Wednesday, March 23, 2022

St Croix Trip Report

 There's nothing like getting on a big stream for a week, especially if it's the Caribbean. I just finished a week stay on beautiful St Croix Island. The water and weather were perfect, I love that turquoise colored water. We stayed on Protestant Cay which is a five acre island shown below at the lower right corner. Protestant Cay is about 200 yards off the main island. 


Below is a photo of Protestant Cay Island from the Christansted boradwalk. A small boat taxi takes you back and forth to the boardwalk. Lots of sailboats dot the bay. The small boat taxi has to maneuver around the sailboats. Lots of folks come to Portestant Cay for the day to visit the beach, a great beach!

This is a view of Christansted Bay. The bay is not a deep bay, so no cruise ships dock here. The cruise ships dock on the other side of the island near Frederiksted. The water is so crystal clear that you can see many feet below, absoulutely beautiful water. I often saw fish that were 4 feet long swimming along the boardwalk. Folks would toss their leftover food into the water and it was a feeding frezey. 

One of the fish waiting for a handout. I beleive that it's a Tarpon a few feet long. Interestingly, I did not see many fishing boats around St Clorix, mostly sailboats and scuba diving boats. When we ate at the boardwalk restaurants, we would ask if the fish was fresh and most of the time it was frozen, which was disappointing. This could have been due to the pandemic, however it was mostly over. We did find some great hamburgers and a very good beer battered shrimp meal.

In the afternoon, I watched a small rainstorm come ashore. The Tiki Hut Bar Boat sailed into the storm like it was a Carnival Cruise Ship, party on baby! I guess the captain knows the weather here and realized it was no threat, "No Problem Mon". The Tiki Boat was busy everyday and folks seemed to enjoy the party.

Here a chick, there a chick, everywhere a chick! Yes, chickens are everywhere in the downtown area. It was entertaining watching the roosters, hens and chicks roam around looking for a handout. They know how to acquire food from the tourist. 

Most of the tourist businesses in Christansted is along the boadwalk, however there are a few shops and restaurants deeper in town. As with a lot of Crabbian islands, there are older areas that need repair and refurblishing.  Christansted has some beautiful tropical tree lined streets. It was fun to roam around.

On the northshore of St Croix is "The wall". If you look at the water edge in the distance, you see the deep dark purple water. This is the wall, and it's a drop of over 13,000 feet. In fact, a living reef runs along the top and it is the largest in the Craibbean. Divers love this area!
    We stopped at this bar for lunch. It is perfectly named, "Off the Wall". The views are fantastic and the food is not bad either. Look it up on facebook!

I do maps! I completed this map of St Croix a few years ago. I add waterfowl, fish and a tiny, hidden mermaid in the waters. Check-out my website: LeoLakes.com