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Christmas trip12/25-1/1/11
Christmas trip12/25-1/1/11
Us: Couple, mid-forties, with a 20 year old son, 18 year old daughter and 12 year old son.
Stayed: Coconut Hill Cottage
Weather: This was our first high season trip, the weather was a little colder...low to high 70's. Also our first experience with the "Christmas Winds". Was not able to snorkel most of the north shore beaches, it got better our last couple of days, but this was ok because we got to explore some new beaches on the south and east sides.
This was trip # 5
1st trip in 99 (when we didnt know much) we stayed on St. Thomas at the Stouffers beach resort.
2nd trip: 2004: Gallows Point
3rd trip: 2006: With kids...Concordia eco-tents
4th trip: 2008: Couples trip...Concordia.
Highlights of this trip:
1 Beautiful cottage on Coral Bay with amazing views, but I also fell in love with the East End.
2. Swimming with Franco the sea lion at Coral World
3. Peace Hill
4. Denis Bay with northern swells...deserted and rugged and lovely
5. Learning to tarantula fish
6. Bringing carrots to feed the donkeys
7. The Grouper Reuben at Miss Lucy's...does anyone know how to make it?!!
8. Little Lameshur Bay beach
9. Breakfast at the Donkey Diner
10. Watching pelicans dive into the surf.
For next trip:
Want to:
Hike Rams Head
See ruins of Par Force
Eat at Uncle Joe's
Stay on the East End
Gibney Beach
Snorkel off of Donkey Blight
Rent a dinghy and go to Turtle Bay
Night Snorkel
See a night blooming Cereus
Find a pearl!
So hard to come back...we did the walk of woe...actually the drive of woe as we rented the jeep in St. Thomas. But it is funny, we have gone from , "Hey...we should come back" to, "When do we go again?" in 5 trips. Let me add # 11...next time stay a month!
Stayed: Coconut Hill Cottage
Weather: This was our first high season trip, the weather was a little colder...low to high 70's. Also our first experience with the "Christmas Winds". Was not able to snorkel most of the north shore beaches, it got better our last couple of days, but this was ok because we got to explore some new beaches on the south and east sides.
This was trip # 5
1st trip in 99 (when we didnt know much) we stayed on St. Thomas at the Stouffers beach resort.
2nd trip: 2004: Gallows Point
3rd trip: 2006: With kids...Concordia eco-tents
4th trip: 2008: Couples trip...Concordia.
Highlights of this trip:
1 Beautiful cottage on Coral Bay with amazing views, but I also fell in love with the East End.
2. Swimming with Franco the sea lion at Coral World
3. Peace Hill
4. Denis Bay with northern swells...deserted and rugged and lovely
5. Learning to tarantula fish
6. Bringing carrots to feed the donkeys
7. The Grouper Reuben at Miss Lucy's...does anyone know how to make it?!!
8. Little Lameshur Bay beach
9. Breakfast at the Donkey Diner
10. Watching pelicans dive into the surf.
For next trip:
Want to:
Hike Rams Head
See ruins of Par Force
Eat at Uncle Joe's
Stay on the East End
Gibney Beach
Snorkel off of Donkey Blight
Rent a dinghy and go to Turtle Bay
Night Snorkel
See a night blooming Cereus
Find a pearl!
So hard to come back...we did the walk of woe...actually the drive of woe as we rented the jeep in St. Thomas. But it is funny, we have gone from , "Hey...we should come back" to, "When do we go again?" in 5 trips. Let me add # 11...next time stay a month!
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Thanks for the trip report. Little Lameshur and watching pelicans are some of our favorite things to do also. For your next trip, doing a night snorkel is a cool (but kind of scary) thing to do. We did it at Trunk Bay one night right at/after sunset and saw lots of interesting stuff. When we stayed on Virgin Gorda,there was a lot of night blooming Cereus. Its really an awesome sight and worth seeking out.
Can I ask what is "Learning to tarantula fish"?
Can I ask what is "Learning to tarantula fish"?
Amyee, we were there at the same time! We are about the same age with kids about the same age. I couldn't believe how bad the "Christmas winds" were! This is the time of year when we normally go and the swells were much worse than before. I needed a light jacket every night because it got a little chilly. Even during the day it wasn't particularly sunny.
We stayed at Grande Bay and rented a jeep from STT for the first time. We loved that! We have never ventured to STT for excursions. I have thought about going to Coral World and seeing that it was a highlight of your trip I will put it on our list. We didn't see any donkeys!! A local said that they have been relocated because the donkeys weren't playing nice at the beaches. So, are they roaming around the east side?? We didn't make it over to the east side. I have been told that if it is rough on the North Shore that it will be calm on the east shores . . . we got conflicting reports. A few people said that snorkeling Salt Pond was great and some others said that the visibility was poor. What was your experience??
I enjoyed your trip report. Especially because we were there at the same time. Did you make it to the beach bar on Sunday??
xoxo
We stayed at Grande Bay and rented a jeep from STT for the first time. We loved that! We have never ventured to STT for excursions. I have thought about going to Coral World and seeing that it was a highlight of your trip I will put it on our list. We didn't see any donkeys!! A local said that they have been relocated because the donkeys weren't playing nice at the beaches. So, are they roaming around the east side?? We didn't make it over to the east side. I have been told that if it is rough on the North Shore that it will be calm on the east shores . . . we got conflicting reports. A few people said that snorkeling Salt Pond was great and some others said that the visibility was poor. What was your experience??
I enjoyed your trip report. Especially because we were there at the same time. Did you make it to the beach bar on Sunday??
xoxo
Yes the Christmas winds are in full "gale" force right now - I'm wearing slippers, sweatpants and a long sleeve top as I type - and I'm still cold 
I do ask though, please do not feed the donkeys - many reasons why but one is that they become quite *nasty* if they become accustomed to being fed and then a car stops and suddenly no food - no fun having a child (or adult) being kicked, or having your car kicked by a pi$$ed off donkey.
