usvi-on-line
Lost luggage, earthquakes, hurricanes and more -Day 8 and 9
Lost luggage, earthquakes, hurricanes and more -Day 8 and 9
Lost luggage, earthquakes, hurricanes and more -Day 8 and Day 9
Day 8 - 10/17 Fri. (Caneel)
Being that we couldn't check in to Caneel until 11:30 we all slept in until about 9:30. We packed all our things again and were ready to head back. Our friends joined us for breakfast at JJ's. I highly recommend the huervos rancheros. They are very addicting! After a satisfying breakfast we said good bye to our friends and rolled our luggage near the ferry entrance to grab a taxi. After taking the taxi from Cruz Bay, then to Gallows Point, we finally made it to Caneel. NOTE: Caneel is currently working on new security booths at the entrance so you have to drive around on an unpaved road. We grabbed our luggage and went to the front desk/check-in area. The staff immediately recognized us and welcomed us back. Our same room was ready and we headed to our room. We just made a quick stop at the watersports center to grab our complimentary snorkel gear. A nice gentlemen by the name of Jeremy, I believe, took us in a golf cart to our room. We were asking him questions about the hurricane. He said that no one stayed besides one employee since his current residence is far less safe the grounds at Caneel. All of the guests did in fact leave. Damage was minimal - scattered debris from the trees, etc. but nothing too bad as far as we could see. It was a relief to see that Caneel was okay.
When we entered our room, there was a few housekeepers cleaning our bathroom asking us if several items were ours. We looked and I forgot that we left all of our shampoo, soap, etc. in the bathroom. It was still there. We also noticed that a bottle of champagne that was given to us was also still on the table. It was as if we never left the room. Jeremy welcomed us back and we were ready to enjoy what little time we had left at Caneel.
Much better weather:
Oh that view!
We immediately grabbed our snorkel equipment, sunscreen and reading material and headed down to Scotts Beach. The beach was empty. We were the only ones on the beach. The chairs were pulled back on the beach so I got a few photos that made it look like a vacant beach. We found two chairs and put on our snorkel equipment. Right away we noticed that the water was still a little churned up. The snorkeling wasn't great because of this, but we were still able to see a couple of turtles. Its almost like a sure thing at Scotts Beach. Give it a few minutes and some patience and sure enough you will most likely spot at least one turtle. We saw a few fish, but again due to the storm the water wasn't very clear. It was still beautiful to finally get in the water again and snorkel. After a while we headed back to our chairs. The weather started to get cloudy again so we went back to our room.
Empty beach at Scott's:
That water:
We were enjoying a couple of rum punches on our balcony when I got a call from Joe. Over the years we've become good friends with Captain Joe from the Scubadu. He said that he was on a sail today but later he would be dropping off his clients at Cruz Bay. He wanted to know if we wanted to meet him for happy hour. We called our friends and planned to meet at the Beach Bar around 5:30. In the meantime I called to make reservations for dinner at the Equator. The Turtle Bay Estate House was closed so it was either the Equator or the Caneel Beach Bar Terrace. I have always enjoyed the Equator so that was perfect for our last night.
After freshing up a bit we headed to the taxi stop at Caneel. There was no one around. We contacted the front desk but they said a taxi should be around between 10 - 15 min. 5 minutes pasted and a pickup truck showed up. It had the Caneel logo on the sides so we knew right away he must be an employee of Caneel. He rolled down his window and asked us where we were headed. We told him that we were going into town. He said "no problem" and hop in. It turns out he has been working at Caneel for quite sometime but he is the man "behind the scenes". His name was Alvin and his exact title escapes me but I believe he was some sort of engineering manager. Alvin dropped us off near the ferry and we thanked him for his generosity. My husband wanted to give him money but he refused to take it. We just thought that it was such a nice gesture what he. Thanks Alvin!
We walked down to the Beach Bar and there he was, Joe! It was great to see Joe again. We met his first mate Arin which was also very pleasant. A few minutes passed and our friends had made it too. It was nice to talk to him again. It was amazing that a year had passed but when we saw Joe its like we just saw him yesterday. He then suggested that being we never got to do our daysail to Jost that he had to head back to St. Thomas anyway and if we would want to hop on for a sunset cruise? We all agreed right away - of course that would be great! We headed to the Scubadu. It was a beautiful night. The skies were gorgeous and clear. We finally saw stars for the first time during our trip. The sail was terrific. It was such a nice surprise and kind of a closing to our trip. When we made it to St. Thomas we thanked Joe again and reassured him that we would be back next year. Thanks again Joe! We walked to the Red Hook Ferry and just made the 7pm ferry. We sat up top and watched the lights of St. John appear to get closer. I looked around and saw a lot of commuters and I thought how this a nice way of "commuting" vs. hours sitting in a car on Route 80 like I do everyday!
