Chapter 2: St Croix

Lighthouse Hike

2012-01-29T15:47:00.000-08:00

Today we went out with our usual hike/dine group (Ericson, Sid, Ericson Jr., Arissa and Roberta) out to the West End to the old, abandoned lighthouse. What a view!!

After our hike up, Ericson Jr. fell asleep...and wasnt too happy when we woke him up again!

Yep, the boys carried the BBQ all the way up just so we could have a grilled chicken lunch!

Washington DC

2012-01-29T05:31:00.000-08:00

Below are a few pics of Geoff's trip last weekend to Washington DC.. he was fortunate to be able to do a little sightseeing whilst he was up there!

Ben's Chilli Stand - a classic in downtown DC

Museum of Air and Space

Museum of Natural History - this is one I would LOVE to visit!

The "Hope" Diamond - the most famous diamond in the world

Great Falls

Carnival 2012

2012-01-08T05:56:00.000-08:00

This year we got to make it to the island-famous "Adults Parade" - the last event to Carnival season for St. Croix. Although it was supposed to start at 11am, the 'troupes' (groups) didnt get going until around 2pm, and were still going strong at 5pm, when we left.

The costumes were amazing!

How many speakers can you fit on the back of a truck?

The famous Moko Jumbies!

Conch Shell

Dancing and singing on top of the vehicles

My favorite costume of all!

My friend Wendy - she's in the parade every year without fail!

St. Thomas, USVI

2012-01-03T13:14:00.000-08:00

Our last few days on our vacation were spent in St. Thomas, the 'hub' of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Although beautiful, it was busy and we found the people to be less friendly than St. Croix or St. John. Still, we had an amazing time and did a lot of snorkeling here - there are some great reefs and on our last day we even saw a giant stingray!

Beautiful Magens Bay

A mirage?

At Mountain Top, overlooking Magens Bay

Overlooking Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

Our last night in St. Thomas - with a beautiful sunset!

Nothing better than a gorgeous view, beautiful sunset, half price martinis and a fantastic seafood dinner to finish off our mini-getaway!

Jost Van Dyke (New Years Eve)

2012-01-03T12:47:00.000-08:00

Jost Van Dyke, BVI

Voted #2 destination in the world for New Years Eve. We were so close anyway, we decided to check it out for ourselves.

Jost is a cute little island, with no more than 200 people living on it. We took a little speedboat over around 11am on the 31st, so we could spend some time exploring before the festivities started.

The 'main' road

Wild fruit grew everywhere here!

A little ruin off the side of the main road

One of the two main beaches where the party was

Check out that 5-mast boat!!

Getting ourselves a coconut!

The famous Soggy Dollar Bar

Dusk..it was getting busier...

Foxy's Bar and Restaurant

Of course..aussies.. cant escape them and they stand out like a sore thumb wherever they are!

Some strange people here...

"Little Vegas"

Birthday/NYE Trip - St. John

2012-01-02T17:58:00.000-08:00

St. John is the smallest U.S. Virgin Island..and also the most beautiful. We've heard its an outdoor enthusiast's paradise and we were on our way - for my 26th birthday!

Our friend Esmerelda that greeted us at breakfast :)

Can you say YUM!?

The first of many sightseeing stops with our Jeep

Old Sugar Mill Ruins

Annaberg Sugar Plantation Ruins (ca 1800's)

Ram's Head Hike

Loved how random donkeys just roamed the beaches!

Yay! Snorkel time!

Caribbean Christmas 2011

2011-12-25T07:47:00.000-08:00

Where did the Christmas tree go??

Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas and hopefully some nice, relaxing days off!

My First Photo Shoot!!

2011-12-22T07:50:00.000-08:00

These were taken last week at Dulcina's going-away party with her daughter Dhakiya in Crystal's front yard. Next top model in the making? Her mother, Dulcina asked her to strike a pose and this 7-year old started bringing out all these poses!

I've since been asked to shoot a wedding in March!!!!!!!

Feelin' Festive

2011-12-16T17:11:00.000-08:00

One of the many perks of working at a spa! I'm party-ready now!

