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ST CROIX 2024 DAY 2
Day 2: Beaches, exploring and a lot of light!
I didn't sleep very well last night and I was wide awake by 4am. I don't know if it was my mind racing about exploring this new island, the thought of learning to drive on the left side of the road again, or the thought of what we would be doing tonight had me excited...and worried. Or maybe it was just the fact that we went to bed so early last night and my body knew I had had enough sleep and it was raring to go already.
When the sun started to rise, I was outside taking pictures...only this vacation would be different. Not only were we not located on the beach this time, but we were unable to see the sun rise or set. You could tell it was pretty...somewhere on the island....just not here. ☹️
Once the hubby was up, we decided to head out and find a local grocery store, only it wasn't so "local" and we would have to drive into Christiansted. Our first stop would be Cost U Less. I had read that was one of their stores here, prior to coming, so decided to stop. It ended up being a warehouse retailer with bulk goods. Not exactly what we were looking for. We planned on staying a week and a half, but not long enough to buy bulk. We only purchased a few items and then headed out and found the Plaza Extra, which was more of what we were looking for.
This was the store greeter:
We ended up spending $115 for just a few "necessities" and headed back to the house. Along the way, I received a text from Sakari "Did you get kidnapped?" She had woke up while I was gone and was worried after she couldn't find me. We came to an area and Ohhhhh the smelllll....yikes....and Karl wasn't even with us this time. What is that smell???
We had some breakfast and by "we" I mean everyone but Karl. Now if you read my last review, you'll know that he is a human garbage disposal despite his extremely scrawny, lanky, thin as a wafer physique. I knew this would mean trouble for the day for sure. Despite my pleading with him to eat something because I wasn't stopping at every restaurant along the way and we were going to be out and about today, he said "I'll be alright". HA!
Now I've been trying to find an excursion over to Buck Island since I was back home. I reached out several times to a company called Jolly Roger. They seemed like they had a good tour and the price was so much cheaper than who most people go with (and who we used in the past), which is Big Beards. I'm always up to give the underdog a try. It's like supporting small businesses. It usually gives you a more personalized experience as well. I reached out to them and was told they were fixing their boat and would let us know if it was possible to book for later in the week (which is what we were wanting to do anyhow).
Our first stop of the day (since we were located on the east end of the island...will be Point Udall.
We packed some things for the day and headed out. On the way up and over the hill to our place, the road had this arch with the ocean in front. It was so pretty.
We were heading toward Point Udall and hugging the side of the road with the ocean beside us down below. It was so pretty! As much as I wanted to snap pictures along the way, I wasn't able to. I had to stay focused on the twisting turn roads that would put you off the side of a cliff with one wrong move. I did manage to stick the GoPro out the window a few times when it was safe to do so.
We had arrived and it was absolutely gorgeous up there.
A little information about Point Udall and why it is so special:
It is located on the east end of St Croix and is the easternmost point of the United States. This is the furthest you can go in the US. It was named in 1969 after the US Secretary of the Interior, Stewart Udall, under Presidents JFK and Lyndon Johnson.
There is a sundial, known as the Millennium Monument, built in year 2000, and it happens to be the first place the sun rises on US soil. The sundial was erected to commemorate the beginning of a new millennium for the United States.
There are two Point Udall's. The other is located in Guam and known as the westernmost point of the United States.
It is breathtaking up there and best of all...it is free and easy to get to.
Just a short 1 1/2 minute clip of our drive up there a quick look around.
It was time to move on. Man was it hot! There had been a heat advisory for quite some time and today was no different. It was in the 90's!
There is a spot for parking right at the edge of entrance to Point Udall that people park and hike down to (what the islanders and tourist say is the most beautiful beach ever and secluded with great snorkeling) a place called Issacs Bay and Jack's Bay. I had told the kids we were going on a hike today. Once we pulled up we noticed there was a bunch of broken glass in the few spots that are located for parking. And by glass I mean car window glass! I had read by others that it is a prime place for people to break into cars so don't leave valuables in the car and/or leave the windows down and doors unlocked to prevent having to pay for a new window. We looked down at how far we had to hike (and it was in the sun). We wiped the sweat off our foreheads. We noticed the sargassum lining the beach and decided eh, I think we will pass on this experience. If we didn't die of heat stroke on the way down, the sargassum smell would surely be a disappointment to have to deal with on the beach. So off we went.
On the way up to Point Udall we had passed an area that looked like a beach with facilities and decided we were going to stop on the way back and check it out. I had marked many beaches on my MapsMe but this was not one of them. I had no idea about it.
