We are celebrating Bob’s birthday. It started on Thursday April 13th, when we made a short trip to St Leo Abbey in Pasco County. Bob and I attended the vespers rendered by the Benedictine monks and the regular mass the following day. We also took a short walk in River Rapids Trail at Hillsboro State Park at Zepyrhills, Florida. It was a short meaningful (and spiritual) Trip. On the day of his actual birthday, I didn’t work and just spent the day with him opening his gift and his birthday cards with me and the fur kids with him.
This year, for our yearly birthday get away, we headed to the Caribbean’s tropical paradise. Our first trip to St. Thomas/St. John US Virgin Islands. The night before our flight we stayed in Orlando so we didn’t have to wake up super early for a 645AM departure. The flight from Orlando to Miami was smooth; at one point I thought that we will never make it as the line at TSA was long and we were crunch of time. But of course, my worries were invalidated as we were at the gate 10 minutes of the boarding time.
the view of St. John, USVI from our deck at Westin St. John Resorts
At Miami, the St Thomas flight was delayed. Bob and I kinda knew it as there was no plane at the gate when on the monitor its only 11 minutes before boarding. By the time it came, and off loaded the passengers and boarding us, and staying significant time at the runway, it was more than an hour. But after 2hr and 40mins up in the air, we landed at St Thomas. Its been a while since I experienced deplaning at the tarmac, so its kinda like cool walking to the gate. Reminds me of the local flights in small airports in the Philippines and Costa Rica.
Surprisingly, there is a Westin St John kiosk at the airport, where then we confirmed our villa reservations and our ferry ride. A private limousine van took us to Red Hook, where the port to St John is located. It took us 45 minutes to get there. The fun part of the ride was the long winding roads and very steep switch backs! It was like being in a roller coaster ride at Disney. Oddly enough, the driver seems pretty used to it and was never bothered. Cheap thrill I may say.
The fifteen minute ferry ride to Westin St John Villas wasn’t bad. It wasn’t a bumpy ride either. The Caribbean waters amaze me- always green and pristine. It took us a short 15 minutes until we set foot to Westin’s private dock; saves us the usual hustle of off loading. They have free Cruzan drinks by the way.
Once we got to our room and checked in, we refreshed ourselves, rested for a bit and headed to Lemon Grass-one of the restaurants in the property for our dinner. It was a Caribbean dinner buffet and I gorged myself with double servings of seafood paella, grilled mahi-mahi, BBQs and ceviches as Bob had some of them too. We enjoyed our dinner with white wine and with the beautiful live music of Caribbean beat. Then we headed back to our room after.
Day 2.
I have always been an early riser, so while Bob was still in his sleep with no dogs fighting on a king bed, I took the courage to jog in the steep hill. It was actually a good work out. When I returned, Bob was already having his coffee and so I joined him.
With a flexible agenda, we decided to do a bit of hiking. We chose Caneel Hill which trail starts by the town. It was a little over an hour of a hike to the overlook. On top you can see the south of St John. It was beautiful and panoramic. The color of the water is just magnificent, even from 700ft up view. We stayed on top for about 20minutes and began our descend. We were debating wether to complete the loop for another mile and a half to exit on the other side of the trail, or just go back to the same trail- in the end we decided to choose the same trail as we climb up.
The pristine, Turquoise water of Hawk’s Nest Beach at Caneel Bay, St. John’s, USVI.
One thing that caught me off guard here in USVI is the price of the taxi. For reference, the taxi is similar to the jeepneys we have in the Philippines, but charges an enormous dollars per person; Say a 3 mile single trip from point A to point B is averaging to about $10. I should have known when I paid $14 to a smoothie equivalent to a Slurpee from 7/11 that costs a couple of dollars. I just shook my head.😂
my favorite photo while aboard the sail boat waiting for the sunset behind us.
So we took the taxi from the town to one of the most beautiful beaches I have seen- the Hawk’s Nest Beach by Caneel Bay. Here I enjoyed swimming the most- calm, Turquoise and clear water. It was cool and refreshing. I could really get used to this. While resting, we looked into our map of where to go next and found a spot with an over look not far from the beach so we decided to walk up. The hill that overlooks Hawk’s Nest Beach was equally mesmerizing. As we walk further, we discovered Peace Hill- another spot where you can see a 360 view of the bay and the other small islands. Peace Hill is an old windmill site. After sometime in this area, we headed back to Cruz bay-the main town, and ate lunch and then went back to our room to rest.
Later that afternoon, we took a sail boat to watch the sunset. Bob has the habit of coming up with surprises, and even though this is partly a celebration of his birthday, he is the one that ends up surprising me. That evening we sailed into the sunset while sipping unlimited champagne, drinking local beers, eating hors d’oeuvres (including caprese mozzarella cheeseballs, ceviches, corn dips and chips and sliders) aboard a 55-foot catamaran in Great Cruz Bay in the Caribbean with the best partner in the whole-wide world. This was such an experience; we returned and ended our night with our hearts being full.
sunset on board the 55-foot catamaran at Cruz Bay in the Caribbean islands of USVI.
Day 3.
the view of the south side of St John atop Windmill Bar. USVI.
I woke up early on our third day at the island still ecstatic with our experience the previous night. I decided to go out and wait for the sunrise as I took pictures of the shore. Once done, I headed back to our room and joined Bob with his coffee again. Then we both prepared for our appointment.
After our meeting with ownership updates, Bob and I went to Windmill Bar in Cruz bay for lunch. Again, the ride to the top- with all the switch backs; Bob and I would just look at each other as if we’re on a roller coaster ride. Up the Windmill Bar was equally beautiful also . With the cloudless sky, you can see a clear view of the smaller islands of the Virgin Islands. It’s hot and we’re sweating! But there was little breeze to ease that out. We took our time with our lunch as we enjoy our landscape. When we were finally done, we headed our way and took the taxi to Honeymoon Beach located at Caneel Bay.
Honeymoon Beach, unlike the ones we have at the Villa and Hawks’ Nest Beach, is a popular one. It was almost 4pm when we arrived and the place was still relatively packed. Since the last shuttle leaves at 5PM, Bob and I only stayed there for 30 minutes to enjoy the water and the sun. Then we waited for the shuttle to take us back to the entrance and hopped on another one to bring us to our resort. That night, we decided to just eat at the resort restaurant and called the night.
Day 4.
the shopping street at Charlotte-Amali in St Thomas, USVI. The beautiful doors are the best part for me.
Oh Man!!! This was our fourth day! The day we planned to explore St Thomas. This was our last full day here at St John, and as we woke up- we just chill while drinking coffee as our Ferry to St Thomas doesn’t leave until 10AM.
From the ferry station at St Thomas, it was about 40 minutes to the shopping malls. We were dropped off around 1045 and have to be back at the same place by 3PM. Bob and I decided to head to Glady’s Cafe- the restaurant the concierge from Westin recommended. I had a flavorful Caribbean dish of Curry Goat 😊 and banana daiquiri. It was actually turned a great meal. Once done, we navigated the streets of Charlotte-Amali. For those who know me, I have fascinations to old doors, and this place did not disappoint. AS we walk at the old streets, all I see are big wooden doors of European influence attached to the old buildings. Some are painted, some maintained their rustic, original coats. Oh I’m in heaven! We walk few more places and was hoping the church of St Peter & Paul was open (but it wasn’t) until we decided to start getting our souvenir shirts and ornaments at the different stores at the strip. The heat was also too excruciating that we decided to just find a place to kill time until our shuttle arrived. When we finally got back to the resort, we took one more plunge at the beach… The last of our Caribbean experience until next time.