Christmas Baking the in the Caribbean

2011-12-12T08:21:00.001-08:00

Yet another food post, but 'tis the season, right? :-)

This one I have to admit I'm pretty darn proud of... Geoff and his coworkers organised a multicultural cook-off - one guy from India, another from Dominica, another from Trinidad and one guy from "The South" :-)

Then there was us - Chinese and German heritage. Geoff knew right away what he was going to cook, and with some asian herbs and spices available on island, it wasnt too difficult to get his ingredients together. German on the other hand..?! I wanted to bake a Mohnkuchen (Poppyseed Cake) but after realising that the only poppyseed available on island was that in 50gr containers (i needed 2-3kg), I decided that a $70 was out of the question.

So.... I attempted Laugen Bretzel! You know the ones with the nice brown, crunchy outside and the coarse salt on top? They turned out really good and everyone loved them! Which means... yes, I guess I'll be baking them on more occasions now!

Trinidadian Chickpea Doubles

2011-12-10T15:21:00.000-08:00

I have to share my new favorite local food with you all - the famous Caribbean "Double".It is a sandwich made with two flat fried "breads", called "bara" filled with curried chick peas or garbanzo beans, commonly called channa (from Urdu/Hindi/Bhojpuri "chanaa"). Topped with a variety of spicy chutneys (mango, cucumber, coconut, tamarind - I had the mango) and extra pepper sauce made from Scotch Bonnet peppers (ranging from a dash "slight" to much more), this delicacy is undoubtedly the most popular fast food in Trinidad and Tobago. It is usually eaten for breakfast, and sometimes lunch, but can be a late night snack as well (which it was in my case).

The bread is a quick bread made of flour, baking powder, salt and ground turmeric, which gives the bread its yellow color. It is flattened to a thin round disk about four or five inches in diameter and fried until golden brown. The bara (from Hindi/Bhojpuri "bara") is then filled with the channa ready to be sold. There is no set recipe for the channa, which can be just curried or mixed with curry and dhal (split peas, usually the yellow variety, from Hindi/Bhojpuri "dhal").

Doggy Play Date

2011-12-07T15:00:00.000-08:00

Today my friend Mary Ann and I took our pups to the beach - Jack and Isaac's - which involves a hike down and a hike up on a one person/dog trail... they're not with keeping one behind eachother, but they are good at sitting when they want a treat, arent they??

Soup de' Cure

2011-12-06T02:09:00.000-08:00

On Sunday Geoff got an unexpected day off work (from his crazy hours lately) so we were able to go to one of the 'kick-off to Carnivale' events, called Soup de'Cure. It was an event put on by one of the charity organisations that helps educate youth about making right decisions and teaching them the consequences of drugs, alcohol etc so the money raised went towards that. About 20 restaurants competed and they all cooked up their best soups/stews. You paid 50 c per tasting, but the tasting cups were a decent size. There was no Callaloo (my favorite - traditional Caribbean soup made with saltfish, greens (usually spinach), crab and some sort of starch, like potato or rice) but I had some various Seafood stews, a Peruvian Corn Chowder and Wahoo (a type of local white fish) Chilli.

All restaurants that were there as participants were competing for cash prizes - the winner took home $1000. Unfortunately, my favorite on the night (which was a creamy tomato fish stew from a Puerto Rican restaurant) didnt take a place..but they did give me a big take home container for telling them that theirs was the best :-)

The live entertainment - which was a local reggae band and another local singer, Mada Nile was excellent too. I took a little video with my phone, but dont know how to turn it - its on its side right now! Its kind of noisy from all the people there, but try and watch till at least the part where the couple are dancing - We called them Mr and Mrs Claus for the night :-)

Geoff, Sid (his co-worker) and I

Sunset

2011-12-03T03:06:00.001-08:00

I've never taken a pic of our house from this angle before, so I thought I'd share this one...the beautiful sunset was just an added bonus!

Recipe: Gunpowder Mint Tea

2011-11-30T14:19:00.000-08:00

Our landlord's mother is always dipping into our herb garden and cooks up these massive pots of tea.. Since I'm not a big fan of basil or oregano tea (yuk!), I decided to try out some of our spearmint that I havent yet tasted but has been making our garden so fragrant!

