Hello everyone, and welcome to the middle of the week! Today’s Virtual Vacation will bring you all to a lesser-known spot on the island’s south shore. Klein Bay is located about 10 minutes from Cruz Bay and is a small bay within Rendezvous Bay. It’s a beautiful place. See for yourselves…
Beautiful, isn’t it?
Now I understand that many of you are curious when travelers will be able to return to the island, so you can enjoy these beautiful views for yourselves. While the Governor has not indicated when that announcement will come, it is expected to occur later or tomorrow. We will share that information with you as soon as we receive it. In the meantime, have a wonderful day everyone!
St. Johnopoly: It’s just like being on St. John… when you can’t be. 🙂
St. Johnopoly is just like the traditional Monopoly game, but it is completely customized for St. John. If you would like a bit of St. John to arrive at your doorstep, order yours at www.newsofstjohn.com/stjohnopoly
Well folks, I wish I had more information to share with you all. The Governor just concluded today’s press conference, and we did not learn too much. Here are a few highlights:
The Governor mentioned the possibility of opening up the US Virgin Islands to tourism potentially in mid-May. His exact words were: “We don’t really see expanding our outside visitor capability at least until mid May, best case scenario.”
The current stay at home order expires on April 30th. The Governor has not extended the stay at home order at this time. The Governor stated: “I would like to remind the public that we were never closed, so come Friday, we are not reopening, but just broadening the scope of what businesses and recreation can be conducted safety. We will continue to be vigilant and use all the information and resources… (sound cut out) …respect your personal freedom and most of all keep you and your family safe.”
The Governor said he is looking to balance three things: public safety and public health, the economy, and personal freedom. “Over the next few weeks and perhaps months, we will try to optimize the balance of those three things,” the Governor said.
The current state of emergency expires on May 12th. The Governor stated that he plans to ask the legislature to extend the state of emergency to July 12.
All incoming airline passengers are being checked for high temperatures.
Hello everyone, and happy Monday! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!
The Governor is expected to make an announcement regarding the reopening of the US Virgin Islands during a press conference scheduled for 1 p.m. today. The Governor stated last Friday that the reopening may begin as early as May 15 or June 1. He indicted that the islands would open “internally” first and then to travelers.
As of April 26, there have been 57 positive cases in the US Virgin Islands – St. John, St. Thomas and St. Croix. According to the government, there are currently two active cases; all others have recovered. There have been four deaths.
Hello everyone, and happy Friday! We’re so close to the weekend!! (Do we still even have weekends?? haha)
I know many of you miss the island, so, once again, we’re bringing the island to you. Today’s trip starts at Salt Pond and ends in Coral Bay. We have two versions to share with you all – the real time version and one on fast forward. Enjoy!
Real Time: Salt Pond to Coral Bay (Just over 12 minutes long)
Fast Forward: Salt Pond to Coral Bay (Less than two minutes)
St. Johnopoly: It’s just like being on St. John… when you can’t be. 🙂
St. Johnopoly is just like the traditional Monopoly game, but it is completely customized for St. John. If you would like a bit of St. John to arrive at your doorstep, order yours at www.newsofstjohn.com/stjohnopoly
Looking for the latest information on COVID-19 and how it relates to the US Virgin Islands? Please visit www.newsofstjohn.com/virus
Hello everyone, and happy Thursday! We recognize that you cannot visit St. John for the time being, so we’re bringing the island to you! Today’s Virtual Vacation features one of my favorite spots on the island – Hawksnest.
Hawksnest is located on St. John’s north shore and is the closest beach to Cruz Bay that you can park at or taxi to. (Honeymoon and Solomon are closer to Cruz Bay, but you need to hike to those or take a golf cart ride through the former Caneel Bay resort. That ride costs $5 each way.) Hawksnest has a rather large parking area, and the beach is just a short stroll from the lot. Hawksnest has two pavilions that you can rent through the National Park. It also has several grills.
