ST GEORGE VILLAGE BOTANICAL GARDEN

We were headed toward Frederiksted again and we pulled up to the surprise. Today, we are going to...The St George Village Botanical Garden.

Sakari is a big nature lover and we like to do things like this. I wasn't sure if it would be like past experiences but hey, it was something new and different to do right?

We parked and entered into the building to pay our admission. It would cost $10/pp. They also had a gift shop inside.

Here is a map of the place:

We first entered into a building on the side that had information of how plants are used as art, household items and building. There were different types of shells displayed and a huge replica of the largest seed in the Plant Kingdom (Coco de Mer).

We headed out to the court yard and it was really pretty and open.

 Now I don't really remember all the details of everything on the grounds so things maybe get mixed up here and there. I can tell you there were lots of greenery, old buildings, flowers and different areas to explore.

We headed to the right to check out the grounds. There was an open area with trees and flowers along the way.

Physic Nut: Has an oil used for candles or soap making and also produces a purple dye.

The Overseer's House: This building housed the employee in charge of the enslaved and contract workers at Estate St George. It was constructed between 1815 and 1825. It was inhabited until the 1950's. It was for punishments and whippings. Currently the building houses a population of Jamaican Fruit Bats. Banana and plantains grow along the wall as well.

Lime Kiln: Used for the calcination of limestone to use in construction for mortar, plaster and limewash.

The Flume: Built around 1846. Water came from a small dam in the stream now filled with silt and ended in the cistern then pipes led the water to the sugar mill.

Heading into the Tropical Rain Forest now. This area gives visitors an idea of the way the vegetation of St Croix looked before human intervention.

It got a little interesting. The trails were different. The surroundings were different and it was pretty cool. You really felt like you were in a rain forest. It felt like not many people had been in this area recently because...let me tell you...there were spider webs everywhere! You wanna see a guy run, watch Karl. (He has this phobia of spiders whether it be real spiders or "water" looking spiders that aren't really spiders Karl 😉). He thought he was playing cool and stopped to "look" at something as I went by...therefore making me go first meant that I was the one battling the webs so he didn't have to deal with them. That little sneak!

We did come to a place that looked like some type of crab or snail graveyard. There were shells EVERYWHERE! I thought I had taken a picture of it but can't find it.

Out of the rain forest to an open area we would find the Nursery, but we were not allowed in the area as it was fenced off.

 There were remains of buildings in the area for the enslaved workers' called Row Housing.

The Orchard House:

The Estate St George Museum:

The Blacksmith Shop: Built in 1826 and was in use until 1923. All machinery and parts for the plantation were made and repaired by the blacksmith.

Beautiful flowers everywhere:

We came to a big building and went inside. They were preparing for a wedding. It looked like a beautiful place to have a wedding/reception but all I could think about was how steaming hot it was in there. I can't imagine!

They had several ponds in the area:

One of them had baby dragonflies...they were so small but yet so cute. I swear I took about 20 photos just to try and capture a decent picture.

Up next was a beautiful, largest tree I've ever seen: the Kapok Tree. It is supposed to be around 400 years old and it is massive! The Kapok seeds were once used for filling mattresses, pillows and life jackets. The soft wood was easy to carve and was used for making canoes. They often reach a height of 100 feet (although can exceed 200 feet in other locations) with a diameter of more than 8 feet.

I don't know why I didn't think of it but if someone would stand beside it, they would have looked miniature. (You can google it and see pictures of people standing by it and it makes for an awesome picture. I can't believe I missed this opportunity).

We came to an area with some ruins. It was very pretty here. But there was one unique thing about it...there was orange balls all over the ground.

So there was another couple in this area. They were from Puerto Rico and they said they have these fruit trees lining their property at home (They have 30 of them). They said they are called Jobo ("Hobo') fruit. They told us they go out to the property and pick them and eat them. They are like a treat. They told us which one's were the good ones and what to look for. It is a Mombin Fruit). I was a little unsure about picking up fruit from the ground and just popping it in my mouth and trusting complete strangers. But, you only live once and they were doing it so how bad can it be right? I didn't see any signs saying "Don't eat the forbidden fruit". Sakari tried it and said "I feel like this is something you would make alcohol with" 😂 Karl thought it tasted sour.

Moving on to the "Kitchen and Animal Area"

It was hard to picture this area being a "kitchen" since it was all open and had flowers in it.

We moved on. The next area was really pretty. I think this was the Bromeliad Garden. It had these trees with some type of vines hanging and was just so neat.

They did have a lot of cacti on the grounds

I did manage to find this picture of the fruit of the Virgin Islands:

I'm not exactly seeing "hobo" fruit on there.

We stopped at the gift shop on the way out. I have collected so much sea glass on my trips all over and found this...it gives me ideas now.

On the way out, they have a book for you to sign to keep track of everyone from all over the world who come to visit.

We started to head to the car and our new "fruit friends" come running out behind us. They said, "You have to try this fruit!" and handed us more fruit. Are these people trying to poison us? They showed us how to eat them. You kinda peel off the outer layer of "skin" either with your nails or teeth and then you suck out the inside...but don't eat the middle seed. They said they were called Guineps or Spanish Lime. It is rich in Vitamin C.

I took a lot of videos of the place HOWEVER...I would get home and find that more than half of them were on the wrong setting (a fast time lapse) and unusable so I think I will spare you what did come out good as it's only bits and pieces.