Tuesday, October 9, 2012

A Virgin Islands Getaway Part II

So... back to our trip.  If you missed Part I, you can check it out here.
 
After 2 nights in St. Thomas, Brian and rode the car barge over to St. John.  St John is about 75% national park so there are fewer people, less trash, and more beautiful things to look at… all plusses in our book.  Here is a view from the ride on the ferry.
 
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Our condo in St. John was Cruz Views #3. Fortunately, we traveled to St. John in the low season (AKA hurricane season) so there was only one other unit being occupied.  And we only saw those peeps one time the whole time we were there. Can I say awesome? It was like we had the whole joint to ourselves… well us and Jose. I’ll get to Jose later. Check out these views from our condo balcony.
 
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Gorgeous sunsets every night.
 
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Our condo.
 
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On Monday, we took a Catamaran trip (the boat was named Bad Kitty) to the British Virgin Islands.  It was a b-e-a-u-tiful day, especially to go to some of the most beautiful places on earth. 
 
First stop: Spanish Town, Virgin Gorda to check in to customs (nothing fancy). 
Second stop: The Baths, Virgin Gorda.  Hands down, one of the most gorgeous places I’ve ever been.  At “The Baths” there are these enormous granite boulders (up to 40 feet wide) spread all over the beach that form natural pools, tunnels, arches, and scenic grottos that are open to the sea.  Absolutely stunning.  They say there is only one other place like this on earth somewhere off the coast of Africa.
 
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We swam from the boat up to this beach and then our guides took us on a tour up, through, around, and under these boulders.
 
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Swimming from the boat to shore.
 
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“The Cathedral” and most popular photo op in the Baths.  They say there are a lot of photo shoots here.  Look familiar?
 
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3rd Stop: Lunch on Scrub Island.  We rode in to the marina of this beautiful resort on Scrub Island.  Its owned by Marriott and it is the ONLY thing on the island… how cool?  We sat down for some yummy food and then got to play on the pool slide briefly.



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4th stop:  Snorkeling at Diamond Reef.
 

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Porcupine Fish
 

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View of Sandy Cay along our way through the islands.  Looks like one of those deserted islands from a movie.  I wouldn’t mind being stranded there.
 

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5th Stop: White Bay on Jost van Dyke.  Our 3rd British Virgin Island of the day, and home of the Soggy Bottom Bar (ranked #1 beach bar in the world and creator of the Pain Killer). 
 

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Back to St. John, we checked in through customs and then decided to jump in the pool, shower and then drive around the island.  We drove roads 20 to 10 to 104.  We hiked up to Peace Hill to see some ruins, WILD donkeys, and some spectacular views.
 

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Hawksnest Bay
 

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Trunk Bay…voted one of the prettiest beaches in the World.  And I would agree, especially when there are no people around.
 

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More wild donkeys.
 

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Maho Bay
 

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Overlooking Coral Bay (the second town on St. John)
 

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While driving to Fish Bay to look at villas we may want to rent in the future (anyone interested?), we saw this beautiful reflection of the sun on to the clouds and into the water… absolutely breathtaking.
 

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If you are interested in seeing more of our vacation, stop by tomorrow for Part III.  Maybe I will introduce you to Jose… 
 

Sneak Peak:
 

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1 comment:

Beau said...

Hey great photos sister!

Looks like you guys had fun.