Now without further ado, here is today’s Virtual Vacation…
St. Johnopoly: It’s just like being on St. John… when you can’t be. 🙂
St. Johnopoly is just like the traditional Monopoly game, but it is completely customized for St. John. If you would like a bit of St. John to arrive at your doorstep, order yours at www.newsofstjohn.com/stjohnopoly
Looking for the latest information on COVID-19 and how it relates to the US Virgin Islands? Please visit www.newsofstjohn.com/virus
The current state of emergency expires on May 12th. The Governor is working to extend the state of emergency through June 12th.
The Governor reiterated that no new check ins (to villas, hotels, Airbnbs, etc.) will occur until at least May 15th. (You can still make reservations for future travel.) He then said that might be pushed back to June 1st. The Governor will make the official announcement toward the end of the month.
The goal, the Governor said, is to test everyone who enters the territory. This would be those who enter by air and sea. If they are unable to test every single visitor, the Governor stated they would definitely test those displaying any symptoms related to COVID-19. But again, the goal is to test everyone.
The Governor stated there has not been one positive test that stemmed from someone who arrived into the territory by water.
The Governor said that the territory has seen a “downward spiral” of cases over the past 14 days. He said it does not appear to be that the territory is peaking, but rather “tapering off”.
St. Johnopoly: It’s just like being on St. John… when you can’t be. 🙂
St. Johnopoly is just like the traditional Monopoly game, but it is completely customized for St. John. If you would like a bit of St. John to arrive at your doorstep, order yours at www.newsofstjohn.com/stjohnopoly
Note from Jenn: This story was originally published in May 2015. It’s an oldie, but goodie, so we thought we would share it with you all again. Enjoy!
Originally Published in May 2015: For those of you who routinely follow the goings on on St. John, you’re probably aware that the island has not received significant rain in roughly two months. Our cisterns are empty and our hillsides are particularly crunchy looking. So while it stinks that our island is in desperate need of rain, there is one positive that has come out of our latest draught – Salt Pond is actually producing salt!
So you might be thinking – of course a salt pond would produce salt. But that’s not always true. Conditions need to be right in order for this to happen. And from what we hear, this hasn’t happened in about four years. I’m clearly not an expert on this, so I looked to one of the island’s most knowledgeable residents for a better explanation – Mr. Gerald Singer. Here’s what he had to say on his website:
Because of its location on this arid and windswept part of the island, Salt Pond is the most likely place to find 100% natural St. John sea salt – no fat, no carbs, no cholesterol, no preservatives.
How Does the Salt Get There? Saltwater enters the pond from the sea by seepage at high tides and by waves breaking over the surface during storms. Salt Pond is one of the only places on St. John that is below sea level. This condition prevents significant amounts of pond water from flowing back out to sea. Constant, intense sunlight and ever-present trade winds encourage an exceptionally high rate of evaporation. When rain is scarce, the water becomes extremely salty. Water can only hold a certain amount of salt in solution and when the salinity of the pond reaches that point, the salt crystallizes.
As the water level continues to drop, and more and more water is evaporated, a layer of salt is left along the edges of the pond. The longer the dry period, the higher the temperature, and the stronger the winds, the more this salt layer will extend towards the center of the pond and the thicker the layer becomes.
You can collect salt during these times by scooping up the salt with your hands, if it is still wet and soft. If the salt layer is dry and hard, use a knife or other sharp tool. (If you’ve forgotten to bring a container, just walk over to nearby Drunk Bay where there is a great deal of flotsam, and you’ll probably find something you can use.)
After the salt is collected, drain off as much water as possible and put it in the sun to dry further. You may be left with fine powdery salt, which you can enjoy on your food immediately or, if the dried crystals are large, you will first need to grind them up or pound them out.
The salt obtained from salt ponds is particularly tasty and healthy, containing all the minerals that are present in the sea, which include all those essential to the human body. So during the next dry spell, take the trail to St. John’s best salt pond for collecting salt and bring some back home.