Pia
I do ask though, please do not feed the donkeys - many reasons why but one is that they become quite *nasty* if they become accustomed to being fed and then a car stops and suddenly no food - no fun having a child (or adult) being kicked, or having your car kicked by a pi$$ed off donkey.
Pia
Realtor - St John Properties
Yes, the donkeys can be nasty! You should just leave them alone and don't feed them. They will block the road and bump your car. John and I saw a kid get charged by one at Caneel once. The kid provoked the donkey (with the encouragement of his Dad 
) He was taunting the donkey and even pulled on its hair. Twit.
We have also, on multiple occasions, watched donkeys urinate on people's stuff left on the beach at Caneel. That's why we always hang our stuff in the trees no matter which beach we are visiting.
) He was taunting the donkey and even pulled on its hair. Twit. We have also, on multiple occasions, watched donkeys urinate on people's stuff left on the beach at Caneel. That's why we always hang our stuff in the trees no matter which beach we are visiting.
It's like looking in your soup and finding a whole different alphabet.
Ok..I feel bad now about feeding the donkey! It was only once though, I promise and no more.
We saw them mostly around Coral Bay. If you go to Coral World, you really should swim with the sea lion, that was a lot of fun, the kids especially liked it.
Overall as much as I enjoyed the trip, I like St John better in the summer...less crowded, warmer and no swells, but it was still nice.
How do you get to turtle bay? Can you just walk through Caneel Bay or do you have to be staying there?
For the tarantula fishing, I saw it on tv. You stick a blade of grass in the spider holes on the ground and they just climb out! I tried it up on Peace Hill, imagine my shock when a trantula DID climb out. He just looked at me and then went back in. (Dont worry, I didnt feed him
We saw them mostly around Coral Bay. If you go to Coral World, you really should swim with the sea lion, that was a lot of fun, the kids especially liked it.
Overall as much as I enjoyed the trip, I like St John better in the summer...less crowded, warmer and no swells, but it was still nice.
How do you get to turtle bay? Can you just walk through Caneel Bay or do you have to be staying there?
For the tarantula fishing, I saw it on tv. You stick a blade of grass in the spider holes on the ground and they just climb out! I tried it up on Peace Hill, imagine my shock when a trantula DID climb out. He just looked at me and then went back in. (Dont worry, I didnt feed him
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XOXO,
We snorkeled at Salt Pond and it was ok, a little cloudy, but better than Maho, that was impossible to see anything and it is usually so calm! Trunk Bay looked like you could surfboard the waves were so high!
Little Lameshur and Haulover were fine though. It is odd how one side can be raging with waves and the other side be calm. We saw lobster and a stingray and turtles.
We didnt get to the Beach Bar. We ate at Shipwreck and Island Blues and Miss Lucy's where I had the grouper Reuben that was just fantastic.
It looks like they are doing a ton of work at the Cinnamon Ruins, there is a walkway now and some supports on the buildings.
Forgot to add to my to do list: Has anyone ever hiked the Fish Bay gut, how tough is the hike, and is there an actual 70 foot waterfall there?
We snorkeled at Salt Pond and it was ok, a little cloudy, but better than Maho, that was impossible to see anything and it is usually so calm! Trunk Bay looked like you could surfboard the waves were so high!
Little Lameshur and Haulover were fine though. It is odd how one side can be raging with waves and the other side be calm. We saw lobster and a stingray and turtles.
We didnt get to the Beach Bar. We ate at Shipwreck and Island Blues and Miss Lucy's where I had the grouper Reuben that was just fantastic.
It looks like they are doing a ton of work at the Cinnamon Ruins, there is a walkway now and some supports on the buildings.
Forgot to add to my to do list: Has anyone ever hiked the Fish Bay gut, how tough is the hike, and is there an actual 70 foot waterfall there?
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Amyee, there were surfers at Cinnamon on the 29th! It was pretty cool. We brought our boogie boards and had fun. We are good swimmers and we were cautious--it can be dangerous. There was a man with a good sized gash on his head from getting pushed into the ocean floor. It wasn't really a good playground.
I never thought about the donkeys urinating on peoples beach gear. That would be a shocking thing to see!!
On our first trip we went for a day with Pam Gaffin and she showed us how to go spider fishing---I don't think they were tarantula's and I think I would have recognized a tarantula. They were smaller spiders. My kids did it too. AND now I have to update my notes on our first trip now that I know it has a name!! LOL!!
xoxo
I never thought about the donkeys urinating on peoples beach gear. That would be a shocking thing to see!!
On our first trip we went for a day with Pam Gaffin and she showed us how to go spider fishing---I don't think they were tarantula's and I think I would have recognized a tarantula. They were smaller spiders. My kids did it too. AND now I have to update my notes on our first trip now that I know it has a name!! LOL!!
xoxo
Cool thing about the night-blooming cereus is that it has a wonderful vanilla like fragrence.
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When we come to place where the sea and the sky collide
Throw me over the edge and let my spirit glide
Throw me over the edge and let my spirit glide
I have a picture of the misbehaving donkeys in action. Maybe I will have to post it.
You cannot walk through Caneel to get to Turtle Bay. Access is restricted to resort guests. Caneel's main beach is open to the public, and there is also a public walking path to Honeymoon that is flatter than the Lind Point Trail.
You cannot walk through Caneel to get to Turtle Bay. Access is restricted to resort guests. Caneel's main beach is open to the public, and there is also a public walking path to Honeymoon that is flatter than the Lind Point Trail.
It's like looking in your soup and finding a whole different alphabet.