ScenicBoys

Virgin Islands National Park, St John USVI

Because of their close proximity to one another, Christopher Columbus named the Virgin Islands, Santa Ursula y Las Once Mil Vírgenes, after Saint Ursula and her 11,000 virgins. It's amazing to see so many beautiful, readily accessible islands scattered across the horizon. Big hilly islands, small rocky cays, and white barren spits lay so close that you can see the next adventure waiting on the next shore.

The day after our tour to the British Virgin Islands we caught a ferry to yet another peaceful green isle, this one home to the Virgin Islands National Park. Unlike the hustle, bustle and high-end shopping of St Thomas, St John is almost an entirely undeveloped tropical paradise. Not only the interior jungles and white sand beaches, but miles and miles of thriving coral reefs are also protected by the Park.

The ScenicBoys would choose roughing it over first class any day. For our four nights on St John we stayed at the Concordia Campground, which is a sustainably designed Eco-Resort that runs off of solar energy and collected rain water. While not actually a campground, it was the closest we could get to sleeping outside. More like roughing it in a tree house. Located on a hillside and bordered on three sides by the National Park, we had a spectacular view of the tall, narrow Ram Head peninsula. Our first night here was a full moon, and we took advantage of the bright tropical moonlight to hiked to the top. 

Throughout St John, there are numerous remains of the 17th century plantain era. The Park Service has done an amazing job of preserving the Annaburg Sugar Mill Ruins with a windmill tower and a handful of roofless processing buildings made from coral masonry.

Snorkeling in crystal clear, turquoise water is something this country boy will never grow tired of. Fascinating colors and shapes tempt you to explore the other-worldly life in the coral reefs. We swam with schools of mini neon fish over multi layered coral arches, bulges and branches. Admiring the odd fish, giant sea enchants and graceful sting rays.

ScenicBoys: Virgin Islands - Part 2 from scenicboys on Vimeo.

By the middle of our trip to the Caribbean we were amazed at all the opportunities we had already experienced.  And we still had three more days to go! Up next are our hikes into the island's jungle backcountry.

Virgin Islands!!!

By late November '09 we'd already had our fill of wintry Northwest weather, and plans of warm tropical destinations began to brew.  We first set our sights on the Haiwiian Islands and began researching camping oppertunities on Kauai.  But before long a glimmer of Caribbean adventure sparked in us, and we found camping opportunities in Virgin Islands National Park on the isle of St. John.

ScenicBoys: Virgin Islands - Part 1 from scenicboys on Vimeo.

On the last Tuesday in January, we left straight from work with all our luggage (a backpack and carry-on each) for the Virgin Islands.  15 hours later we touched down on St. Thomas and our vacation was underway.  

First stop was at the car rental counter, where we picked up a 4WD Jeep.  Next came the new challenge of driving on the left side of the road.  I hadn't realized how much of driving was habit and found the adjustment a bit stressful at first, but within an hour I had the hang of it and the local rules of the road.  

Traffic through downtown Charlotte Amalia was bustling and we quickly tried to get to the East side of town to our hotel.  Once we had showered and lathered on spf 50, we hit the road and drove the perimeter of the island, visiting Magan's Bay among many others.

We spent our first full day in Virgin Islands aboard the Nauti Nymph with our friends, Captain Chris and First-mate Melissa.  We also met Charlie and Niki who joined us for an all-day boating adventure around the British Virgin Islands.  After setting out from St Thomas, we set a nor'easter course toward the BVIs. On the island of Tortola we anchored at Smuggler's Cove where, tucked in the palms, was a little beach bar and the best banana daiquiris. We then got to play around little Sandy Spit, where the Corona palm tree commercial was filmed.  

Then we cruised north to Jost Van Dyke and visited a handful of amazing beaches and bars.  A number of these beach bars lack a pier so we had to jump overboard and swim for shore.  One of our favorites was called the Soggy Dollar Bar.

We had the best tour guides in all of the Caribbean and ended that first day filled with excitement, stories, and gratitude for having the chance to experience it.

Check back in a few days for Part 2 of our adventure, where we take the barge to St. John for 5 days in the Virgin Islands National Park.