I took Gerald’s advice and did just that Monday morning. (Reminder from Jenn: This story was originally published in May 2015.) With a strainer and some Tupperware in tow, I drove out to Salt Pond and decided to do some harvesting of my own. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Salt Pond’s location, it’s out past Coral Bay. There’s a small parking lot on the lefthand side of the road where you can park. Once you arrive, walk down the dirt path and toward the beach – about five minutes. Once you get to the beach, walk to the far side where you will see a small trail on your lefthand side. In less than a minute, you will see the salt pond. When you get there, walk either left or right to get to the far side of the pond. That’s where the majority of the salt is collecting.
Image taken in 2015Image taken in 2015
Once you reach the salty areas, simply sift it in your hands or strainer to remove the mud. It’s that easy. Load it up in a bucket or other container and bring it home. I rinsed mine pretty well and sat it in the sun to dry. Once it’s perfect, I’m going to use it to cook with and also to make some scrubs. Pretty cool, right?
Image taken in 2015
Yet another reason why St. John is one of the coolest spots in the world…
The Governor just held another press conference regarding COVID-19 and its effects in the US Virgin Islands. Here are the key takeaways:
The beaches reopened today. He stated that this week will be a test to see how people behave and to see how serious people in the Territory are taking the pandemic.
Based on the current numbers in the Territory, he does not expect a large surge to occur within the next two to three weeks.
The Governor feels “safe” that “we have COVID under control” in the Territory.
The current Stay at Home order expires April 30th. The government will contemplate “if we’ll open and what will be open” at that time.
It appears that the current accommodations ban will be extended through mid-May. The Governor stated: “We don’t want to anticipate having any new tourist come in, as far as opening up the reservation system, at least until May 15. That will give us an additional two weeks.”
The Governor does not anticipate any mass gatherings occurring within the US Virgin Islands until mid-July. If this holds true, it means that St. John’s annual Festival (carnival) celebration would be cancelled.
The Governor said he will keep an eye on the key feeder states like New York, Florida and Georgia when making decisions regarding reopening the Territory for tourism.
Those are today’s key messages. We will keep you posted on this.
St. Johnopoly is just like the traditional Monopoly game, but it is completely customized for St. John. If you would like a bit of St. John to arrive at your doorstep, order yours at www.newsofstjohn.com/stjohnopoly
Hello everyone, and happy Monday! We are so happy to tell you all that the beaches and trails reopen today. And to celebrate that, we’re going to take you all on a little hike over to the Murphy Great House, which is located off the Johnny Horn trail, high above Waterlemon Cay.
But first, I’d like to tell you a bit about James Murphy, the man who the Great House was named after. James Murphy was a St. Thomas merchant, shipowner and slave trader. Murphy bought Waterlemon Bay in in 1796 and renamed it Leinster Bay, according to David W. Knight, Sr.’s writing on the St. John Historical Society’s website. “Within the year, Murphy also went on to acquire the neighboring Annaberg and Mary’s Point estates, along with a portion of the former deWintsberg property known as Betty’s Hope that joined the two parcels.” Following the acquisitions, Murphy started to construct what was then considered a state-of-the-art sugar factory at Annaberg.
“In 1803, James Murphy once again set out to expand his landholdings with the acquisition of the Munsburry plantation, which lay along Annaberg’s southern boundary,” David W. Knight, Sr. wrote on the St. John Historical Society’s website. “Then, in 1807, he purchased the Brown’s Bay estate on the far eastern boundary of Leinster Bay — thereby amassing a total of 1,245 contiguous acres, of which 494 were planted in sugar cane. It was the largest amount of sugar land ever controlled by a single individual in the history of St. John.”
The Great House was Murphy’s residence perched high atop a hill overlooking Annaberg, Leinster Bay and Tortola. The hike to the Great House takes roughly 30 to 45 minutes from the Annaberg parking lot, depending on how many times you stop to take pictures or enjoy the beautiful scenery. You could wear flip flops for this hike, but I recommend wearing sneakers and bringing a bottle of water.
So as we mentioned, please park at the Annaberg parking lot when visiting the Murphy Great House. After parking, proceed to the Leinster Bay Trail which starts beside the water at the bottom of the hill to Annaberg.
The parking area at Annaberg is to the right of this sign.The beginning of the Leinster Bay Trail that leads to the Murphy Great House.
