My wife and I are regular January refugees from Siberapolis. For warm temps, tropical breezes, sunny skies and gorgeous beaches, we’re ready to place St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands near the top of our early winter destinations.
Today’s Sports Headliners doesn’t have much to do with sports except I am a sportswriter and you probably visit my website expecting to read something about the Gophers or the pro teams in town. In case you want to exit from the site now, just know this column is about our trip to St. John and not only offers no sports scoops but also may send those who have spent recent weeks in frigid-snowy Minnesota into a permanent funk.
St. John was a getaway recommendation by a former local sports executive who may consider a Minnesota winter more distressing than a last place team. We occasionally console each other about winters here. This one probably has half of the state’s population popping Prozac or drinking gallons of Jack Daniel’s.
Is spectacular weather a technical term used by meteorologists? We found the tropical climate in St. John superior to experiences in the Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Cayman Islands (all three) and Mexico. We’re still trying to decide whether to give St. John a tie with Hawaii, or just a close second.
We enjoyed five beaches in six days while walking, sunbathing and snorkeling. Google the famous Trunk Bay beach and then click on images. The beach is just as advertised, among the most beautiful in the world.
Keep it quiet but seldom used Reef Bay offered us a rare private beach experience. With no road access, we could only access the beach on foot. After a steep, rugged downhill trek, the reward is a gorgeous isolated beach, and you might have it all to yourself.
A dose of adventurous spirit is required for visiting the island. St. John consists of hilly terrain everywhere. There might be more Jeeps and other four-wheel drive vehicles per capita than any place in the Caribbean.
The night we arrived gave us a quick introduction as to why this is Jeep Country. In our vehicle we followed our host toward the house we had rented for the week. We were soon trailing her vehicle up and down steep hills and around sharp (blind) curves—all by the light of our headlights and a full moon. (Historical note: apparently a shipment of streetlights never has arrived at the docks of St. John.)
After awhile our host stopped in the middle of the road and walked back to announce something that startled us. “The turn ahead requires a leap of faith,” she said.
We soon realized this was code for a sharp turn into a narrow driveway that plunged down like a world-class roller coaster. After a flight delay in Minneapolis, a five to six hour airplane ride to St. John’s sister island of St. Thomas, a 40 minute taxi ride across that island to a ferry dock and a 20 minute boat ride to St. John, this was not an announcement we appreciated.
Making our test of faith more challenging was a first time experience driving a larger model of Jeep. We couldn’t see much of the road ahead and the expanse of the hood seemed about the size of an aircraft carrier flight deck.
We said to hell with faith and let our host drive the beast first down and then up the narrow driveway to our vacation home located on a hill overlooking a postcard pretty bay. The next morning we traded in the beast for a Wrangler that was much more driver-friendly.
Along with our daily experiences at the beach, driving provided us with some of our best entertainment on the trip. In Cruz Bay, the island’s hub, we were prepared to stop any second for a driver coming to a halt on a narrow two way street to visit with an island neighbor. “Don’t rush, mon.”
The first time buying gas on St. John we noticed a long line of cars at one entrance to the station. Vehicles were lined up out into the street. It never occurred to me drivers were in a one-way queue to fill the tanks of their vehicles.
We pulled into the other entrance of the gas station and proceeded to the one available pump. I soon figured out the situation after hearing a car horn, and being redirected by a man in charge of the lineup.
Idiot driver from Minnesota!
I felt a bit uncomfortable about the gas station incident for about 30 minutes until we were dining on Caribbean lobster. Or was it mahi-mahi? Or grilled shrimp or pulled pork?
All I know for sure about St. John food is it was mostly superb and all good. There are lots of places to eat on the island, making you forget there’s just one gas station that sometimes has long lines and even runs out of fuel.
There is also (I repeat) plenty of sunshine and warm tropical temps and breezes.
Not all is perfect in paradise. There are mosquitoes to be found in January. The troublesome insects located us soon after our arrival. Today I have less than fond memories of them when looking at the red bumps on my limbs.
The other night we headed back to Minneapolis. After a long flight from St. Thomas (included refueling in Puerto Rico) the flight attendant welcomed us to MSP. She didn’t bother to announce the temperature or this week’s weather forecast.
We already know. Figured it out back in November.