Trip report: Two more weeks in paradise, part 1
Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2014 7:18 pm
Two more weeks in paradise
Who we are: John and Becky, and our guests for the vacation: my sister Laura, her children Liam (15) and Caili (12), and John’s brother Sean.
Where we stayed: Altagracia on Contant Point (week one), On a Clear Day on Francis Bay (week two). Villa reviews forthcoming in the review section.
Rental car information: 2 jeeps, one four door and one two door, from St. John Car Rental. Both in good condition, no issues. We never tried to park in their lot while in town, and instead used the gravel lot or the paid parking lot at Wharfside.
Day one: travel day
The trip started out with a hitch when, halfway to the airport, I realized that I had completely forgotten to pack our coolers. My ideas of gourmet cooking and having island friends over for dinner and drinks went out the window. We ended up eating out a lot more than planned, and villa vittles were not too exciting for the most part, but we made do. Luckily, everything was frozen in my commercial freezer, so nothing spoiled and I now have a very well-stocked kitchen for weekend gatherings.
We took the red eye flight out of Boston on Friday night, arriving in San Juan at 3:45 AM Saturday morning. We then had a three-hour layover before our 7AM flight to STT. I am not going to lie, this was rough. Everyone was in good spirits, and dealt with it, but the trip, especially the layover in San Juan in the wee hours of the morning, was grueling. I would not do this itinerary again.
Despite having checked bags, we made the 9AM ferry to St. John, on one of the new ferries. The ride was smooth and faster than the old clunker ferry. Here we are on the ferry. Not looking too shabby despite three hours of sleep.
We had arranged for an early pick up of our jeeps at STJCR. Since we could not get in to our villa until the afternoon, we drove over to Caneel for the day, reasoning that our luggage would be safe stored in our jeeps in their parking lot. After stopping at the Gelatario for some very nice iced tea, we hiked over to Honeymoon for a swim and a nap in the sand. After a while we got hungry so headed back to Caneel for some sushi.
Spicy tuna bite:
Tuna poke, caviar roll:
Cracker roll:
Hawaiian roll:
Tuna tempura roll:
Liam avoids fish as often as possible (how he is related to me I do not know), and so got the pepperoni pizza:
After lunch we headed up to Altagracia. View:
Dinner was grilled pizza using dough from Sam and Jacks. Sean fell asleep at 8:30! Everyone else was fast asleep by 10 PM.
Day 2
We were wiped, so it became a pool day/villa day.
Hermit crab:
Plantings at Altagracia:
The guys went in to town and got fish at the Fish Trap market, so dinner was grilled wahoo and tuna with pineapple salsa, with Josephine’s greens salad and grilled pepper quesadillas. Villa vittles:
Villa tipples (passionfruit-lime margaritas):
Dinner with a view
STT at night from Altagracia’s deck:
Day three:
Beach day. The early Jeep headed to Maho. No snorkeling, just swimming.
The late Jeep showed up around noon. We had lunch later at Shipwreck Landing. Conch fritters:
Wahoo tacos:
Curry nut grouper:
The first of many cheeseburgers in paradise for Liam:
The kids also had the frozen pies for dessert.
After lunch we headed to Cinnamon to go swimming, then back to Altagracia for the sunset:
Day four:
Early Jeep decided to go to Gibney, but it was too crowded, so we ended up at Francis.
Snorkel time. Caili fish:
Arrow crab:
Turtle:
Juvenile French angelfish:
Liam fish:
Fry:
We stayed at the beach until about 3 and then headed home to get ready for dinner at Zozos.
Cambazola cheese:
Pineapple salad (new menu item):
Beet and goat cheese ravioli:
Pistachio crusted mahi mahi:
Some sort of dessert that the kids got. I think it was a nutella mousse:
Zozos night view:
Of potential interest to some, I learned that Zozos now has a kids menu of sorts. Our waitress started telling me the options, such as pasta with marinara or butter sauce, etc. Liam and Caili had looked at the online regular menu in advance and made their choices from those offerings so I don’t have any more information than that, but if you are taking a kid to Zozos and are concerned about what they will eat, it might be worth asking about.
Day five
It was a beautiful day, but both kids were wiped from their beach day and so they voted for pool beach. View from the pool:
John and I went to town to have lunch with Ruth and Ron from St. John Spice at Banana Deck. Such nice people. No food photos, I only subject my family to that, not my friends haha.