As we headed down the road we would come across this:
Once we seen that on the side of the road (and you couldn't miss it...it was humungous!) we knew on the opposite side of the road was the beach we had passed. This was the National Radio Astronomy Observatory Station. It is one of 10 across the United States. The purpose is to capture radio signals so that data can be processed and used by astronomers. I'm totally convinced they were reaching out to the aliens. This thing was HUGE!
We pulled in to the beach area (surrounded by a fence with a gate to enter) and found a place to park. There was literally no one here. I think we seen 1 other family hanging out and maybe 2 locals just sitting under the tress not by the beach.
It was a pretty large park with plenty of covered building area's with picnic tables, a life guard building, picnic tables under the trees, what looked like restrooms and showers that were closed and other buildings I had no idea what they were. This beach was very long and there was plenty of green space as well.
We picked a spot close to our parking and found ourselves a picnic table under a tree. The greeting committee showed up shortly after that.
Of course I immediately headed out with my camera's and my snorkeling gear.
Yea, there were a few fish out there around these ledges right by the edge of the water down a ways, but definitely not what I would call "snorkeling". However, we took this opportunity to teach Karl how to snorkel since he's never done it before. Sakari and I spent a lot of time with him that day and he really started to get the hang of it. He was actually doing pretty good. Sakari tried to stay right beside him but a few times he got away from her and adventured out a little more than her comfort zone liked. She needed to be within "saving you from drowning" distance. But of course where she couldn't stand up and seemed like too deep of water, he was able to stand in if needed. LOL
The water was crystal clear and we had friends circling our feet. Of course Karl wanted to know if they were going to bite him (remember he's never really been in water like this and last vacation didn't get a chance to see what is under there). We let him know the fish will swarm because we are kicking up what is in the sand.
It was time for a little mid-day snack so we all gathered around the picnic table for snacks, chips, drinks and one of Sakari's favorite snacks...vienna sausages. While we sat there, I noticed a large termite nest in the tree above us. Sakari let Karl know "Hey, we ate those termites when I was 3 years old in Belize".
We still had company circling us and looking for a handout. Our view was gorgeous.
The hubby would discover they had free wifi here.
So now we knew why there were so many buildings and green space here...people come here to camp. It says this is called Cramer Park, but on the map it says the name of the beach is Cottongarden Bay Beach.
After lunch we headed back out to the water for a bit and I decided to try some over/under pictures. This is what I came up with. (It's always more interesting if you do them when there's fish or rocks or something under the water to focus on, but I used the kids as my subject to make up for there being not much of anything around.
Here's a short video of the area to show just how beautiful it is and how large the beach is:
After awhile, we decided to pack up and move on down the road to see what other beach we might find.
Our rental home stated we were only a few minutes away from the beach and the closest "beach" area would be would be down our hilly road and cross the main road over to Teague Bay. There is a restaurant there (Duggan's Reef). So, we decided to check the place out. There wasn't anyone there. I never did see anyone at the restaurant the entire time we were there. Sorry Karl, no food for you. I told you that you should eat breakfast before leaving. No one was in the parking lot and it left me wondering if they were closed. Or, maybe just open late hours and we missed it because we were already at the house.
But, we decided to get out to see what it had to offer.
Now there was a sign saying that you could snorkel there:
I was definitely "in" for some more snorkeling....until I wasn't...
Well now...I guess we could have went in and snorkeled because the water was gorgeous and it looked like there was something out there....however, the thought of the sargassum swishing between my toes to get out there wasn't very enticing to say the least. Then there's the SMELL...oh my. I don't think we wanted to endure the smell very long. It was just unbearable. I guess this would explain why no one was here. I also couldn't imagine eating at that restaurant with the smell either. It was enough to suppress your appetite for sure. At this point, we would realize the smell we were getting a whiff of each time we hit a certain spot on the road was actually the sargassum and not Karl. Ok Karl, you are off the hook...but we would still tease you about it each time we passed.
I made the executive decision to move on. This place was just not happening.
Well, we did have a big day planned for tonight so I really didn't want to adventure over to the west end of the island at this point. We decided to just head back to the house for some lunch and swimming in our pool.
So, what are we doing tonight? What are our big plans you may ask...it was something we had done before and couldn't imagine a better experience for someone to have during this lifetime...We are going to....
THE BIOLUMINESCENT BAY!!!