Follow the trail alongside the water until you get to the beach.
The path is sometimes rocky.Sometimes it leads through beautiful, tree-covered spots.The beach area
When you reach the beach, walk to the far end. There you will see an opening in the trees. This leads to the Johnny Horn Trail. There is a large rock near the entrance of this trail.
This path leads to the Johnny Horn Trail.
“The Johnny Horn Trail was named after Johan Horn who was second in command to Governor Gardelin in St. Thomas and Commandant of St. John around the time of the slave rebellion in 1733,” according to seestjohn.com. “He was the Chief Bookkeeper and Chief Merchant of the Danish West India and Guinea Company on St. Thomas. According to John Anderson in his historical novel, Night of the Silent Drums, Englishman John Charles, a former actor who became a small planter on St. John, said the following of Horn:
“He had a grimace for a face, lies for eyes, noes for a nose, arse cheeks for face cheeks, fears for ears, whips for lips, dung for a tongue, and to all who knew him it seems strange that he has but one horn for a name.”
Well clearly he wasn’t the most liked individual…
Once you get to the rock, walk to the left. You will then follow the trail uphill. The first set of ruins you will reach is of the Guardhouse. It’s purposefully located in a strategic location where guards could keep an eye on the the Fungi Passage, between Whistling Cay and Mary Point, and the Narrows, which separate Great Thatch and St. John. The Guardhouse was complete with cannons and was manned by 16 soldiers, according to See St. John.
The entrance to the Guardhouse siteGuardhouse ruins
Continue uphill once you leave the Guardhouse. You will come to an intersection with a sign for the Murphy Great House. Take that left. The Great House is right around the corner. (If you continued straight on the Johnny Horn trail, you would eventually reach Coral Bay near the Moravian Church. This is a very challenging hike.)
Take a left to get to the Great HouseThe steps leading to the Great House
Views of St. John’s north side, the Sir Francis Drake Channel and TortolaOne of the most picturesque picnic spots on the island…
Check out this quick video we took:
How gorgeous are those views??!! Not a bad way to start the week!
As you can see, there is so much to do, see and learn about on St. John. The next time you are on island, you should definitely Explore STJ.
St. Johnopoly is just like the traditional Monopoly game, but it is completely customized for St. John. If you would like a bit of St. John to arrive at your doorstep, order yours at www.newsofstjohn.com/stjohnopoly
Want to get News of St. John updates emailed directly to you? Please go to www.newsofstjohn.com/signup to sign up.
For the latest updates on COVID-19 and how it relates to St. John, please visit www.newsofstjohn.com/virus
Hi all, the Governor just held a press conference. As we told you earlier this week, he holds several a week which you can watch live on Government House’s Facebook page. Here are a few key takeaways:
The beaches are expected to reopen on Monday, April 20th. The Governor cautioned against going into the water until Thursday, April 23 when water quality results will be completed. He especially stressed staying out of the water in bays that have seen a recent influx of boats.
It is “more than likely” that alcohol will be prohibited from all beaches when they reopen on April 20.
If you visit a beach, the Governor stated you can only visit with immediate family members.
The restrictions on mass gatherings remain in place.
The Territory is working to provide taxi and grocery delivery service to seniors.
The government has received infrared thermometers and is checking incoming passengers for temperatures at the airport.
Discussions have began regarding reopening the islands “internally,” the Governor said.
The Governor also stated “We are well away from opening our economy.”
The next press conference is at 1 p.m. Monday AST. It is expected that he will address the accommodations ban at that time.
Tag: USVI COVID-19
St. Johnopoly is available and shipping daily. It’s about to sell out, so please get yours today!
St. Johnopoly is just like the traditional Monopoly game, but it is completely customized for St. John. If you would like a bit of St. John to arrive at your doorstep, order yours at www.newsofstjohn.com/stjohnopoly
Want to get News of St. John updates emailed directly to you? Please go to www.newsofstjohn.com/signup to sign up.
For the latest updates on COVID-19 and how it relates to St. John, please visit www.newsofstjohn.com/virus
