Lovango first thoughts
Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2012 10:44 am
We just returned from 8 days on Lovango at the Beach House. We do plan to do a trip report in a few days, but wanted to share some thoughts on Lovango.
First - Dan and Marcy were awesome. Dan is full of stories about the island and STJ, and Marcy has a huge heart. She brought her dogs and horse down to the beach on day 2 so that my daughter could ride along the beach. Later that evening, we had to make an emergency run to the clinic for our 3 year old who had fallen and cut her chin. Marcy had us there in no time. They really made the stay both enjoyable and possible.
On Lovango itself - The island and the beach house are both incredible. We were lulled to sleep each night (and sometimes in the afternoon) by the sound of waves gently sweeping across the shore 30 feet away. On other trips to STJ, I never get much villa gravity time because our family wants to maximize our time on the island. On Lovango it was more of a beach gravity. If some of us wanted to snorkle, kayak, or explore, no problem. They could do so while those who didn't sat back on the deck with a book, tanned in the beachside hammock, or combed for sea shells. This sort of situation had an odd effect on vacation - it actually felt like our vacation lasted longer. When staying at a traditional villa, the days can get a bit hectic and seem to fly by as we make plans to load up and go from beach to beach and to town, always thinking ahead on both what we will do next and the logistics involved. On Lovango, there were no such plans. The days were lazy but yet full of possibilities.
To actually be staying right on a beach where snorkel charters flock to at 10am and 2pm speaks volumes about the quality of the snorkeling just off the beach. We saw sea turtles, sting rays, eels, and even a nurse shark just off of our front porch. Before going I was concerned that we might get bored with the same snorkel every day, but that clearly was not the case. We don't think we managed to fully explore the reef, and we never really felt the need to go anywhere else. It was amazing.
And my final point, Lovango is isolated. To get to Cruz Bay you need to dinghy in, which Dan and Marcy graciously did for us. But isolation is what we were looking for, and we did not take too many trips into town. On the way in, we had a shopping list and stopped at Food Center near Red Hook for the week's supply of groceries and we ate in most nights. We did manage to eat out a few times (Beach Bar, La Tapa, and Banana Deck), but most nights were spent quietly with the family eating together on Lovango. If this is not your style, you would probably need to rent a dinghy for the week.
Just some thoughts that I wanted to share with the forum as there is so little first hand information available on this unique house and island.
First - Dan and Marcy were awesome. Dan is full of stories about the island and STJ, and Marcy has a huge heart. She brought her dogs and horse down to the beach on day 2 so that my daughter could ride along the beach. Later that evening, we had to make an emergency run to the clinic for our 3 year old who had fallen and cut her chin. Marcy had us there in no time. They really made the stay both enjoyable and possible.
On Lovango itself - The island and the beach house are both incredible. We were lulled to sleep each night (and sometimes in the afternoon) by the sound of waves gently sweeping across the shore 30 feet away. On other trips to STJ, I never get much villa gravity time because our family wants to maximize our time on the island. On Lovango it was more of a beach gravity. If some of us wanted to snorkle, kayak, or explore, no problem. They could do so while those who didn't sat back on the deck with a book, tanned in the beachside hammock, or combed for sea shells. This sort of situation had an odd effect on vacation - it actually felt like our vacation lasted longer. When staying at a traditional villa, the days can get a bit hectic and seem to fly by as we make plans to load up and go from beach to beach and to town, always thinking ahead on both what we will do next and the logistics involved. On Lovango, there were no such plans. The days were lazy but yet full of possibilities.
To actually be staying right on a beach where snorkel charters flock to at 10am and 2pm speaks volumes about the quality of the snorkeling just off the beach. We saw sea turtles, sting rays, eels, and even a nurse shark just off of our front porch. Before going I was concerned that we might get bored with the same snorkel every day, but that clearly was not the case. We don't think we managed to fully explore the reef, and we never really felt the need to go anywhere else. It was amazing.
And my final point, Lovango is isolated. To get to Cruz Bay you need to dinghy in, which Dan and Marcy graciously did for us. But isolation is what we were looking for, and we did not take too many trips into town. On the way in, we had a shopping list and stopped at Food Center near Red Hook for the week's supply of groceries and we ate in most nights. We did manage to eat out a few times (Beach Bar, La Tapa, and Banana Deck), but most nights were spent quietly with the family eating together on Lovango. If this is not your style, you would probably need to rent a dinghy for the week.
Just some thoughts that I wanted to share with the forum as there is so little first hand information available on this unique house and island.
Still if I get a windfall I'll be there!