We had the absolute best experience anyone could ever imagine in Grand Cayman and honestly I wasn't expecting that experience again. I mean there's no way you could top that right? But once I found out that St Croix had a bio bay, I knew I wanted to go, even if it didn't live up to my expectations. Karl had never experienced it and we have talked about it to him. He was super excited to experience it and like most people, have seen the pictures online.
I searched all over for a company to take us there and honestly, options were limited in St Croix. There were 2 main companies and both were highly recommended with excellent reviews. So, I guess we couldn't go wrong. However, none of them mentioned getting in the water and swimming. So, I wasn't hopeful. Our previous experience (and it wasn't a good one), was in Puerto Rico and on a boat. They had us put a tarp over us and swish the water with our hands. There would be a faint sparkle here and there...but nothing like we expected. We wanted to see what you see in the pictures online. But Grand Cayman, and getting in the water, renewed my hope and we haven't stopped talking about it!! It was just that good! There were a lot of positive reviews online saying it was such a great experience but you know how that goes sometimes...what one persons experience is to another persons can be a vast difference in opinion. For instance we have been snorkeling all over the Caribbean and I will read "great snorkeling" at a place and to me...it was meh. But, I was willing to give it a shot!
We ended up booking with Bush Tribe. The interesting thing was they had clear kayaks. After a lot of research, there were multiple posts about how hard it was to control the clear kayaks, they are easily tipped, and most stated not really worth it because you would have to disturb the water and swish you hand back and forth under the kayak to see the blue. I finally elected to just book a regular kayak. The cost for this tour was $53/pp.
Our tour was to start at 6:55pm and was located at Salt River Bay. I'm a very punctual person and do not like to show up late for anything. I knew it would take a little time to get there as it was past the down town area of Christiansted. I'm always way ahead of schedule. Of course I decided we would leave the house way ahead of time, drive to the area of the tour to make sure we could find it, then see what was around the area to do while we waited.
Once we located the entrance, it was blocked with a gate and we couldn't go in. So, I decided to just keep driving to see what was around the area. The road would come to a dead end and there was a sign that said "Indigenous Caribbean Village and Ceremonial Site At Columbus Landing". This area is the only point on land owned by the US where members of the crew of Christopher Columbus came to shore in 1493, therefore named Columbus Landing Site on maps. This was the Taino Village and ceremonial site that once had the only stone-lined plaza or ballcourt in the Lesser Antilles. It is a 5 acre parcel and managed by the government National Park Service.
We got out to have a look around. Again, the beach area was loaded with sargassum and smelled.
There were walking trails but we decided just to stay in the beach area for a short period of time.
Then we moved on...
We headed back down the road, past Bush Tribe and back out to the main road. We came across a sign that said "Public Beach Access" so we turned in to check it out. It ended up being a resort called "Gentle Winds". I feel like it was one of the places we had looked at during our search for a place to rent for our stay. Beautiful palms lined the road to get there.
The place seemed deserted (as most places we've been to so far). Where is everyone? Is no one vacationing this summer? It felt like it did when we vacationed during covid. Trust me, I wasn't complaining!
We found a little play area off the beach and Sakari had to do her Titanic pose.
We walked over toward the pool where there was only 1 person in there. Like seriously...where are all the people???
The beach was pretty...although again, no one there! But there was some sargassum. Not as much as other places, but still.
There was a building as we walked back that had games and ping pong. The kids stopped to play while the hubby looked on. I snapped a picture as I hurried out the door afraid someone was going to come along and tell us we were not to be using the facilities unless we were guest of the resort. I wanted no part of being scolded or removal from the premises. I was going to pretend I didn't know these law breaking people, but yet I would be kind and offer them a ride in my Equinox to escort them off the property. See how helpful I am?
As the rest of the family headed out to where I was standing, I look over and Sakari is still having fun. Move those hips girl!
We seen the lady from the guard shack heading our way and I quickly motioned Sakari to "COME!" Only the guard was only going to the restroom and we were safe.
We looked down and there were baby crabs everywhere. Karl freaked out and did a dance with his feet. Of course Sakari picked them up and played with them.
There were also some little red critters roaming around and we wanted no part of that. We weren't sure if they were some type of stinging ants or what they were. Later at our bio tour, the tour guide said they could have been termites. However, when I looked them up after I got back home they are actually called Boxelder Bugs, which is a type of beetle. They do not sting or bite from what I've read.
It was time to move on and back on the road we went.
We headed down North Sidney Lee Road and just kept going. We had no idea where we were but I spotted one of the many sugar mills up on a hill. Did you know that St Croix had over 150 sugar mills at the peak of its sugar production in the 18th century? It was one of the richest sugar islands in all of the Caribbean. Today, 115 of those mills are still standing.