I dug out the intense Chinese Gunpowder green tea that we bought in Chinatown Vancouver earlier this year and got to harvesting our mint :-)

I used both stems and leaves for maximum flavor

One teaspoon only of this particular green tea because it can get extremely bitter if too much is used

As for the mint, about 5 leaves does the trick for one cup

Tea is always made best with really hot, but not boiling water

Drop ingredients into pot and let steep for about 10 mins

The result? Tea as black as coffee but super delicious!

I should make this more often... and surprisingly it has more of a kick than a shot of espresso, whilst the mint leaves a nice, cooling aftertaste.

Post-Thanksgiving Bootcamp Hike

2011-11-26T14:56:00.000-08:00

A tradition for the Boot Campers every year is to do a half-full day hike. This time around the group went to the tidepools on the North Shore - a beautiful hike we've done several times before. The pics below are from Roberta's (Boot Camp Instructor) camera.

Roberta and I at the Tidepools

Beautiful view of the North Shore

Roberta at the Tidepools

It was pretty rough!

The tidepool water is so clear!

The rugged North Shore

Some of our group enjoying the cool down after the hike

Experiment: Gooseberry Icecream

2011-11-26T04:38:00.000-08:00

Most of my island friends know how much i LOOOOOVE Armstrongs gooseberry icecream...and since its a seasonal flavor, what will I ever do once they run out? So, my last batch of gooseberry icecream I devoured, I saved the seeds from it and decided I will try to grow my own gooseberry bush.. then all we need is an icecream maker (is anyone looking to get rid of one by chance?!?!) and I will have gooseberry icecream ALL YEAR ROUND!!!!

So I planted these little seeds, and watched patiently every day for 3 weeks...nothing. Feeling defeated, I forgot about my little pot of dirt with dried gooseberry seeds buried in it until.... I took a close look yesterday and look what I saw!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh - and the end result? Should look something like this:

Watch out St. Croix.....

2011-11-20T09:33:00.001-08:00

I'm back on the road!

West End Road Trip

2011-11-13T05:22:00.000-08:00

Living on the East End now, we barely get out west anymore. For most of you, you may think this is funny considering its just a half hour drive to the other side of the island, but weekend chores generally catch up on us most weekends and we dont have the time to really make the most of a road trip and enjoy everything the west end has to offer. Yesterday we just did it!

View from Scenic Road

Carambola Beach Resort and the North Shore

Looking down onto Frederiksted from Scenic Road...can you see the cruise ship?

I love this view looking down onto the North Shore!

One of West End's many hidden beaches

So many rockpools to explore!

Fossilized brain coral

Frederiksted - lunch time!

No sandwich on island beats those found at Turtle's Deli in Frederiksted. Cajun beef, pickles, spanish onion, banana pepper..all smothered with spicy sauce and mayo, served on homemade roasted garlic bread - yes please!

11.11.11 Wedding

2011-11-12T06:51:00.000-08:00

11.11.11

I think this day will go down in history for having the most number of weddings... just at Carambola Beach Resort alone there were FOUR weddings yesterday afternoon!

Despite the masses of people, we had a wonderful night helping our friend Julianne celebrate her wedding day with her husband James.

If only it was THIS easy to get Alpie to eat her veggies...

2011-11-08T06:48:00.001-08:00

Camping at Goat Hill

2011-10-23T13:41:00.000-07:00

We havent been camping since Puerto Rico! It was high time to pull our our camping stuff before it got completely overgrown with mold (yuk!) and stop making excuses, push chores to the side for the weekend and head up to Goat Hill. We discovered this little serene spot a couple of months ago and knew this would be the first place we would go camping. From here you can see the whole St. Croix - and being one of the highest peaks on the island, its perfect for watching sunrise and sunset, and listening to nothing but the waves...

Christmas Designs

2011-10-20T13:00:00.000-07:00

I am so excited for Christmas this year and the designs that I'm already planning that I had to start early :-)

Lazy Summer...