After our lunch we tried to rustle the troops to go to the beach, but everyone was firmly ensconced in the pool, so we stayed there until dinner at La Tapa. La Tapa is too dark for food photos. I did not even bother trying. We enjoyed everything we tried: lobster seveche, bacala fritters, scallops, tuna, and mahi mahi. Liam had a mozzarella soup special that he pronounced “amazing.” Caili had the pork belly which was another big hit.
Day six
Daysail on Spitfire. The day sail is always one of our favorite days, and this day was no exception.
We went snorkeling at Waterlemon. It was nice to hit this spot without having to hike in. John, Liam, and Sean went around the cay, while Laura and I stayed in the front with Caili as I was concerned that the current might be too much for her. This turned out to be a good decision. John reported that the current was the strongest he has ever felt it around the back. It was fine in the front. Here are some sightings. Flounder:
Turtle duo:
Stoplight parrotfish:
Blue-headed wrasse:
Juvenile spotted drum:
Trumpetfish:
Liamfish and Cailifish:
Sand diver:
After our daysail we swam on Caneel’s main beach and enjoyed a drink, then headed home for dinner and a sunset:
Day seven
This was supposed to be our last night at Altagracia, but Tropical Storm Bertha was supposed to be impacting the island in the morning during our changeover, so I contacted the property manager of the house we were moving to to see if we might possibly be able to come in Friday night rather than Saturday morning. Luckily, they were in fact able to accommodate us. I was extremely grateful!
We spent one last morning at pool beach, then headed in to town for lunch at Joe’s Rum Hut at Liam’s special request. I was not a fan of my food here, but perhaps we ordered wrong. “Superbad” (their name for it, not mine), grilled cheese:
Liam ordered (shocker!) a pepperoni pizza:
Pineapple mahi sandwich:
We got to our new home in the early evening. We were staying at On a Clear Day, on Francis Bay. John and I actually won this stay in last year’s Friends of the Virgin Islands National Park auction. The owners generously donated a week of the winner’s choosing, including during the on season!
We got settled in and were able to enjoy a slightly hazy sunset before the storm’s arrival sometime during the night.
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Who we are: John and Becky, and our guests for the vacation: my sister Laura, her children Liam (15) and Caili (12), and John’s brother Sean.
Where we stayed: Altagracia on Contant Point (week one), On a Clear Day on Francis Bay (week two). Villa reviews forthcoming in the review section.
Rental car information: 2 jeeps, one four door and one two door, from St. John Car Rental. Both in good condition, no issues. We never tried to park in their lot while in town, and instead used the gravel lot or the paid parking lot at Wharfside.
Day one: travel day
The trip started out with a hitch when, halfway to the airport, I realized that I had completely forgotten to pack our coolers. My ideas of gourmet cooking and having island friends over for dinner and drinks went out the window. We ended up eating out a lot more than planned, and villa vittles were not too exciting for the most part, but we made do. Luckily, everything was frozen in my commercial freezer, so nothing spoiled and I now have a very well-stocked kitchen for weekend gatherings.
We took the red eye flight out of Boston on Friday night, arriving in San Juan at 3:45 AM Saturday morning. We then had a three-hour layover before our 7AM flight to STT. I am not going to lie, this was rough. Everyone was in good spirits, and dealt with it, but the trip, especially the layover in San Juan in the wee hours of the morning, was grueling. I would not do this itinerary again.
Despite having checked bags, we made the 9AM ferry to St. John, on one of the new ferries. The ride was smooth and faster than the old clunker ferry. Here we are on the ferry. Not looking too shabby despite three hours of sleep.
We had arranged for an early pick up of our jeeps at STJCR. Since we could not get in to our villa until the afternoon, we drove over to Caneel for the day, reasoning that our luggage would be safe stored in our jeeps in their parking lot. After stopping at the Gelatario for some very nice iced tea, we hiked over to Honeymoon for a swim and a nap in the sand. After a while we got hungry so headed back to Caneel for some sushi.
Spicy tuna bite:
Tuna poke, caviar roll:
Cracker roll:
Hawaiian roll:
Tuna tempura roll:
Liam avoids fish as often as possible (how he is related to me I do not know), and so got the pepperoni pizza:
After lunch we headed up to Altagracia. View:
Dinner was grilled pizza using dough from Sam and Jacks. Sean fell asleep at 8:30! Everyone else was fast asleep by 10 PM.