We had come across, what I believe is, the Rust Op Twist Sugar Mill. It is up on a hill overlooking the North Shore coastline. It is privately owned and from what I was reading (before we came to St Croix), they no longer allow people up to see it. So we would just have to take a few pictures from the road. Then we decided we should probably head back and didn't want to get lost.
The road you turn off to go to Salt River Bay was right at a marina. I had noticed a dock with a "Cane Bay Dive Shop" located there and decided to pull over. I had been in contact with this dive company prior to coming to St Croix and the conversation was flowing...until it wasn't. So, I decided I would just wait, while crossing my fingers and toes, that once we got here we would be able to schedule a dive or two with them. So, I took a picture of their sign and decided I would give them a call. I managed to book a dive for us and we were super excited.
As we headed back down the road toward Bush Tribe, a truck was stopped in the middle of the road and two guys got out and went toward the gate. They were the tour guides and even though we were still super early, they welcomed us in.
The dirt road led us to an open area where they had an "office" and beautiful palm trees with picnic tables and even some hammocks. One of the tour guides came over to greet us (Aidan). He was very talkative and friendly. He told us we were welcome to come hang out with them as they prepared everything for the trip tonight. There was another family of 4 coming along on the tour as well.
We hung out and Aidan entertained us. He was funny and the communication was flowing. We talked about doing the bio bay twice already and we asked if they get in the water to swim. He said they had never done that before and didn't even realize what an adventure that would be. He got super excited and said "I think we need to try this! I can't believe no one has ever mentioned it before!" "I gotta do this at least once in my life!"
We also talked about how we like to dive. He mentioned he moved there from the mainland to get his certification and to also become an instructor. He was finishing up his training tomorrow. Then he would be leaving this beautiful island to go back home in 4 days. He asked who we were planning on diving with and I gave him my story... I had been referred to an instructor by someone on the St Croix fb group, stating that this instructor was amazing and they always used him. I reached out to him. He responded, then stopped talking. That's when I had reached out to the dive shop about booking. Same thing, was talking, but the communication stopped and we never booked. When he asked who the dive shop was and we told him Cane Bay, he laughed and said "OH MY GOSH! I work for them too!" When he asked who the guy was we were trying to dive with and we told him he started laughing and said "He's my friend! I was just with him yesterday. I'm going to call him up and ask why he ghosted you!" I pleaded with him not to do that and put him on the spot, but Aidan was a hoot and was getting a kick out of it.
We discovered that he already had a booking on the day we wanted to go. However, Aidan offered to dive with us when we went...just for fun! He gave me his number and we would touch base later before the dive.
The guys getting the kayaks ready for us. The other tour guides name was Wesley. He wasn't as talkative as Aidan but nice.
Back at the "office" they started pulling out interesting displays of bugs that are known to St Croix, maps and information on what we were about to see for their "talk" before we went kayaking. He informed us that they had not only the dinoflagellates but also comb jellies and fireworms that also lit up! Wait what?!? Are you serious?? Aidan told us to watch the water while paddling and if you put your oar way down far and swope you would be able to see them scurry off. He said "grab one if you can"...um...seriously? Yes, he was dead serious. He said if the person in the front did the oar and it came up to the person in the back then try to catch it for everyone to see. Hmmm....
He also told us when a fish would swim by, you'd see their trail of sparkles too! My excitement was growing.
The other family arrived and our adventure we were about to have was explained. The other family had been snorkeling earlier today and had their masks in the car. Aidan encouraged them to bring them along and they were going to try to do a swim in the bio bay. I was so sad that we didn't bring ours but at least we've had this experience before.
After their talk, they asked if any of us had ever tried fresh coconut. Of course we had, except Karl, and I think the other family said they had not. Aidan said he was about to climb a palm tree and get us one. I couldn't wait to see this and had my camera ready to roll. Instead he found one on the ground and brought it over. They brought out the machete and started whacking away at it. Wesley was really struggling with breaking it open. He allowed the son of the other family to give it a few tries and then Aidan finished it off.
Karl got to try his first coconut!
Ok, time to head out. We all followed the trail down to the water and decided who was getting in what kayak.
Aidan giving me the "ok" dive symbol and told me I can do this!
I, not-so-swiftly, maneuvered my way into our kayak without tipping it over. Well, barely but I did it.
Once everyone was secured in their kayak with no tipping involved, we started to head out. I put the hubby in front...just in case he was to swoop up a jellyfish then I would be able to see it.
