

I was there about 14 years ago and would love to go back. Had a blessed stay at Maho ~ [www.maho.org]

what you say, Ninja? You gwan trod?

Very quiet likkle island, like I-BG say about 95% National Park. While Croix is "real", Thomas is "tourist", John is Natural.

I would suggest hiking to Tiano rock carvings. Predates all the slavery times and will live Iternal.

[www.stjohnhistoricalsociety.org]

ic

yeaaah I-Charlie...the petroglyphs r vibes for sure.
the hike alone getting there is worth it (bring plenty agua)

'The most widely accepted explanation of the carvings’ origin is that they were made by Taino people who lived on St. John beginning around a.d. 200. Petroglyphs like these have been found at other former Taino settlements in Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, and other islands in the Caribbean. It is also believed that many of the petroglyphs are representations of bats, animals of significance to the Tainos.
But there are other theories. One is that Africans carved the petroglyphs during a pre-Columbian journey to the Caribbean and Central America. This stems from similarities between the St. John petroglyphs and an Ashanti symbol that means “accept God.” It has also been argued that the symbols resemble a script used by peoples of southeast Libya.'

My wife & I spent about 2 weeks camping @ Cinnamon Bay Campground back in the early 90's. We brought our own camping equipment ~ back in the day when you could fly without all the baggage restrictions. Beautiful island with beautiful beaches. Our first morning camping we were woken up by an earthquake. All was safe, but still a little crazy. I remember a tourist trolley/bus which would go to different parts of the island for 25 cents per person one way. Nice deal. Not sure if they still have this service. Snorkeling was great @ Trunk Bay & other beaches. Reggae wize we caught Inner Visons at some hotel near Cruz Bay. Great show with lots of St. John locals. We had a wonderful time & have talked about going back someday.
I give St. John USVI
Have an irie trip!

all set...will be heading down two weeks from today...will be there for 6 days...pretty much all in St John. Forgive me for asking the most pressing question with little tact but are herbs easy to come by?

[usingsportforsocialchange.com]

not sure if this will work or not my technical skills are...well it is obvious.

Ninja, you should check to see if Inner Visions is playing while you are there. They play pretty often at a spot called High Tide which is located right next to where the ferry comes in to Cruz Bay.

I will basically be there by my lonesome with only reggae related and volunteer activities on my slate. I will be on the lookout. Bless!

travelin solo? Any chance you can hop over to Croix? much more "real"...

from what I understand it doesn't get more "real" then St John seeing as most of the island doesn't have people, but if you are talking about the humans then yes. Is there a ferry that goes between the two? I have no idea how far that is or if that is realistic.

I mean real in terms of reggae related activities. Chanters, fish market, Riddims, street corners, shows etc... It's outta the way so you'd have to plan it separate probably. Sometimes a ferry from StThomas.

check them petroglyphs....heiroglypics of the yesterday



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/24/2012 05:01PM by aquaponics.

yeah man bless..If nothing else I will get to check a lot of St John itself. Hopefully if all goes as planned it will happen at least once a year

looks like a nice week to stay at Maho..
I think this is the third year of this..good to see..

[www.experiencelovecitylive.com]

Niyorah..






Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/08/2012 02:37PM by gabertron.

I may have missed it if you posted it somewhere else, but how was the trip?

sorry I have kind of been out of it. Trip was kind of crazy. Got to see why people want to go for sure. Probably the most natuarally beautiful place I have ever been. Been to JA, Cozumel, Maui etc. Met some very nice people etc. What I was kind of blown away by was how the "tourist businesses" don't really have any connection to the culture of the caribben beyond the rum. What I found equally crazy was that it wasn't done out of intentional malice in most cases. They really had NO idea that this would be appealing to people. When I told them that there are a bunch of bands from USVI that tour out west this one guy looked at me like I was out of my mind. He then leans in and is like "wait, are you serious?". To many of them they are like of Jimmy Buffett sort of mind. They are not bad people, they just went down there to avoid the rat race or at least jump off the train. Who can blame them. At this point many of them are more then willing to help they just don't really have a connection to the local communtiy beyond occupying the same space in time. Keep in mind, I was there for 6 days so I really don't know jack. I know that there was some classism at work. It was and is intetional. All in all glad I went. Got to help with this group Using Sport for Social Change. Spent my day picking up 2 inch rusty nails from the childrens playground....literally...crazy...some kids running around with their shoes off. Hard to just roll back "this world" the next day.