2011-10-19T14:57:00.000-07:00

Here the first of some pics I've doctored in Photoshop off our new camera...Alpie is a great model - if only she'd keep still and smile more often!

Working Weekends

2011-10-19T13:54:00.000-07:00

Yep, no more working Monday-Friday for me anymore. My client base is starting to grow and my existing clients are asking more of me which is great - I couldn't ask for anything more!

Geoff and I had a big, busy day last Saturday. One of the businesses I have been doing a couple of projects for has asked me to set up and manage their e-Bay store, starting off with selling approximately 130 items. First we needed to sort through everything in one of the many storage rooms before we could start taking photos and if it wasnt for Geoff's help, I'd still probably be there! What a big task!

Here a couple of pics of some perfume and one of (many!!) watches we took...and me, busy sorting everything :-)

"Born This Way" Movie Update

2011-10-11T07:32:00.000-07:00

Just received the news that our anti-bullying video "Born this Way" has gotten over 6,800 hits on Youtube, not to mention all the Facebook views! Our director has now been invited to Arizona to assist with an upcoming documentary "Bullied to Silence"! Who knew that such a little clip could make such an impact?!

http://www.bulliedtosilence.com/

New Beginnings...

2011-10-05T14:01:00.000-07:00

We had to remove a lot of our dying plants after all the storms, and have now planted some new ones...

-Mint

- Grape Tomatoes

- Purple Basil

- Birdseye Chilli (Thai Chilli)

The last pic is of a baby eggplant..I love to see how they develop from a beautiful purple flower to an eggplant in just a couple of days!

The tough life of a doggy...

2011-10-05T13:37:00.001-07:00

Q Studio, LLC

2011-10-04T05:45:00.000-07:00

Here are the professional pics taken by Quiana from Q Studios, LLC. Will post the movie soon!

Back to Borinquen..Pt.4

2011-10-03T05:35:00.000-07:00

We did a little half-day tour with an old friend of ours, Ronaldo into the beautiful mountains on Sunday morning. We stopped at a couple of little towns and went for a stroll, ate some local food (the last pic is of Geoff and I eating an icecream scoop - out of a plastic bag!) and went of the search of some caves...which we never found. But like the saying goes, "The Ride Makes it All Worthwhile"...

Back to Borinquen..Pt. 3

2011-10-03T05:20:00.000-07:00

I love this photo above and the contrast between the very old wall (approx 500 years old), the somewhat old (Banco Popular, approx 100 years old) and the new Brewery, approx 1 year old.

This photo of the fountain is amazing..if you zoom in, you can see almost every drop of water

The fountain is reaching for the sun!

Taking a much needed break from all the walking and photo shooting

Back to Borinquen..Pt. 2

2011-10-03T05:06:00.000-07:00

Isla Verde Beach Resort... we got so lucky with booking our room. If you havent already, check out Hotwire.com... its a website where you enter all your preferences when booking a room, pay the price they ask and then only afterwards it reveals where your accommodation is! It is a gamble, but it worked out in our favor! We got this room for half the regular rate, and somehow when we checked in, we got bumped up to VIP status and had wine, cheese and crackers brought to our room, as well as casino and cocktail vouchers!

The last couple of pics were taken early Sunday morning, at sunrise.. I love the last photo where you can see the reflection of the sunrise in the windows of a nearby building.

Back to Borinquen..

2011-10-02T18:27:00.000-07:00

These beautifully decorated buildings will always intrigue me. I love how much effort goes into each one.

Kite-flying is a Saturday afternoon favorite for the whole family!

I love this photo. It sums up exactly what it means to be a kid - carefree and enjoying the simple pleasures in life.

We decided to get away for Geoff's birthday this year and took a mini-trip back to where we used to live - Puerto Rico. It was actually really nice to see the place through the eyes of a tourist, and armed with our new camera, it was a good opportunity to take some 'test pictures'. The vibrant colors and landmarks makes Old San Juan the perfect photo opportunity!

Whilst we were here we also visited the world-acclaimed Bodyworlds exhibit, which was absolutely breathtaking. For those who havent heard of it, check out:

http://www.bodyworlds.com/en.html

9/11 Road Trip

2011-09-11T14:36:00.000-07:00

Today marks the 10 year anniversary of the tragic 9/11.