On the way out we stopped at a location and our guides gave us a little history about the area. I looked down and noticed when I moved my paddle, I seen a few sparkles. Was my eyes playing tricks on me? I wasn't sure. I got confirmation from the hubby. He was seeing a few sparkles as well.
We picked this night because of the moon schedule. As the week went on, the moon would get fuller and less chance to see the dinoflagellates. This was our absolute best option during the entire time we would be on the island.
We continued out and around a bend and the sparkles started getting a little brighter. It was getting darker out so we were hoping to see a little more than this. Aidan assured us it was going to blow our mind.
As we entered the true bio area, the hubby said "look down at our paddles" and the water was glowing with each stroke. It was getting brighter and brighter. The blue was flowing off our paddles and dripping back into the water. The further we went, the more glow there was. They took us over around the mangroves where it was completely dark and WOW JUST WOW! Splash the water, make big waves with your hands, swoosh the water into the mangroves like you were splashing someone and everything lit up. It is exactly as you see it in all the pictures online of bio bays. It was truly amazing and SO BRIGHT! I couldn't believe my eyes.
Every once in awhile you would see a fish dart through the water and leave a trail of blue. We would dig our paddles down deep and up would pop a glowing jellyfish. They were a little harder to find, but we did manage to see at least 8 or 10 of them during our trip.
The "other" company came and was out there as well but we stayed far from them. We explored the area for quite some time. We were waiting for the other company to finish and leave and then people that wanted to were going swimming! We admired the sky. There were SO MANY stars out tonight and it was so dark.
As much as I attempted to get pictures of the amazingly glowing water, it just wasn't happening. I seriously don't know how they get the pictures they do online. They are either faked or have some special equipment with a very long exposure and nothing else moving otherwise it's impossible.
However, I did manage to get way more sparkle in the pictures than in Grand Cayman. That's how much more it was lit up.
To compare, here is a pic from our swim in Grand Cayman:
You could see how the water has a blue tint and a few sparkles here and there if zoomed in BUT.....
This is what I would get this time around:
That shows you what a difference there was. It was the most amazing thing ever! Just nothing but blue glowing sparkles everywhere.
Well, it was time for Aidan, Wesley and the other family to get in the water and experience the sparkles using goggles. They took turns as one person on each kayak went in. You see it was deep in this area so no standing on the sea bed to push yourself back up into the kayak when you were done. Someone had to stay in each kayak, then everyone would bunch them up together and hold each other as the person tried to get back in without it tipping over.
All you could hear was "WOW" "Oh my gosh!" "This is amazing!" "Would you look at this!" "It's so much different under water". I was so happy that they were getting to see it like this and I'm glad we mentioned it.
They offered to let us use their masks. Sakari went in and then after her Karl elected to go in. I thought for sure he would be too scared. I mean after all, it's dark, it's deep, and you don't know what's under there because you can't see. But he proudly said "I'm going in!" And in he went. He was amazed. I didn't think we were going to get him out of there. LOL We decided not to go in (the hubby and I). I seen everyone struggle to try to get back in their kayaks and I wasn't about to have to get dragged back to shore holding onto a kayak because I couldn't get back in it. How embarrassing would that be right? I was having flashbacks of our trip to Aruba when we got ourselves into trouble and the dinghy from the pirate ship excursion we had taken the day before had to come and rescue us...being pulled by the boat as we hung on for dear life in the water. Yea, no, I wasn't having that again. I kept myself firmly planted in place!
When everyone was pleased with what they had seen, we started to paddle back to shore. It was a long haul but we paddled beside Wesley and got to know him a little better. The hubby and him talked "keto talk" on the way back and he told Wesley our "story" and the journey we've been on for the (almost) last 2 years of weight loss and getting healthy.
The guides left some lights hanging in the trees so we would know where to paddle back to and eventually we made it. When we returned they played a game. Everyone got a chance to do the best impression of one of the guides and whoever was best, won a prize. The hubby did his impression of Aidan of course...and won the game. His prize...a sticker. Then they gave all the losers a prize. A sticker. Everyone's a winner tonight!
We talked with Aidan a little longer and confirmed our plans to meet up with him for diving in a few days and then it was time to journey back, in the pitch black, up and down winding roads, to our home. Talk about scary! These roads are bad enough to drive on during the day. It took approximately 1 hour to complete the drive back.
I honestly don't remember eating dinner that night since we got back so late and were so tired but yet almost too excited to sleep. 💤
Up tomorrow...exploring some snorkeling areas.
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