Disclosure: I exchanged photographic work for a 5-day stay at the Island Cottage mentioned in the following blog posts. Blog entries or any other social media amplification were not included in the exchange.   I was and am free to say and show anything I want about the trip.  All opinions are my own.

___________________

Keep Left!

Want to guess the only place in the US where you drive on the left side of the road?  It happens to be the hilliest set of islands EVER (that I have been to at least).  Yep, the US Virgin Islands are one big undulating set of hills PLUS you drive on the left.  

I thought I would have more problems remembering to stay on the left but I didn’t.  But when I got home to Tulsa I did have a problem remembering to stay on the right.  I have found myself on the left coming out of 2 driveways so far, luckily isolated and clear of traffic but freaked me out nonetheless!

The Island Cottage is in Coral Bay on the east side of the Island of St. John. The ferry from St. Thomas goes into Cruz Bay on the west side so we rented a Jeep for the week. It was pretty darn expensive but the alternative was to hike 8 miles of hills to get there so rental car it was.  It really was a cool way to get around, actually it was the only way to get around.  Many of the roads were gravel, some were incredibly bumpy as well, so if you didn’t have a 4 wheel drive, I don’t know how you made your way around.

______________________

The Island Cottage

What an incredible place the Island Cottage is. After our up and down Jeep drive we were so happy to finally arrive and move in for our stay.  We had to climb a steep hill to get to the cottage but thoughtfully Cindy, the owner, had painted this sign on the the side of the driveway to let guests know we were home.  It’s touches like this that made us feel at home right away.

And when we got out of the Jeep this is the scene that greeted us!

 

Another nice touch came at the bottom of the stairs.  It seems like small things but they add up to make a big difference.  Inside we also found fresh cut flowers and a hand written note from the on-island caretaker of the cottage, Tracey.  I mention more about her below.

 

 

The main room is a combination living room, dining room and kitchen. The couch is a pull out Futon for a 3rd person or a second couple.  It is airy and light, breezy and warm.  

 

Through the living room is the bedroom. Talk about a caribbean retreat! This room has A/C, which is actually not needed usually. However, there are some very talkative roosters down in the valley below and being able to close the windows and doors to get a good night’s sleep is a nice touch.

 

The bathroom off the bedroom leads directly to a private outdoor shower area. It was a great feeling to have a warm ocean breeze and rustling palm leaves while I showered.

The Island Cottage is hosted by Tracey, who lives in Coral Bay. She comes before and after the guest’s stay to prep the cottage, delivers fresh food and breakfast if you want it, and do any number of things for you in advance of your arrival. You can even ship things to her that you don’t want to take on the plane if you want.  We met her at her art studio later in the week and I will post photos of her and her place in a few days.

After I took photos (before we unpacked, just to makes sure we had it exactly as it should be) we settled in and put away the groceries we had bought when we first arrived on the Island. It came in very handy to have all sorts of things to eat, drink and snack on right away.

I will post more photos of the cottage, indoors and out, in the next few days.

If you are interested in renting the Island Cottage, contact Cindy and Harry Sauers at http://www.vrbo.com/108972

____________________

 

Skinny Legs and Donkeys

We didn’t arrive until late afternoon so we were pretty much ready to find a spot to eat dinner as soon as we unpacked. We had heard great things about a spot called Skinny Legs, probably the most written about restaurant bar in Coral Bay.

The place, like all places in St. John, was outdoors, part of it covered, part of it not.  It was threatening to rain that night but it only sprinkled slightly while we were there. We found out that rain comes often but lasts briefly, a shower and it’s done.  But there were weather reports that Monday night and Tuesday all day was going to be rainy, a very rare occurrence. We sat outside anyway, next to the horseshoe pit.  They had a movie on the TV, The Beasts of the Southern Wild, about a little girl’s adventures in the middle of a huge hurricane.

The first person we met in Coral Bay was Lindsay our Waitress.  She explained why the movie was on so loud.  It was Monday night Movie Night at Skinny Legs, a tradition going back 20+ years.  We thought it ironic that they had a movie on about a hurricane right at what is considered the official start of hurricane season We found out later that tropical storms don’t really start up until the fall but there is a bit more rain starting in June.

She, like everyone else we met, was not from St. John, but had come down to the islands to visit from the states and loved it so much she found a way to make it back and live there permanently.  Most everyone had a variation of that exact same story.  It was one of the most interesting elements of the vacation, was to learn about how these people made the choice to chuck it all and come down to live the island life.  Some were young adventurers like Lindsay, others were wealthy entrepreneurs who had made their fortune and then retired to the islands. Some were from other islands but came to the US Virgin Islands long ago because there was much more opportunity and infrastructure support being that the islands were part of  the US compared to many of the other Caribbean islands that didn’t have the same possibilities.  We met all types.

One type that didn’t have much choice in the matter were the donkeys.

Donkeys roam the island freely. They walk the roads, come to the edges of restaurant patios, visit the beaches and just generally do whatever they want.  This one was intrigued by my camera, unaware that Linda was being a silly girl behind him.

__________________

Part 1 – St. Thomas
Part 2 – The Island Cottage
Part 3 – Exploring Coral Bay
Part 4 – Clean Beaches and Dirty Pictures
Part 5 – Hiking Above, Snorkeling Below
Part 6 – Kayaks and Mermaids
Part 7 – The End – the Native and the Screamer