Day 2
We were wiped, so it became a pool day/villa day.
Hermit crab:
Plantings at Altagracia:
The guys went in to town and got fish at the Fish Trap market, so dinner was grilled wahoo and tuna with pineapple salsa, with Josephine’s greens salad and grilled pepper quesadillas. Villa vittles:
Villa tipples (passionfruit-lime margaritas):
Dinner with a view
STT at night from Altagracia’s deck:
Day three:
Beach day. The early Jeep headed to Maho. No snorkeling, just swimming.
The late Jeep showed up around noon. We had lunch later at Shipwreck Landing. Conch fritters:
Wahoo tacos:
Curry nut grouper:
The first of many cheeseburgers in paradise for Liam:
The kids also had the frozen pies for dessert.
After lunch we headed to Cinnamon to go swimming, then back to Altagracia for the sunset:
Day four:
Early Jeep decided to go to Gibney, but it was too crowded, so we ended up at Francis.
Snorkel time. Caili fish:
Arrow crab:
Turtle:
Juvenile French angelfish:
Liam fish:
Fry:
We stayed at the beach until about 3 and then headed home to get ready for dinner at Zozos.
Cambazola cheese:
Pineapple salad (new menu item):
Beet and goat cheese ravioli:
Pistachio crusted mahi mahi:
Some sort of dessert that the kids got. I think it was a nutella mousse:
Zozos night view:
Of potential interest to some, I learned that Zozos now has a kids menu of sorts. Our waitress started telling me the options, such as pasta with marinara or butter sauce, etc. Liam and Caili had looked at the online regular menu in advance and made their choices from those offerings so I don’t have any more information than that, but if you are taking a kid to Zozos and are concerned about what they will eat, it might be worth asking about.
Day five
It was a beautiful day, but both kids were wiped from their beach day and so they voted for pool beach. View from the pool:
John and I went to town to have lunch with Ruth and Ron from St. John Spice at Banana Deck. Such nice people. No food photos, I only subject my family to that, not my friends haha.
After our lunch we tried to rustle the troops to go to the beach, but everyone was firmly ensconced in the pool, so we stayed there until dinner at La Tapa. La Tapa is too dark for food photos. I did not even bother trying. We enjoyed everything we tried: lobster seveche, bacala fritters, scallops, tuna, and mahi mahi. Liam had a mozzarella soup special that he pronounced “amazing.” Caili had the pork belly which was another big hit.
Day six
Daysail on Spitfire. The day sail is always one of our favorite days, and this day was no exception.
We went snorkeling at Waterlemon. It was nice to hit this spot without having to hike in. John, Liam, and Sean went around the cay, while Laura and I stayed in the front with Caili as I was concerned that the current might be too much for her. This turned out to be a good decision. John reported that the current was the strongest he has ever felt it around the back. It was fine in the front. Here are some sightings. Flounder:
Turtle duo:
Stoplight parrotfish:
Blue-headed wrasse:
Juvenile spotted drum:
Trumpetfish:
Liamfish and Cailifish:
Sand diver:
After our daysail we swam on Caneel’s main beach and enjoyed a drink, then headed home for dinner and a sunset:
Day seven
This was supposed to be our last night at Altagracia, but Tropical Storm Bertha was supposed to be impacting the island in the morning during our changeover, so I contacted the property manager of the house we were moving to to see if we might possibly be able to come in Friday night rather than Saturday morning. Luckily, they were in fact able to accommodate us. I was extremely grateful!
We spent one last morning at pool beach, then headed in to town for lunch at Joe’s Rum Hut at Liam’s special request. I was not a fan of my food here, but perhaps we ordered wrong. “Superbad” (their name for it, not mine), grilled cheese:
Liam ordered (shocker!) a pepperoni pizza:
Pineapple mahi sandwich:
We got to our new home in the early evening. We were staying at On a Clear Day, on Francis Bay. John and I actually won this stay in last year’s Friends of the Virgin Islands National Park auction. The owners generously donated a week of the winner’s choosing, including during the on season!
We got settled in and were able to enjoy a slightly hazy sunset before the storm’s arrival sometime during the night.
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