"St. John" a St. John Travel Page by islamonroe

I visited here for 3 months when I was 19 in 1983. A relative had a home here and I had nothing better to do...After landing in St. Thomas and taking the Ferry to Cruz Bay we headed over to Chocolate Hole, a bay on the SW side of the island. I spent a lot of time alone during my visit which was really pretty awesome. I am really not that great with people anyhow...My favorite resident of the house was Chetah, a beautifully brindled shepard type dog. We spent hours walking around the backroads of the bay looking at rocks and cactus. In 1984 St. John seemed tlike a small sleepy town with dirt roads and small stores. Nothing too fancy except for Mongoose Juntion, a new shopping center that was being built to the North of Cruz Bay.
On my first visit to the USVI I sailed, I flew and I explored and after 3 months I had run out of funds and excuses to not return to my life of reality. My future. I felt that I would return which did make it easier to leave. I have many fond memories of my first visit and I thank my family for allowing me to experience all that I did.

It tends to be a problem when a hurricaine blows through and flattens your winter holiday accomodations. Luckily, Maho Bay had a tent available. I had to laugh. I married quite the city boy and we decided to bring along his sister and the 2 kids, 6 & 8. First of all we brought way too much stuff totally missing the point of a week at Maho. It is an Eco Community that mandates quietness, rest and a joy of nature, as in No electricity, No lights, No music and a large swarm of hungry No see-ums.
Needless to say the tent did us no good to fend off the miniscule critters but it was a necessity for night time downpours and peace of mind iguana protection. The solar heated showers got us going in the morning-I usually waited until there was actually some solar action after a day at the beach. Our tent was mid way up the mountain which was about 500 steps down to the private beach. You didn't want to forget the mustard. At this time they had a cafeteria style restaurant that had expensive buffet style meals searved from say, 5-7 and then sometimes a calypso band would play for a few hours. Lights are out when the sun goes down so it is a very peaceful place. They offer day trips from the registration desk. We visited Virgin Gorda which was amazing in every way and rented kayaks and paddled around the bay. There is a small store and also the Trading Post- which was very handy. The kids got to be old pros at checking out the stash of peanut butter and crackers other campers had left behind when they left. Maho is on the NE end of St. Johns. A few of our favorite spots included Trunk Bay, Hawknest Beach (awesome steghorn coral & cuddlefish), Salt Pond (awesome walk & snorkeling) and breathtaking veiws from all over the island. We tried to locate the house I stayed at 14 years prior. It was just an empty lot in not the best neighborhood.

We came via sailboat and after an hour or so clearing customs (we were the only visitors in line) we walked around Cruz Bay. So much has changed in the small port. There seemed to be college kids getting drunk and falling down everywhere. The sleepy little town has been redeveloped into a tourist facade with gangster undertones. While most of the town felt safe with it's fruit markets and BBQ patios there were moments when I was uncomfortable and I did not want to stray far from the security of the main block. I would suggest a visitor not wanting to party all night to stay in a resort on the opposit end of the Island toward Coral Bay. On our boat we spent a day at Caneel Bay which was way too high class for me. We spent another at Leinster Bay which was great. Wonderful snorkeling and bathrooms!! Our next trip to the Island will be by boat again-what a great way to enjoy the beautiful creatures under the water and be rocked to sleep at night. Amazing!