I remember it so vividly - waking up at home in Australia with two days before I was due to fly out to Germany on a class trip. My parents were already awake, watching TV and tried to explain to me what terrorism was and why someone would fly planes into buildings. I didnt understand the impact of such a horrific event at the time, until I went to school... classes were cancelled, children could go home if their parents let them, and for those who stayed at school, well, we were offered counselling and education on what this was all about.

Today, 10 years on, I understand it a lot more. I think living in the U.S. has helped me to broaden my mind and makes me realise that not everyone in the world plays nice with other countries. Speculations were being made already a month ago that something would happen on this date... we, luckily are 'just' dodging Tropical Storm Maria.

This storm was expected to hit Saturday, and has been lingering and lingering and lingering... people have been in anticipation this entire week, stocking up on hurricane material and fine tuning their generators. Its now Sunday evening and we still haven't received a drop of rain - yet its been dark and cloudy all day. I hope Mother Nature is not holding out on us until after it gets dark tonight - we have already lost power twice in the last hour!

We decided to brave the expected storm and set out on a road trip.. heading west, visiting some beaches we've not yet seen, took some new roads through the rainforest, had some Armstrong's icecream (local icecream), wound our way back East and watched the Remembrance Parade that the local Harley group put on - riding from East to West with U.S flags. Knowing what I know now, and how much it impacted families, watching this parade gave me the goosebumps - and I even almost shed a tear.

Sending lots of love and thoughts to the poor people and families involved in this event 10 years ago.

Maria

2011-09-09T13:24:00.000-07:00

This week....tropical storm Maria! Just a T.S. (Tropical Storm) as of now, but it is restrengthening and slowing down.. and headed right for the USVI's.. we may be out of touch again this weekend!

Health Fair

2011-09-05T10:34:00.000-07:00

I am really excited about this. For the last month I've been working hard at my very first event at Indulgence, and I'm overwhelmed with how many people want to get on board with this, including local businesses, fitness instructors, restaurants, the paramedics team and hospital.
One and half months until the big day, and we still have lots of work to do.. but it will all be worth it. Exciting!

Spice it up!

2011-08-31T12:58:00.000-07:00

I wonder how hot these little suckers will be...?

Shooting the shoot..

2011-08-31T12:08:00.000-07:00

Heres one more from the video shoot yesterday, of Quiana getting a shot of the clients hair... I wish I would've taken an "after" photo as the end result of the girl in the pink was incredible!

Indulgence Promo Shoot

2011-08-30T10:59:00.000-07:00

This morning we shot the long-awaited promotional video for Indulgence Salon and Spa. Quiana, a fantastic photographer on St. Croix is beginning to shoot videos now and so we had her come in to do her first one here at Indulgence. I was the bridal hair model, so you'll see my wedding dress there in the background :-)

I cant wait to see how the video turns out!

Just because...

2011-08-28T06:09:00.001-07:00

Someone posted this picture of Facebook this morning and it was too funny to NOT share. Maybe St. Croix's new fashion? Lets hope not.

Thanks Irene :-(

2011-08-23T05:12:00.000-07:00

The beautiful arch that Geoff had been working on - ruined.

Trees are still standing, but not the stove...

Goodbye eggplant bushes...

We made it through Irene safe and sound. Unfortunately, our plants didnt.

It really was a surreal 24 hours - the storm kicked in around 6pm on Sunday night (St. Croix was on lockdown curfew as of 6pm), and I was even on skype with mum at the time... by about 8pm, the winds had picked up so much that we had to bring everything inside - our BBQ, motorbike parts, furniture etc. Water was coming through our shutters, so we had to pull all the computer parts away from the window area.

The generator was going non-stop until 2am, when it died on us, and after several attempts at fixing it, Geoff wasnt able to so gave up and went back to sleep.

The next morning, the skies had cleared but the wind was still really strong. I took the day off but Geoff went to work - the roads were very quiet... as we didnt have running water, I "showered" in our pool, where I even washed my hair.

