This week’s dream: Returning to a rejuvenated St. John
“St. John is one of my favorite places anywhere,” said Bob Drogin in The Washington Post. Accessible only by water, the second-smallest of the four main U.S. Virgin Islands has never been overdeveloped. “It’s 19 square miles of impossibly steep hills covered by dense jungle that abruptly drops to reef-lined beaches. The roads are like a roller coaster, a mix of giddy and terrifying. If there is 100 yards of straight, flat surface, I’ve never found it.” Fortunately, nearly two-thirds of the island is protected as part of Virgin Island National Park, “home to pristine beaches, rugged hiking trails, and scores of archaeological sites.” After a year without travel, my wife and I “were busting to get out,” so we were thrilled when friends invited us to stay at their cliffside cottage overlooking Great Cruz Bay.
In September 2017, hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated St. John. High winds downed most trees and stripped every leaf from the island. When our ferry landed, “my first reaction was relief.” The island “appears lush and green again,” and work crews are preparing for future storms by burying power lines. Historic buildings in the town of Cruz Bay have been refurbished, while the national park’s trails and archaeological sites have been restored or upgraded. Some shops and restaurants remain shuttered, and many homes sit in ruins. Residents are rebuilding, though, including my hosts, who reinforced their compound with steel and concrete. “The endless views of the Caribbean, especially with a cocktail at sunset from their infinity pool, were as stunning as ever.”
One afternoon, we took a boat up to Leinster Bay, where more than
100 enslaved Africans once escaped
St. John’s brutal sugar plantations by paddling across the strait to Tortola. We moored off of tiny Waterlemon Cay. “I happily jumped in. The water was crystal clear: Black sea urchins carpeted the rocks, reef squid darted in the coral, and a pelican dive-bombed for lunch.” A couple of days later, I saw an endangered hawksbill turtle munching on seagrass in the shallows of Francis Bay. “The huge turtle chomped away, occasionally rising to the surface to breathe, unperturbed by my presence.”
For information about Covid-19 restrictions and where to stay, visit VINow.com.