USVI Day 5

Bright and early! (was almost 9:00am, sleeping is great:) Glassy 70° mornings, one after another, are continually therapeutic.

Today we hiked the Reef Bay Trail in its entirety, which is an out-and-back route. I think it was about five miles or so with some decent elevation gain on the return trip.

These large trees are some of the only old growth on the island and mostly contained within this trail property. 

Lots of cane factory ruins out here. Also visible occasionally (though vaguely by now) are some of the terraces which made up the land around the factories. Most of the island was clear cut and terraced for farming cane. 

Of all the places to find a white-tailed deer...

Out of the forest and into the sunshine, we arrive at the Reef Bay Sugar Factory. This place is in great shape and huge. There's no big estate house here but the factory itself is the best we saw.

Mechanicals for the crushing press are all here.

Apparently the daughter of a previous land manager was killed when she got wound up in this gear......and you'll note the nice guard they put over it afterward is still in place.....

These are hermit crabs which have fallen into a small pit. They all still appear to be alive. They are pretty much everywhere, you just get used to hearing rustling along the trail when you're walking. The crabs seem to be sensitive to vibration or sound and like to head back into their shells as people approach.

Here's the steam-engine which powered the crushing press outside. I'm not sure the steam for this was generated by fires under the boiling kettles or not, but that seems pretty efficient since the kettles have to run anyway.

The small wooden structure is the center of the horse mill which would have been used if the steam-engine failed.

A couple hundred feet or so from the factory is this nice chunk of beach. 

We saw some (I think) eagle rays messing around just a little way from shore.

Good beach combing here too!

On the return trip, we checked out a small side loop which has a waterfall at the end of it. Not too much going on here but I'm sure it really rages when there is rain. 

After some big climbing, we arrive back at these stairs which pop you out on the road.

Later we snorkeled Salt Pond Bay again and found this little guy:

Fabulous views as always, 

Time to head back to shore I think?

Success!

Gold-mine discovered and conquered. It's been over two years since I've seen these in a store!

Blizzard!

Our first blizzard warning of the year! It was in reality far weaker then the NWS made it sound but it was still fun.

Best icicle yet!

USVI Day 4

We awoke to the tail end of a few showers. It was pretty normal to have sprinkles every night but they were almost always during the night. Not a big deal either way as they never last long. Exciting plans for this morning - we'd soon be heading to Ms. Lucy's for brunch. I'm not sure that I've ever actually had brunch before and here I was, someone who doesn't really like seafood, about to try brunch on a Caribbean island. 

I'm still amazed at how lush and jungle-like this place is. It reminds me of Lost or Farcry and nearly looks artificial at times. 

I was surprised to not see more motorcycles here. It seems like the ideal vehicle - uses less of the $5 fuel, easy to maneuver on narrow roads, and wouldn't balk at climbing hills (was pretty sure our jeep might cough up a lung every day). The weather is always nice so it would never be bad riding. 

When I mention that jeeps are everywhere, I'm really not joking. For example, there are three just right here. I think there was a grand vitara and 4-runner which also parked on this street, otherwise just jeeps (didn't count a couple vehicles which appeared to be movement-challenged).

At Ms. Lucy's, we got a good spot near the water and seem to have beaten the brunch  rush. I forgot to mention that this is also a jazz-brunch so there was live music most of the time we were there.

So any concerns I had about the number of crustaceans I'd be eating were quickly crushed under the weight of this amazing breakfast burger. It's even better than it looks - there's an "over-easy" egg under the bun top. Solid.

Eggs-benedict which looks amazing.

This is a bush-cat. Bush-cats are all over the place and generally well liked by residents because rodent control is important on an island. In keeping with the ultra laid-back tempo at which this place operates, even this cat has found a way to lounge while cleaning himself.

A herd of sheep was traveling somewhere on our way back to the house. Most of the animals seem well used to traffic and move over to the shoulder on their own.

We hiked to Little Cinnamon for a chance at seeing some airplane wreckage. This was located down a neat little path which weaved in and out right next to the surf.

I've never had Presidente before but it was pretty decent as lagers go.

Plenty of shelving here.

We saw this great rainbow while we were coincidentally next to a lookout point. I believe this is overlooking Maho Bay.

Everybody is friendly here!

This small herd of goats was mulling around on the side of the road and promptly hopped up this sheer rock as we approached.