After an announcement was made on the radio that water and ice supplies were running really low, I made a beeline to the grocery store to pick up a few gallons of water.. there was only about 12 left on the shelves. As for ice, it was already all sold out. Generators - same deal.

After about 28hours with no power or water, we finally got it back - and were lucky that only our dairy in the fridge had gone bad by that stage.

Its kind of worrying to think what may have happened if the storm had've been bigger. For an island that has lived through Hugo, with 6 -12 months no power, no fresh food, months of looting and violence as a consequence of such a big hurricane, it really surprised us to see that St. Croix was not more prepared. Sure, Irene was nothing compared to Hugo, but it could've been, and 12 hours after it hit, there was barely any drinking water left available? We've learned our lesson with not relying on a generator or doing a grocery shop a day before a big storm, but hopefully St. Croix will learn theirs too.

Watch out St. Croix

2011-08-21T05:54:00.000-07:00

It is eerily quiet this morning. If it wasnt for the weed-wacker, I think I'd still be asleep. The birds are quiet. The trees arent even swaying in the wind. The sun is shining but I'm not hearing any cars starting up for a beach day.

Irene: due to hit St. Croix today, late afternoon or evening. This is going to be a big one, and possibly build up to a hurricane by the time it reaches Puerto Rico. They're predicting 7-10inches of rain for us, with 20 inches by the time it reaches Haiti. Poor guys, they cop every one bad.

If we're out of cell phone/internet touch tonight, you know why. Keep your fingers crossed that our crops wont be destroyed!!

Guineps

2011-08-20T15:23:00.000-07:00

This morning on our walk, Alpie and I came across a guinep tree! This little fruit with its intense sweet-tangy flavor in native over a wide area of the tropics, including South and Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean and parts of Africa and the Pacific.

To eat it is interesting. The skin (rind) is easy to crack open, and then you slide the whole fruit in your mouth (about the size of a big marble) and you just keeping sucking it for a few minutes until all flesh eventually comes off and you're left with a pit. Yes, to eat even five of these is extremely time-consuming... a good weekend fruit :-)

Success!

2011-08-17T07:37:00.000-07:00

Our first home-grown watermelon turned out to be a success! It was super seedy, but very juicy, I'm looking forward to the next few that are already growing. Unfortunatly we had another that was ripe - and surprisingly YELLOW inside, but our landlord got it with the weed whacker. :-(

Reminisce

2011-08-13T15:20:00.000-07:00

One of my yoga buddies, Tamarah just opened her restaurant this week in one of the most beautiful areas of St. Croix, Queens Quarters.

Reminisce Restaurant - I've been following the lead up with the growing of their own veggies and herbs, raising their own chickens, hoops they had to jump with getting their business licence and the hiring of wait staff.. and today was their long-anticipated open house!

We enjoyed a variety of drinks, including a Cruzan coffee (espresso, Cruzan rum cream, chocolate and whip cream) and a Guava Mojito (Mojito with guava puree and guava rum) as well as this delicious seared sesame ahi and a caprese salad.

We wish Tamarah and her hubby all the best in their new business endeavor and will make sure to spread the word! Thank you guys for a great afternoon!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Reminisce-Restaurant/119598464792418

STX Food & Wine Experience

2011-08-10T10:57:00.000-07:00

Throughout my job hunting, I was linked with Sara, the organizer of St. Croix Food and Wine Experience, which is named one of the best 10 Best International Food and Wine Festivals by Forbes Travel and is also one of the biggest events in the Caribbean!
After several weeks of emailing back and forth, we finally met today at Polly's, a cute little cafe on the west end of the island. Over coffee, we got chatting about work and volunteering possibilities for the event - which most of you know would be right up my alley with my background, education and passion for food, wine and events.

We're currently discussing a possible role for me in the social media aspect of marketing...yay! :-) I am a self-confessed Facebookaholic and more than anything staying in touch, connected and up to date with everyone (hence this blog).

