4/1/17, “The National Park”
Cruz Bay, Saint John, United States Virgin Islands
Today has been an incredible day, spent predominantly in
one of our nation’s 59 National Parks.
Give that there are only 59 and that this is my 56th of the
59, it is gotten to the point now where any new National Park is a significant
event. This one, simply named Virgin
Islands National Park, was one of the most beautiful I’ve ever visited. It exemplified the pinnacle of Caribbean
beauty, white beaches with blue water and green mountains in the background. That is what the Caribbean does best, rich,
lush colors, and that is what this National Park had. While yesterday I wrote that Transfer Day was
the reason I came this weekend, the National Park was the main reason I came
here full stop.
After I closed last
night, I finished my cigar and fell asleep almost as soon as I went back in my
room. I slept in a bit, waking up at
7:30 AM. I had wanted to take the 9 AM
ferry to Saint John, so timing was now going to be a bit tight. I got ready and headed across the way to
breakfast, which consisted of bacon, eggs, and toast, along with coffee. A simple breakfast, but it did the
trick. I had the front desk call me a
taxi to the ferry terminal across the island and went to retrieve my
luggage. Sure enough, it was a large
van, and he wanted to go pick up more passengers. That was, quite simply, not an option. It was now 8:30 AM, and the hotel said it
would be a 15 to 20 minute drive. I
explained this to the driver, and he demanded an outrageous “express”
charge. I told him that was too
much. He huffed and puffed as he drove
me to the ferry terminal. When we
approached the terminal, he asked for half of his “express” charge, and I
agreed, even though it was still overpriced, but reasonable enough given the
expense of driving a 14-passenger van with only 1 passenger.
I got my ticket, and, soon enough, we were on
our way across the bay or channel or whatever the body of water was that
separated Saint Thomas and Saint John.
It’s a sound. I don’t know
exactly what my original plan had been, but I think it entailed walking to the
VC (after checking in), taking a taxi to the heart of the National Park, then
walking around inside the NP, then taking a taxi back to the hotel. That was, in theory, doable, but I quickly
learned it was not ideal. We soon landed
at Cruz Bay, Saint John and disembarked.
It was an easy enough walk to my hotel, and I saw where the VC was, also
an easy walk. However, as luck would
have it, there was a Jeep rental place right before I got to the hotel. It looked simple and easy, so I walked in and
asked what they charged for a day. The
price they named did not seem to be significantly more than I would have spent
in taxi charges under my original plan.
I rented the Jeep, which had a removable top and instructions not to
remove it. I’m sure my reader knows what
happened. I drove the car up the block
to the hotel and went to check in, but my room wasn’t ready. No matter.
I left my bags at the hotel and went to the car. Of course, I took the top off, which was a
bit of a process, but it was intuitive enough to figure out.
I got lost on the way back into town, which
entailed taking a lot of back roads and huge hills, but I found the VC before
long, and I took care of my business there.
Since I was driving a Jeep with an open top, there was never any point
in locking the doors. By extension, that
meant I had nothing of value in the car.
In fact, the only thing worth stealing was my phone charger, which I
locked in the glove box half the time, anyway.
After the VC, my first stop was a beach called Trunk Bay, which was the
most photographed spot in the NP. I lit
up a Por Larranga and was on my way.
Parking was a bit of an issue, but once I paid the user fee to access
the beach, they told me I could park on the side of the road by the ruins. Most people were using the beach as a beach,
but I just wanted my ceremonial picture, which I took on the beach. At that point, my cell signal returned, so I
was glad to be able to post my picture right away.
From there it was to the next beach, Cinnamon
Bay, which offered similar views. I got
my lunch at the restaurant there after I finished my cigar, which consisted of
a lobster roll and chips. I then lit up
an LFD and headed to the next NPS unit of the day, Virgin Islands Coral Reef
NM, which is mostly water-based but has a small strip of land that is
accessible by road.
I found it with some
difficulty and, eventually, found a spot to take a ceremonial picture. From there, it was back to the VC, which
entailed looping around on a more direct road.
I wanted to check out one more beach, so I went back into the NP,
stopping at Hawksnest Bay.
When I got
there, I lit up an Oliva and walked around a bit. I then returned to the VC, ditched my cigar,
and got some souvenirs. After I got my
souvenirs, I struggled to put the top back on, but, in the end, I figured it
out. It was all basic mechanics. Everything had its place and a place for
everything. I returned the car and
walked back to the hotel, where I could now check in to my room. I had some chips and took a nap, waking up
around 5 PM for happy hour.
I went to
the main area, where they had some free rum punch, which was quite good. I chugged one down immediately and then got a
second one to sip more slowly. I went to
the designated smoking area out front, the entire property being smoke-free,
but there was no place to sit, so I grabbed a beach chair and set up where I
had a good view. I then sat down, lit up
an Ardor, and proceeded to write this entry, which I will now close so that I
can head out to dinner as soon as I finish my pipe.
It seems the 4-5 days is the exact right amount of time
to spend in the Antilles. It is how long
I spent on my two Passover trips to the Lesser Antilles, and it is how long I
am spending on this trip to the American Caribbean. It is long enough to allow me to settle in
and get all wistful and wax about how much I love it here, but it is not too
long that I begin to feel that I have overstayed. I wonder how I will feel about 16 days on the
Pacific Islands in September. I don’t
have much new to report, but it is perfectly relaxing to sit our here, smoking
my cigar, drinking my rum, and listening to the sounds of the island. Tomorrow will be a different island, the
third of the main islands of the USVI.
It has been a long day and an exhausting one, so I am looking forward to
getting to sleep as soon as I finish my cigar.
After I closed, I went back to my room to resituate myself and headed to
restaurant, the non-grid layout of the roads tripping me up once more. I had clearly chosen right, and the
restaurant was completely full. It would
be 15 minutes before they could seat me.
No matter, I wasn’t quite hungry yet, anyway. I was, however, thirsty. I got a very cold club soda as soon as I sat
down, and that went down well. They had
a rum drink called a frozen painkiller, and it sounded very good. I ordered that, and I was delighted that it
tasted even better than it sounded. The
menu was mostly what I would call “Baja” cuisine. It was certainly more Mexican-inspired than
West Indian, but it was all local and fresh, and the proteins were definitely
West Indian. I got guacamole and chips
as an appetizer, followed by fish and pork tacos, both a Mexican-West Indian
fusion recipe. The meal was incredible, and
I was glad with my choice.
After dinner,
I headed back to the hotel, again getting lost by the non-grid layout. I stopped at a grocery store to get some
snacks and some rum, along with a newspaper with a special Centennial cover. I got back to my room, resituated myself, and
poured a glass of rum to pair with my cigar.
I then went back to my spot from earlier, where I sat down with my rum,
lit up a Quesada, and proceeded to write this entry, which I will now close so
that I can publish it.
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