Finally!

Happy Thanksgiving from St. John! Yes, we're still here; we have been on this island for 10 nights which this longest length we have stayed on one island, including those further down the chain which dwarf St. John's size. With our new protocol of not rushing off to see the next latest and greatest, we are doing OK embracing the more laid-back cruising lifestyle. This doesn't mean that all we're doing is sitting on our rears and reading, as the following paragraphs attest. And, to be totally honest, we like still being plugged into the world via AT&T; once we cross over to the BVI, being in communication with everyone becomes a lot more tenuous.

Around the eastern corner from Great Salt Pond is the totally laid-back town of Coral Bay. This would be the place to move to if you want a place where there's little stress; where the proprietor of a post office across the plaza has a key to your electronics store and even knows where the SD cards are kept and helps a customer (me) buy one; where the locals gather at Skinny Legs bar/restaurant/large TV screens most nights for conviviality; where a local who lives on a boat gives strangers (the two of us and and an unknown fellow) a ride to the other side of the island, to St. Cruz; and where everyone knows way too much about everyone else's business which to our way of thinking is not too good. Of course, tourists like ourselves help to keep the locals in Red Stripe (a Jamaican beer) by frequenting the well-stocked and overly chilled food store, buying trinkets from the usual suspects, having some fun dining experiences, and of course chartering out boats for day sails with the owner/captain.

Because we have too much energy to just sit around, we elected to pack a lunch and hike 2 miles over to Waterlemon Cay on the northern shore. Just a hop, skip, and a jump over 500 feet on a dirt road that keeps washing out because the pitch is so steep (we can swear to that!) and then a more gentle decline to the shore of the bay. Great PB and Nutella sandwiches, by the way.

The next day we got lucky and were given a ride by Roberta who lives on her nearby sailing craft to Cruz Bay for a few hours of window-shopping and gentle hiking along the coast before we caught the local bus for $1 back to Coral Bay. Yes, you read correctly - $1 only. We're old enough to qualify for a free ride each but, sadly, that's only for the locals. But we do have the Golden Eagle Pass so we can get a 50% discount at all US National Parks, including those in the USVI, and there are a lot of them on St. John.

After 3 nights in Coral Bay we sailed over to Waterlemon Cay, picked up a National Park mooring, and spent 2 wonderful days snorkeling to and fro and hiking over to an abandoned sugar plantation. Given that we were uncomfortable with 85 degree heat and very little wind that day we couldn't begin to imagine the discomfort the slaves felt while harvesting the sugar cane on terraced hills or cooking it down to molasses that would eventually become rum. What a cruel existence they suffered.

Last night, with a full moon, we joined a group at this sugar plantation (Annaberg) for a guided talk and look at the moon. Our National Park Service offers quite a few learning experiences such as this one and the bird walk Friday morning at nearby Francis Bay at 7:30 am. It's been great to see quite a few people taking advantage of these learning opportunities.

I'm sure that our Thanksgiving meal didn't come close to rivaling yours, but we're not here for the food. Location, location, location is what is making this trip memorable. We cooked a one-pound canned ham, sliced and dressed up with a simple mustard sauce, some previously frozen green beans with almonds, yam and banana side dish, and a salad. With a small investment in time and energy it was quite decent, and not too many dishes for the clean-up crew.

Tomorrow Jost van Dyke in the BVI beckons and we'll be out of cell coverage until we either replace the wifi antenna or pick up local sim cards. Can't say when the next post will be.