I am sooooo excited to begin taking part in such a prestigious event not in the catering side of things this time, but actually in the marketing field!
http://www.stcroixfoodandwine.com/

Tropical Storm Emily

2011-08-03T08:05:00.000-07:00

The last six days, Caribbean islanders have been holding their breath, watching the forecasts and getting everything strapped down and prepared for Emily - the first of the major storms/hurricanes of the season.
My friend Vicky, who lives on a boat together with her boyfriend in a Marina, took the last week off from work to get everything ready in case of a hit, and locals have been swarming to supermarkets to stock up on canned and dried foods.
Let the season begin.

***Update*** Emily passed south of us, giving St. Croix a wild night of thunder, lightening and LOTS of rain. Fortunately nothing was destroyed other than our basil plants.. our pride and joy :-(
Haiti, unfortunately lies directly in Emily's path.

Goat Hill Hike

2011-07-31T14:41:00.000-07:00

After a long week of work, sitting my bum for longer than what I'm used to (yes hard to imagine since I spend anyways ALOT of time in front of the computer), I told Geoff that I needed to get out and about. Alpie was

excited about this idea.

We decided to check out Goat Hill, which is all the way on the East End of St. Croix, almost at Point Udall. It used to be a road, and has now become completely overgrown. I recommend doing this hike on an overcast day or at 6am in the morning, NOT at 2pm in the afternoon in the burning hot sun. Sure, it made for nice photos but all three of us were sweated through entirely by the time we were 10mins into it.

The views though? WELL worth the grueling hike!

Views of Buck Island on the way up

Haha look how BIG Alpie looks here :-)

Looking out over the northern half of St. Croix

Beautiful Buck Island

Everyone deserves a break, dont they?!

"I'm the Queen of the World!"

New job!

2011-07-27T05:19:00.000-07:00

Two days down at the new job and all is going very well... this definitely confirms the reason just why I left my previous position. Its so nice to work in a successful establishment where not only staff, but management appreciate me and the hard work that I put into all of my duties. Its nice not be expected to do things outside of my job description, but highly praised when I do.

I'm not a needy person, but a little bit of acclamation and encouragement goes a very long way in keeping an employee happy and motivated to help and work.

A day off today and I'm being spoiled rotten by my friends (and ex-coworkers).. one is treating me for lunch at a beautiful restaurant downtown, and another is taking me out for a cocktail hour with the girls!

Life does have its way of turning around sometimes...

Watching the new crops grow :-)

2011-07-24T11:59:00.001-07:00

A couple of days ago, our landlords planted some new crops in the garden - soon we'll have more eggplant, tomato and bok choy that we'll know what to do with!
A lazy Sunday, with both Geoff and I studying, I let Alpie out to roam a little... when I found her she was in pure bliss, watching the new vegetables grow :-)

Q is for Quiana

2011-07-22T13:55:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday whilst doing the video shoot, I met a beautiful young woman named Quiana, who is a well-known photographer on island. We got chatting about the ins and outs of weddings, events and starting our own business (mind you, she's had her business for years and is doing very well for herself) and I was asking her about whether she knew of any work going.
It was the biggest compliment to hear her ask me, whether I would be interested in working with her ! This week has been jam-packed full of meetings with clients, potential clients and friends but not yet a business associate so we met this afternoon for a long discussion about her new projects and how mine could tie into that. Stay tuned... I will be posting the first of many more Quiana/Michelle projects within the next few weeks...

In the meantime, check out her collection at http://www.qstudiovi.com/index2.php#/home/
or http://www.facebook.com/QStudioLLC?sk=wall

Things are looking up!

2011-07-21T18:48:00.000-07:00

This evening I met with an amazing born-entrepreneurial woman who owns and manages a very successful business on St. Croix. We had a brief meeting earlier this week to discuss just general opportunities on island and she was even open and trusting enough to give me names of a few people to "stay away from". She said at the time, there wasnt anything she could offer me, as much as she would've liked to.

This morning, less than 48 hours later, I received a phonecall from her to say that she had done some brainstorming and wanted to meet again. This "lets-throw-around-some-ideas" turned into a 3-hour, professional business meeting together with her partner... I guess the first encounter with her earlier this week had really been a pre-interview and although she had said there had been nothing she could offer me, had decided after our chat that she wanted to create a position for me! This really moved me and gave me a glimmer of hope that my talents, skills and personality are being recognized in a very positive light by professionals.

