Thursday 21 Mar, USVI day 5, St.John: Leisure hike to Waterlemon Bay via Annaberg sugar plantation, and dinner with YouTube fans.
A couple of days ago we received a message from a Bostonian couple who spotted us in the dinghy and recognized the boat name, TT Cloudy Bay on the outboard cover. They are fans of our videos and have invited us for dinner tonight, which we gladly accepted. So today is orientated around being slightly more active than yesterday and ready to be picked up mid-afternoon.
It’s a wonderfully clear morning. One of those days where the colours jump out at you. So we decide to have a hike before it gets too hot. Not far, just over the hill to Waterlemon Bay, about 2 miles away. The trail is very well cleared and even had a board walk in places. It also goes passed Annaberg Sugar Plantation site where a fairly intact windmill still stands plus the boiling house where the sugar was refined.
We’ve seen many of these across the islands, infact in their day (17-1800s) there must have been thousands of such sugar plantations across the islands. Usually they are hidden gems in the undergrowth, often still complete with steam driven machinery rusting away. But this one is American style: a nice road leading up to it and all the buildings restored just enough to get the full picture of how it must have been. Complete with information plaques and lots of “dangerous building, no entry” signs. Health and safety clearly at play here in the US. Something the other islands haven’t heard of! The view from the mill across Waterlemon Bay is quite special. Lots of coral down there.
We continue on the trail that takes us along the shoreline to Waterlemon Bay itself. A rather stony beach there, but inviting enough for us to strip off and take a dip in the cool water. The walk back is somewhat hotter as it approaches midday and once back at the dinghy we have to go cooling swim again, then spend some time basking on the beach.
Back on Cloudy Bay we while away the afternoon in the shade and prepare ourselves for meeting Vicki, Terry, Julian and Pam for dinner. They pick us up in their orange Jeep bang on 4:30pm and we drive up very steep roads to the holiday house they have rented. The view is amazing from high up here, over Frances Bay where we are moored and over to Jost Van Dyke and Tortola.
The two couples are from Vermont and Boston and like many in the northern parts of US and Canada, they are escaping the winter for a couple of weeks holiday in the warmth. A 4 hours flight takes them from deepest winter to the wonderful temperatures of the Caribbean. A delightful transition.
They are interesting people and having seen our videos, now very interested in our stories and adventures on Cloudy Bay. Vicki and Terry are learning to sail and will have a week on a catamaran next week. They are contemplating winters sailing in the warmth once retired. Julian and Pam have been coming to St. John since their honeymoon in 1979. So they have lots to tell about the island and changes over the years.
At the end of the evening we invite them to sail with us tomorrow, which they seem excited about. As we looked down at the view, Julian mentioned he’d always wanted to snorkel around Sandy Cay … so that’s where we will sail to.
After getting back on board we wonder what we will feed them tomorrow. We are totally out of fresh anything! So Oana spends some time making her special seafood pasta. Let’s hope they like it. Well, if they don’t, no problem, all the more for me!
And as the food goes in the fridge, we notice the temperature went up significantly. This day fridge seems to be playing up. Out comes the refrigeration gas and gauge and I top it up. It should do it for the moment. But it will need some proper attention soon.