Sunset from the Scubadu:
Beautiful Night:
We got back into Cruz Bay and still had some time to kill before heading back to Caneel. We went back to the Waterfront Bistro for a drink and thanked our friends again for everything. It was soon to say goodbye and would see them the next day since we were on the same flight. We took a taxi back to Caneel. Dinner at the Equator was excellent. I don't know if it was because we were one of the only 3 tables dining or what but the service was great. We started out with a few appetizers. I had the chicken roti and my husband had the conch fritters (this was the first time I have ever seen conch fritters on the menu at Caneel). Then for dinner we both decided on the caribbean lobster. Wow, after all that food we were stuffed! We walked back to our room and sat out on our balcony and listened to some music for our last night.
Chicken Roti:
Conch Fritters:
Caribbean Lobster:
Day 9 - Sat. (Departure)
Well I had the alarm set for 7:30 but it never went off. Good thing that I was awake and woke my husband up. We didn't have to leave until 10:30 but I wanted to take one last swim at Scotts Beach. We looked out the window and it was absolutely picture perfect. I just thought "this just figures". The day we are leaving and it is absolutely gorgeous. We walked down to Scotts and the water was as clear and calm as glass. It was little cool yet (there was no sun yet on the beach) but we jumped in. It was a good wake up swim for us! We then went back to our room to dry off on the balcony.
Gorgeous Morning:
Picture Perfect:
Water very calm:
I was trying to get some last minute color on our balcony since we never really got much color during our trip. Then it was time to get ready to go. We packed up our things and headed for check out. After check out we enjoyed the Caneel breakfast buffet and talked about how it was definitely a unique trip. Two natural disasters in one week. Who would ever thought? After a filling breakfast we waited for our 10:30 ferry. I tried to take some pictures since it was so nice out. Plus I had to use up some of my memory card since I really didn't take as many pictures as I usually do.
Our 10:30 Ferry:
After the ferry ride, then taxi ride through St. Thomas we made it to the airport. I never enjoy this day due to the fact we usually get the 2:30 Continental flight that is direct into Newark, but we always have to take the 10:30 ferry. We get to the airport at 11:20 and there is no one at the counter. The kiosks say that there won't be anyone for check-in until 11:50. Great. We just had to stand there and wait and wait. The continental employees finally walk out at around 11:45 and we are able to check-in. We waited for our friends then all headed to customs and then finally to the gate. When we were on the plane it was kind of funny to hear everyone talk about the similar stories they had experienced. I heard from one person that even Maho was evacuated for the hurricane. It sounded like a lot of people were diverted to St. Thomas. After a long and noisy flight (can they even invent tranquilizers for screaming kids?), we landed actually early into Newark.
This was likely one of the most unique experiences we have had on St. John but have to say we made the best of it and were very lucky all and all. We wished that we had better luck with the weather, but then again St. John could have gotten a direct hit from the hurricane. Just yesterday I found out from our travel agent that they received a letter from Caneel and that our reimbursement check was on its way. We will use that towards our trip next year. Now the only question is, do we take the same week? I don't think hurricanes can strike the same week two years in a row? Regardless, this time I WILL be taking out traveler's insurance! I hope you enjoyed my ramblings - until our next October trip - Susan and Ted
Day 8 - 10/17 Fri. (Caneel)
Being that we couldn't check in to Caneel until 11:30 we all slept in until about 9:30. We packed all our things again and were ready to head back. Our friends joined us for breakfast at JJ's. I highly recommend the huervos rancheros. They are very addicting! After a satisfying breakfast we said good bye to our friends and rolled our luggage near the ferry entrance to grab a taxi. After taking the taxi from Cruz Bay, then to Gallows Point, we finally made it to Caneel. NOTE: Caneel is currently working on new security booths at the entrance so you have to drive around on an unpaved road. We grabbed our luggage and went to the front desk/check-in area. The staff immediately recognized us and welcomed us back. Our same room was ready and we headed to our room. We just made a quick stop at the watersports center to grab our complimentary snorkel gear. A nice gentlemen by the name of Jeremy, I believe, took us in a golf cart to our room. We were asking him questions about the hurricane. He said that no one stayed besides one employee since his current residence is far less safe the grounds at Caneel. All of the guests did in fact leave. Damage was minimal - scattered debris from the trees, etc. but nothing too bad as far as we could see. It was a relief to see that Caneel was okay.
