A visit to the beautiful island of St. John, USVI

Today was our final full day in the US Virgin Islands, at least for this trip. We chose to take the ferry from St. Thomas to St. John, its smaller sister island. Here's our ferry, which was far smaller than I'd expected.

It was a 40-minute ride that made me think of white-water rafting! Apparently in the scheme of things it wasn't a particularly rough ride, but it certainly was for me. I wasn't looking forward to the journey back.

Here's a view of the Charlotte Amalie harbour from the ferry. You can see how the houses are built into the steep mountainside.

St. John has a resident population of 5,500 people. There isn't an airport. There is a medical care centre with six beds, two doctors, and two nurses. We were also told the beds are usually empty, as no one gets sick in such a beautiful place! If someone does need "more than an aspirin", apparently the patient is taken to the hospital in St. Thomas ... by ferry. That's enough to keep me away from that hospital. They also have a helicopter landing pad, to allow for emergency transportation.

Cruz Bay is the major town, where the ferry docks. It's not your stereotypical dock area though, as you can see in these photos.

The only school on the island has closed. While waiting for the ferry, we saw a crowd of children in school uniforms come off the ferry. I'm not sure I'd get used to that crossing, even if I did it every day.

This island is famous for its beaches, and for diving and snorkelling. As we only had a few hours there, we reluctantly decided against snorkelling and instead took a taxi tour with six other people. It was a good choice as we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Our fun "taxi" with Greg sitting in the back

The island is approximately 7 miles long and 3 miles wide, with 60% being  Virgin Islands National Park. This parkland was donated by a member of the Rockefeller family. He apparently made it a condition that the lands remain undeveloped, and you can find many hiking trails and an interesting campground with rental cabins.

The views and colours in the water were beautiful. Here's an example of the variety of greens and blues to be seen in the ocean.

Along the route, our tour guide pointed out the various Virgin Islands we could see in the distance, and we saw quite a few, both US Virgin Islands and British Virgin Islands. I'd certainly like to come back and see more of these sometime.

Here's a view of of Trunk Bay, described by our tour guide as being one of the ten most beautiful beaches in the world. I seem to have heard that claim for another beach recently, and again can't find anything to support it. However, I do think it's beautiful; photos just don't do it justice.

Another interesting area was Caneel Bay, and the Caneel Bay Beach Resort. In the photo below, you'll notice the smooth grassed area in the top right, that looks a little like a golf course. It isn't though; it's just beautifully groomed grounds. We were told that usually those who are not successful in the U.S. presidential elections come here to regenerate after their loss.

After our tour we had a meal at a nice restaurant near the ferry dock, checked out the shops, and headed home. I'm pleased to say that the ferry ride back was far smoother than on the way out. A great end to a great day.

Greg enjoyed getting close to a mermaid, wearing his new t-shirt that says "If found, return to HUSBAND DAY CARE, Rum Island Pub, St. Thomas, USVI". It made for a lot of people staring at Greg and then laughing at him. He handled it well though.