March 22

Plenty of rain last night on St. John island. A man told me today St. Thomas and St. John had been dry for quite some time, so the weather gods must have decided to have fun today. Still continuing here on St. Thomas into the evening. But there was a 2-hour window around 7 AM which allowed me to snorkel at Salt Pond Bay in Virgin Islands National Park. So, primary activities for both the NMon (yesterday at Princess Bay) and the NP were met. My host had said the beach in this area starts to get packed around 9 AM. As I was leaving, the cars were starting to arrive. I could not count the number of fish and coral types I saw. This bay has something of a “wall” at one end and that was the best place to view the myriad species. This bay is basically the farthest from Cruz Bay with paved road access. Lumeshar Bay is supposed to be equally well stocked with fish, but you had better have a 4x4 to gain access. Skinny Legs restaurant was packed each time I drove by the establishment. My host had it at the top of his list, so anyone coming this way in the future, stop for a meal.

A little over two hundred years ago St. John was the mecca of sugar cane production in these waters. The largest factory was at Annaberg. Ruins, including the 38-foot tall Windmill and large Boiling Room, can be toured via leg power. An animal-powered mill is also on the grounds. Even though the windmill was more efficient, there were times when insufficient breezes required a different means of grounding the cane. Finished sugar would be shipped to the Neatherlands, who owned the territory at that time. The only actual end-use product which came out of the islands was rum. Go figure.

The road to the ferry at Cruz Bay was chock full of people and cars. And there were four massive cruise ships in the main St. Thomas harbor. If you decide to visit the Virgin Islands and you would like some elbow room, see about doing so during off-season.