USVI-On-Line

I meant to write a full trip report back in June but never did. I just now uploaded some photos from our 5th trip to St. John. They are mostly photos of the villa we stayed at but a few others too...


Le Virage (villa): The deck is facing east. Since there were just the two of us, we never used the downstair bedrooms. The laundry room is downstairs. The landscape here is beautiful.


The landscape


The view from the deck. The area where you see the round table is covered by a roof.


After the rain. It's not well captured in this photo but there was a rainbow all the way to the sea. From the deck we could see the villas across Fish Bay like Daffodil Villa, Sol Inclination, etc.


The deck


The Pool




I watched some French Open tennis matches. Yes, I love tennis and baseball.


Jumbie Beach: Husband... just lying around after snorkeling.


Vie's Beach: Husband... waving at the toes of his wife.


Maho


East End Rd: As you all know!


Lunch at Sun Dog Cafe: Jerk shrimp quesadilla - one of the best and affordable lunches we had on the island.


The view from the room at Green Iguana Hotel (STT): We spent a night here before going home. The room was basic but spotlessly clean. We walked down the 99 Steps and had a casual dinner at Cuzzin's. Walking back up the Steps with a full stomach was a bit of work though...



I am considering buying a waterproof housing for my camera but it's very expensive. I try to remind myself that not only can I take underwater photos with the housing but also I don't have to worry about taking a camera to the beaches and risking it being stolen while I'm in the water. Well, I guess I have about 6 months to think about it.

Question: what do you do with your cell phones while in the water? We carry our $, cards, keys, etc. in waterproof cases (Aquapac) in the water. Do you do the same with your cell phones?

I'll try to write a trip report the next time we visit St. John. I know I don't contribute much here (you can tell that from the scarcity of my posting), but honestly, I do love this forum...

Pickles - I loved your photos and your report. The villa looks wonderful! And I loved the rainbow picture. Thanks for sharing!

I forgot to include this.
I kind of like this photo. Not quite sure why.

St. John

Thanks for sharing!!! Each person has a few shots that noone else does which makes everyone's trip report/photos unique. I also love ALL the beach shots; it's so beautiful.
Thanks again!

Great photos and report. Better late than never!

Pickle - great report and pics!

How did you like the location of Le Virage?

As for my stuff, I leave it in my bag on the beach.

The underwater housing works well. Cat had one and we drove her crazy always calling her over to take pics. We may have to get one since Cat won't be with us next summer

Great pictures Pickle!
Brought back memories from May when we stayed there, which was the week before you.
As you know, we loved the villa. This year we will be on the Coral Bay side as I told you, but this villa and location is one of our favorites.

Only 6 months and a few weeks to go!

Thank you so much for your kind words everyone.

susan & herb,
You helped me a LOT concerning us staying at this villa, and I am forever grateful for that. I wish we could see you on St. John in May, but as you know, our schedules barely match. Maybe the year after that? Sorry about your cousins - is it going to be just the two of you next year?

nothingtolose,
The villa is convenient to Cruz Bay with all roads paved. There are other villas around here but not nearly as many as there are in Great Cruz Bay or Chocolate Hole and it is away enough to feel more isolated than those locations. I was used to seeing more lights of other villas but it was refreshing to see fewer at night. (And with the fewer lights, the moon seemed ever more mysterious on the water at night - or is it just me?)
As for the view, I wouldn't say it was the most dynamic view you get on St. John but it was serene and beautiful. Le Virage is located high enough to have at least some of, but not a lot of, the southeastern shore view unlike some other villas that sit below it in the same location. The villa is facing east so there is no sunset view (which we love), but we could FEEL the sunset especially after the late afternoon rain like this:



The view towards the east

Pickle-

Thank you for the report and that last sunset picture actually made me say "oh my God!"

You asked what to do with the cell phone while snorkeling?... Leave it at the villa silly!!!

Why do you need to bring a cell phone to the beach?

Enjoyed your report and pictures. That sunset picture is beautiful.

Hi Pickle-

My husband and I were also in STJ for our 5th trip this past June (our first trip was for our honeymoon and we've been back every year since).

We're going back in June of 2008...we wanted to do May, but we have another couple coming with us next time and the wife is a teacher so we had to wait until June.

I love your sunset picture...and Le Virage was on my list for next summer but we ended up going with a different villa.

Very nice photos, Pickle! Thanks for sharing with us. We stayed over in Fish Bay in 2005--it was so quiet over there!

LysaC wrote:Pickle-
Why do you need to bring a cell phone to the beach?

To tell you the truth, my husband and I own only one cell phone together (!) and neither of us hardly ever uses it. Naturally, it's a prepaid cell with a LOT of minutes left. We've never carried it around on St. John but I thought we might next time in case of emergency. Maybe I shouldn't worry about such things. I never did before. Hmmm.

Teresa-Rae,
Looks like we started visiting St. John about the same time and just like you, we've been going back every year since. We'll be on the island next May/June - staying on the Coral Bay side for a week and then on the Cruz Bay side for another. We have never switched villas before so we'll see.
Honeymoon on St. John - sounds just perfect! Ours was driving around the desert in the southwest. I love that part of the States and the dry burning heat, but we haven't been back there - unlike St. John!

Thank you all again for your kind comments.
For anyone whose vacation to St. John is coming up soon, have a wounderful trip!