When we entered our room, there was a few housekeepers cleaning our bathroom asking us if several items were ours. We looked and I forgot that we left all of our shampoo, soap, etc. in the bathroom. It was still there. We also noticed that a bottle of champagne that was given to us was also still on the table. It was as if we never left the room. Jeremy welcomed us back and we were ready to enjoy what little time we had left at Caneel.
Much better weather:
Oh that view!
We immediately grabbed our snorkel equipment, sunscreen and reading material and headed down to Scotts Beach. The beach was empty. We were the only ones on the beach. The chairs were pulled back on the beach so I got a few photos that made it look like a vacant beach. We found two chairs and put on our snorkel equipment. Right away we noticed that the water was still a little churned up. The snorkeling wasn't great because of this, but we were still able to see a couple of turtles. Its almost like a sure thing at Scotts Beach. Give it a few minutes and some patience and sure enough you will most likely spot at least one turtle. We saw a few fish, but again due to the storm the water wasn't very clear. It was still beautiful to finally get in the water again and snorkel. After a while we headed back to our chairs. The weather started to get cloudy again so we went back to our room.
Empty beach at Scott's:
That water:
We were enjoying a couple of rum punches on our balcony when I got a call from Joe. Over the years we've become good friends with Captain Joe from the Scubadu. He said that he was on a sail today but later he would be dropping off his clients at Cruz Bay. He wanted to know if we wanted to meet him for happy hour. We called our friends and planned to meet at the Beach Bar around 5:30. In the meantime I called to make reservations for dinner at the Equator. The Turtle Bay Estate House was closed so it was either the Equator or the Caneel Beach Bar Terrace. I have always enjoyed the Equator so that was perfect for our last night.
After freshing up a bit we headed to the taxi stop at Caneel. There was no one around. We contacted the front desk but they said a taxi should be around between 10 - 15 min. 5 minutes pasted and a pickup truck showed up. It had the Caneel logo on the sides so we knew right away he must be an employee of Caneel. He rolled down his window and asked us where we were headed. We told him that we were going into town. He said "no problem" and hop in. It turns out he has been working at Caneel for quite sometime but he is the man "behind the scenes". His name was Alvin and his exact title escapes me but I believe he was some sort of engineering manager. Alvin dropped us off near the ferry and we thanked him for his generosity. My husband wanted to give him money but he refused to take it. We just thought that it was such a nice gesture what he. Thanks Alvin!
We walked down to the Beach Bar and there he was, Joe! It was great to see Joe again. We met his first mate Arin which was also very pleasant. A few minutes passed and our friends had made it too. It was nice to talk to him again. It was amazing that a year had passed but when we saw Joe its like we just saw him yesterday. He then suggested that being we never got to do our daysail to Jost that he had to head back to St. Thomas anyway and if we would want to hop on for a sunset cruise? We all agreed right away - of course that would be great! We headed to the Scubadu. It was a beautiful night. The skies were gorgeous and clear. We finally saw stars for the first time during our trip. The sail was terrific. It was such a nice surprise and kind of a closing to our trip. When we made it to St. Thomas we thanked Joe again and reassured him that we would be back next year. Thanks again Joe! We walked to the Red Hook Ferry and just made the 7pm ferry. We sat up top and watched the lights of St. John appear to get closer. I looked around and saw a lot of commuters and I thought how this a nice way of "commuting" vs. hours sitting in a car on Route 80 like I do everyday!
Sunset from the Scubadu:
Beautiful Night:
We got back into Cruz Bay and still had some time to kill before heading back to Caneel. We went back to the Waterfront Bistro for a drink and thanked our friends again for everything. It was soon to say goodbye and would see them the next day since we were on the same flight. We took a taxi back to Caneel. Dinner at the Equator was excellent. I don't know if it was because we were one of the only 3 tables dining or what but the service was great. We started out with a few appetizers. I had the chicken roti and my husband had the conch fritters (this was the first time I have ever seen conch fritters on the menu at Caneel). Then for dinner we both decided on the caribbean lobster. Wow, after all that food we were stuffed! We walked back to our room and sat out on our balcony and listened to some music for our last night.
