Virgin Islands NP is one of five NPS sites scattered around three of the islands in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The logistics were a complicating factor. Visiting these five sites required an airplane, an island hopper plane, various taxis, an open air safari bus, a ferry, and a few sailboats. Our visit was a celebration of finishing up 74 NPS sites in the Southeastern United States.
We visited two NPS sites on St. John (the Virgin Islands National Park and the Coral Reef National Monument) and three NPS sites on St. Croix (Christiansted National Historic Site, Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve, and Buck Island Reef National Monument).
There was no camping involved here; our accommodations were plush. We stayed at the Margaritaville resort near the ferry to St. John. This is the second time we have stayed at a Margarittaville property. They are beautiful well-manicured properties where Jimmy Buffet music is featured, the frozen concoctions are plentiful, and the living is easy. Our hotel room was furnished Jimmy Buffet style.
Our initial home base of St. Thomas, a relatively more developed island, served as a jumping off spot for the NPS sites on the islands of St. John and St. Croix. A short geography lesson – St. Thomas is directly east of Puerto Rico, St. John is 6 miles east of St. Thomas, and St. Croix is 45 miles south.
While at Margaritaville we watched the limbo/fire dancing show, went snorkeling, did the sunset cruise, and visited Coki Beach, a local beach around the corner.
How many beautiful sunset pictures can one take on the sunset cruise? Unlimited!
The next day we sailed and snorkeled on the Snorkel Cat. A perfect, peaceful day.
I was fairly timid at our first snorkel stop off the Virgin Islands National Park in St. John. I stayed fairly close to the boat. In the second stop I found my rhythm and saw lots of colorful fish, a stingray, and dozens of cushion starfish. Sadly we missed the octopus.
Side note, our second stop was Little Saint James, a small private island formerly owned by Epstein. The proceeds from its recent sale will be used to compensate and counsel victims of abuse.
The dichotomy of the island’s dark history and its natural beauty was hard to reconcile. But the tumultuous history of these Caribbean islands was forefront in our minds during the entire trip as the slave trade and plantation history is integral to their historical narrative.
We spent a relaxing afternoon at Coki Beach just around the corner from the resort. Beach chairs were $5 and the best fresh smoothie, the 3 Ps frozen drink, was mixed in a stand right behind our chairs (pineapple, passion fruit, and papaya).
Virgin Islands National Park
Back to the purpose of our visit… the Virgin Islands National Park.
The 20-minute Red Hook ferry to Cruz Bay in St. John started the Virgin Islands National Park part of our journey.
St. John is the smallest of the three U. S. Virgin Islands at 28 square miles. The national park dominates the island, occupying two thirds of the acreage.
We enjoyed this more laid-back island where nature is the focus. Plus, there was a great breakfast spot right off the ferry near the taxi stands.
A short history lesson – the indigenous peoples of the islands included Caribs, Arawak, and Taino. Columbus came to the island on his second voyage in 1493. Denmark ultimately purchased the island in 1754 and established cotton and sugar cane plantations. When Germany showed interest in purchasing the islands for a submarine base during World War I, the United States stepped in and bought the islands for 25 million dollars in gold in 1917.
Taxi drivers were quite knowledgeable in their historical perspective of the islands. From them we learned about slave revolts, Columbus’s exploits, and island politics (roads are better in the east of St. Croix where the rich live).
We hit the high spots of the Virgin Islands National Park on a two-hour open air safari-type vehicle tour with several stops for overlooks, beaches, and visits to the sugar ruins.
Coral Reef National Monument
One stop overlooked Coral Bay. In full disclosure, this is as close as we got to the Coral Reef National Monument in Coral Bay. Embarrassing, but this NPS site has no access by land and we could not justify the day-long $800 boat trip to get closer.
The Annaburg sugar ruins were a highlight of the national park tour. The scenery surrounding the ruins was spectacular.
And the ruins themselves had an elegant, haunting beauty. But, I daresay the slaves imported to work these plantations viewed the scenery through a different lens.
There was a living history museum at the bread house.
Trunk Beach, our last stop, is said to be one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Many visitors took the snorkel trail around the big outcrop island in the bay, but we enjoyed people watching from our rented chair.
Just prior to the trip we read the biography and watched the celebrated, award-winning movie about the enigmatic Robert Oppenheimer (the father of the atomic bomb). Since Oppenheimer often visited St. John, Joe made sure we located the beach near his house and saw the gate to his property.
The next section of our National Park quest required a short 30-minute trip in a tiny 11-seater plane to the island of St Croix.
We stayed at Carambola, a Marriott property where our room overlooked a stunning beach. The porch was the perfect location to read a book, work a bit, listen to the crashing waves, and watch some post-season college football.
The view from pool wasn’t too shabby either. We whiled away an entire day in this cabana.
For our third spectacular location, we parked ourselves in chairs on the beach right outside our room and attempted to capture photos of the powerful waves crashing into the rocks and the elusive fiddler crabs peeping out from their holes.
Buck Island Reef National Monument
For our third NPS site of the trip, we booked a snorkel trip to Buck Island Reef National Monument, one and a half miles off the coast of St. Croix. The delightful sailboat ride passed by the uninhabited island and dropped anchor at the magnificent elk horn coral barrier reef that comprises “one of the finest marine gardens in the Caribbean Sea”. The monument includes 19 acres of submerged and dry lands.
After exploring the reef’s trail, we set sail for Buck Island’s beach for lunch. The beach’s calm clear turquoise waters and sugary white sand are beyond gorgeous.
Christiansted National Historic Site
The next day we toured Christiansted National Historic Site. The seven-acre site explores the Danish colonial economy and way of life. The first stop was the Christiansted Scale House on the wharf where imports and exports were inspected and weighed.
The Danish collected customs revenues at the Customs House until 1927.
The ca. 1795 paintings of H. G. Beenfeldt were featured in the park’s signage
Fort Christianvaern, constructed by the Danish in 1749, protected the area from pirates, guarded local citizens against slave revolts, and served as the colony’s jail. The imposing yellow fort is one of five remaining examples of Danish fortifications.
I am a sucker for the architecture of forts, particularly the heavily-fortified coastal forts of the 1800s and the Great Plains forts of the 1850s. But this Danish star-shaped fort’s rhythmical arches and yellow bricks yielded new and unique views around every corner. One thing that was familiar was the way portholes and doorways frame beautiful views.
The officer’s quarters, munitions, and the jail area.
The courtyard on the ground level.
The view from the top. Like many coastal forts, the cannons have never been fired in battle.
Salt River Bay National Historic Park and Ecological Preserve
Columbus landed near Salt River Bay in November 1493 in his second voyage and skirmished with the Amerindians. The site is co-managed with the Government of the Virgin Islands. Although details of Columbus’s visit may be murky or may even be doubtful, Joe and I felt the power of the spot. It is not often that one stands in a place and contemplates what might have happened there over 500 years ago.
Salt River Bay is also one of two bioluminescent bays in St. Croix. The glowing neon blue water created by dinoflagellates is best seen by kayakers on a dark night.
The U.S. Virgin Islands is a territory of the U.S., but it feels exotic in its geography and culture. As such, it provided a fitting explanation point to our visits to the 74 NPS sites in the Southeastern United States. We packed a lot into our ten-day stay, including plenty of time to relax and contemplate the beauty of this special place. During those quiet times, Joe and I would often look at each other and say how lucky we were to visit.