Little Circle

We have been busy and not so busy since the last time we posted. From our quiet anchorage in Lee Bay we headed to Jost Van Dyke. After reading the cruising guide we decided to try Diamond Cay and see what this thing called the bubbly pool was all about.

The bubbly pool is a rock formation on the north shore of Jost Van Dyke that forces the water to come screaming in and be thrown into a small “pool” before rushing out the way it came in. The hike there was described as a “scenic walk through the mangroves” but they are all gone, killed by the hurricanes. Austin and Kathleen thought the landscape on the hike looked like the lands of Mordor.

The pool was not at its height (usually caused by a combination of high tide and large northerly swells), but it was still very exciting watching the waves build up higher faster higher Boom! Over the edge of the last rock. Kathleen, Cameron and Alison spent about 3 hours enjoying the waves while Austin left us and suffered through a few beers at Foxy’s Taboo waiting for us to return (we were gone so long he thought perhaps he should walk back and see if we were okay). We all had a cool drink when we were done and then ordered some hummus and chips. The

hummus and chips were delicious so Kathleen hatched a plan to get back for lunch the next day after we had explored Green Cay (a short way away from Diamond Cay).

At the farthest eastern point on Jost, there is a nice sand island called Green Cay with lots of dead coral and a few sculptures made from them which inspired Cameron to create more. His first one was created

with a large piece of drift wood and balanced coral rocks, then one tall skinny one with a large piece of brain coral for the base, then four next to each other all build in a similar fashion. After a break, two more with driftwood. The sculptures caught the attention of a group who were enjoying the beach from a “mega-yacht”. They rewarded Cameron for his hard work with a dessert cooked on the beach by their chef. Both Cameron and Alison thought it was delicious. We had forgotten to bring a camera with us but were able to have some emailed to us. After a few more hours at the beach we headed back to Diamond Cay and Kathleen told Austin it was best if we headed into Foxy’s Taboo for lunch as it was soooo late in the day. It worked and it was one of the best meals we’ve had in the BVIs! The next day we headed to Great Harbor to provision a bit, hopeful to get some laundry done and to clear out of the BVIs!

We found everything we needed/wanted in Great Harbor so the afternoon was ours to do with what we wanted and we decided to play. We dinghied around to White Bay to enjoy the beautiful white sand beach and for Kathleen and Austin to enjoy a libation at the Soggy Dollar Bar. What we found was “spring break,” quite a different feel from before but still fun. As we were landing the dingy we heard “Cameron!!” Turns out the folks from the “mega-yacht” were enjoying White Bay that day. Cameron created a few new “sculptures” and we all had a great time at the beach.

All in all, Jost was very laid back, especially so in Great Harbor, and we all had a great time!! After we cleared out we headed toward St. John to arrive back home, sort of! Austin and Kathleen had been to Cruz Bay in St. John’s many times and the harbor was as unwelcoming and inconvenient as ever but we accomplished what we wanted to (see below about burgers and fish tacos) and then headed into Francis Bay with a plan to stay in one place for lots of days….Austin asked Cameron how to spell 3 and Cameron said “s-e-v-e-n”. Most of us were ready to stay in one place for a while and recharge our batteries.

We might not have made it to seven, but our time in Francis Bay did become relax and reboot time with a little extra mixed in. We (or some subset of us!) spotted dolphins in the anchorage, swam with turtles in Maho Bay, hiked some of the amazing mountain trails, explored some of the sugar plantation ruins and assisted with the care of donkeys and horses and went for a trail ride (see below). A picture

is worth a thousand words so we’ve included some from our activities. As great as St. John was/is we all had such fond memories of Jost Van Dyke that we decided to head back one more time before we venture west to the Spanish Virgin Islands. We anchored in Diamond Cay and spent the afternoon back at the bubbly pool, with less of a northerly swell it wasn’t quite as “bubbly” but we all still had fun. The next morning we dinghied to Green Cay, directly into a 15-18 knot easterly, it was a bit more then we bargained for and so decided to head to Great Harbor for the afternoon. We had our “obligatory” drink at Foxy’s and spent an afternoon at White Bay again! All in all a good redo of a fun place. Today we reentered the USVIs and will be heading to Crown Bay Marina tomorrow for a few days to get organized for the next phase of our travels. Stay tuned……

Fish Tacos (Cameron): the fish tacos at High Tide’s in Cruz Bay were not excellent but great. They had a nice balance of flavor they had a nice zingy twist and even though they were over stuffed they were enjoyable to eat. They were very 8/10 but comparatively they were better so more like an 8.5/10.

Horseback riding (Alison); the horseback riding at Carolina Corral on St. John was awesome. I got to feed the 3 horses, 4 ponies and 16 donkeys (which were all rescues). Brush, tack and ride the horse that was assigned to me and then go on a trail ride. The horse that I rode was a chestnut mare around 16.3 hands named “Jem” and when I was with her she had the sweetest temperament. The one and only bad thing about Carolina Corral was the entire place was outside so it was dirt which made the corral muddy. Overall I give it a 10 out of 10! It was, for me, a perfect horse crazy place!!

Big Dad’s corner: Rum and cheese burgers: The cheese burger at High Tide in Cruz Bay, St John was a typical pub burger - u still taste it 3 hours later… Next time I’ll get the fish tacos. Hoping for much better at Tickles at Crown Bay Marina in St Thomas. Rum wise: Bones was acceptable but definitely not worth the price… Mt Gay Eclipse is still the best by far for a reasonable price.