Got a case of the Mondays? Take a minute to enjoy some pics and video from the weekend~I’ve included a little info to ease your minds about the dry hillsides as well!
It was an INCREDIBLY windy day at Cinnamon Bay; which you can definitely hear in this video! But the sun was shining in between light showers and the beach was practically empty until noon!
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Speaking of rain. A lot of you have commented on the brown hillsides in recent pictures. Not to worry. This time of year is the end of the dry season in the VI. Starting at about the end of January, accumulated rainfall starts to taper off and remains at an average low through May or so. It will green up again quickly as we get into rainy season which traditionally begins in April or May and lasts until about December. Mother nature has no set schedule these days tho!
Although we DO get our share of scattered showers throughout the spring and early summer months, it is this time of year that we become super conservative about water usage do our annual rain dance.
On St. John, homes are equipped with cisterns for rainwater collection as their primary, if not only, source of fresh water. Although many states still have regulations and, in some, it was previously illegal to collect water, cisterns have always been common in the VI as well as on other Caribbean islands.
When the cistern is empty, the free water train comes to a halt and it can be pretty spendy to replenish. The next time you are on island, especially in May or June, take a look at the hillside. If it looks similar to some of the pictures you’ve seen recently, be conscious of your water usage. The people you are renting from or visiting will thank you for it!
Speaking of Cinnamon, as far as the campground and facilities go, there has been no formal update since December as to the new owner’s progress. But, I’m sure, like everything else, the 2020 effect has set back the timeline a bit (which is likely magnified by “island time”).
In the meantime, the NPS has reopened the Porta Potties and reinstated trash removal at Cinnamon Bay and many other beaches as of Saturday, June 6. Although they did not mention it in their release last week, I did notice the picnic tables have been replaced in the pavilions and also seem to be open for use!
I’ll leave you with another shot from Cinnamon Bay on a beautiful Saturday morning. We have some more exciting things coming up this week including a new voice or two that you’ll be hearing from
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Even when St. John’s hills are green there is still a lot of tinder dry vegetation that could be ignited by a discarded cigarette butt. We’ve all seen people throwing butts from cars, balconies, hiking trails and everywhere else. St. John could be devastated by wildfire. There are laws on the mainland that discourage such carelessness.
to piggyback on Steven’s point:
we are also in the midst of one of our worst droughts