Chicken Roti:
Conch Fritters:
Caribbean Lobster:
Day 9 - Sat. (Departure)
Well I had the alarm set for 7:30 but it never went off. Good thing that I was awake and woke my husband up. We didn't have to leave until 10:30 but I wanted to take one last swim at Scotts Beach. We looked out the window and it was absolutely picture perfect. I just thought "this just figures". The day we are leaving and it is absolutely gorgeous. We walked down to Scotts and the water was as clear and calm as glass. It was little cool yet (there was no sun yet on the beach) but we jumped in. It was a good wake up swim for us! We then went back to our room to dry off on the balcony.
Gorgeous Morning:
Picture Perfect:
Water very calm:
I was trying to get some last minute color on our balcony since we never really got much color during our trip. Then it was time to get ready to go. We packed up our things and headed for check out. After check out we enjoyed the Caneel breakfast buffet and talked about how it was definitely a unique trip. Two natural disasters in one week. Who would ever thought? After a filling breakfast we waited for our 10:30 ferry. I tried to take some pictures since it was so nice out. Plus I had to use up some of my memory card since I really didn't take as many pictures as I usually do.
Our 10:30 Ferry:
After the ferry ride, then taxi ride through St. Thomas we made it to the airport. I never enjoy this day due to the fact we usually get the 2:30 Continental flight that is direct into Newark, but we always have to take the 10:30 ferry. We get to the airport at 11:20 and there is no one at the counter. The kiosks say that there won't be anyone for check-in until 11:50. Great. We just had to stand there and wait and wait. The continental employees finally walk out at around 11:45 and we are able to check-in. We waited for our friends then all headed to customs and then finally to the gate. When we were on the plane it was kind of funny to hear everyone talk about the similar stories they had experienced. I heard from one person that even Maho was evacuated for the hurricane. It sounded like a lot of people were diverted to St. Thomas. After a long and noisy flight (can they even invent tranquilizers for screaming kids?), we landed actually early into Newark.
This was likely one of the most unique experiences we have had on St. John but have to say we made the best of it and were very lucky all and all. We wished that we had better luck with the weather, but then again St. John could have gotten a direct hit from the hurricane. Just yesterday I found out from our travel agent that they received a letter from Caneel and that our reimbursement check was on its way. We will use that towards our trip next year. Now the only question is, do we take the same week? I don't think hurricanes can strike the same week two years in a row? Regardless, this time I WILL be taking out traveler's insurance! I hope you enjoyed my ramblings - until our next October trip - Susan and Ted
Great trip report! Thanks for taking the time to write it all down and for sharing your pictures, too!
I too believe that lightening doesn't strike twice in the same place, so next year you will have PERFECT weather for your entire trip!
Thanks again for sharing your unique experiences! I enjoyed reading all about your (mis)adventures!!
-Bert
I too believe that lightening doesn't strike twice in the same place, so next year you will have PERFECT weather for your entire trip!
Thanks again for sharing your unique experiences! I enjoyed reading all about your (mis)adventures!!
-Bert
The liver is evil, it must be punished!
-
piscesgirl0314
- Posts: 598
- Joined: Thu Sep 25, 2008 12:31 pm
- Location: Chesapeake, VA
-
gymnastika
- Posts: 291
- Joined: Fri Mar 28, 2008 10:01 pm
- Location: texas
Sorry your trip wasn't ideal, but it is good that you're getting a check from your insurance company. That's a nice bonus and softens the blow a bit!
When I travel to the Caribbean in the fall, I personally go between late September and mid-October. For some reason, it seems like storms just line up in early September and then there's a brief reprieve before the rains of late October and November kick in. I am no meteorologist and have no basis for this belief other than the fact that I personally have had good luck at this time and bad luck in late August and late October.
When I travel to the Caribbean in the fall, I personally go between late September and mid-October. For some reason, it seems like storms just line up in early September and then there's a brief reprieve before the rains of late October and November kick in. I am no meteorologist and have no basis for this belief other than the fact that I personally have had good luck at this time and bad luck in late August and late October.
-
David- n Hampton, VA
- Posts: 137
- Joined: Mon Aug 28, 2006 8:30 am
Susan, I have to tell you it is so refreshing to read how much fun you had DESPITE the events outside of your control. I thought you and your friends went out of your way to look for the good side of it all, and I really like seeing you had fun.
I haven't been on this forum for a couple of years, so thanks for bringing it (the USVI life) back to me in your tale. Hope next year is event free and wonderful for you.
Dave
I haven't been on this forum for a couple of years, so thanks for bringing it (the USVI life) back to me in your tale. Hope next year is event free and wonderful for you.
Dave