More Garden Splendors..

2011-07-21T10:00:00.000-07:00

I'm thinking a Caprese salad for lunch today, with fresh mozzarella and homegrown tomato and basil....delizioso!

A Valued Life...

2011-07-20T14:43:00.000-07:00

Whilst I'm going through a bit of a rocky patch, these quotes seem to be popping up everywhere, from different people as though this is a time of my life where I am supposed to be hearing them, and reflecting on them.

I love this one.

A Valued Life

Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.

Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have much.

Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.

Don't destroy or humiliate people because Karma will do it's job.

In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.

Don't judge people by their relatives.

Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

Free yourself from people that don't value your presence.

When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

Spend significant time to care for your soul, not just your looks.

Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions.

When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

Spend some time alone. Without your phone, magazine, laptop or ipod.

Let go of the parts of life you honestly don't want.

Thoughts for the Day...

2011-07-18T12:04:00.000-07:00

"The woman who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The woman who walks alone is likely to find
herself in places no one has ever been before." - Albert Einstein

Portfolio...Part 1

2011-07-17T11:09:00.000-07:00

Sommer Sibilly, a massage and reiki therapist on island asked me to design her business card.. she had specified only to me that she wanted something to do with chakras, spirituality and energy, so the first thing I had to do was research what all of that even was! I've realized that designing people's business cards is actually a very educational experience, as I'm learning a lot about different things and jobs as I research each one.

I came up with this design below, which I've gotten an overwhelming amount of positive feedback from already. I cant wait to get it printed!

Front:

Back:

And here it is......

2011-07-16T18:30:00.000-07:00

Our video shoot from today! Hopefully it will reach many and help people to realise that no matter what your race, religion, sexual orientation, skin color or anything else, we are all one and should treat eachother respectfully!

Can u spot me ? :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POfjvqrO2QY&feature=share

Sayonara Carambola... and hello world!

2011-07-16T15:45:00.000-07:00

On Thursday the 14th, I quit my job at the Spa at Carambola...finally. As many of you know, tension had been building up in the circus (aka work), which hadnt made for a comfortable working environment for many of the Spa employees. Sure, the job offered me an opportunity to grow for a while, and make some contacts but due to poor management I reached a point where I was stuck and things turned from bad to worse very quickly.

Since I quit, which has only been three days, I have felt an enormous weight lifted from my shoulders, and nothing but the feeling of freedom and happiness and realising that all the Spa was a starting point for me, and that the management will realise at some point the mistake they have made with treating the actual hard workers, and loyal employees like prison inmates.

Job prospects have been tumbling towards me, and I've met more people in the last two days than I have in the last year - literally! Just yesterday I had already two meetings, with one ending in a possibility of re-opening another Spa on island, and the other meeting being more than I could ever ask for at this point - a Spotlightstx client needing ongoing marketing help, which of whom she has already referred me to another company in Christiansted to help with theirs!

Last night I was offered to star in a music video by Lady Gaga, which is soon to be broadcasted on youtube, local television and schools in the US Virgin Islands. It was an amazing experience and a true honor to work with such talented people and at the same time be able to help towards such an important cause (this video was made to bring awareness to the severity of bullying).

I do believe in blessings in disguises. This is well and truly one of those.

(This pic is one of me and some of the girls with that I worked on set with today - the actual video clip is still to come...)

Peppers, peppers everywhere!

2011-07-11T17:34:00.001-07:00

Our peppers are taking off like crazy after this weeks worth of rain! We've been sprouting bell peppers lately, but we were very suprised to see the habanero plant had grown two little peppers during the week!

So what to do with these hot little things now? Chorizo and cream cheese stuffed chicken breasts, wrapped in bacon and served with pasta in a tomato-pepper-habenero sauce....delicious!

If anyone would like the recipe, please email or Facebook me - I can assure you that you wont be let down!

Business Licence

2011-07-11T16:04:00.000-07:00

The last couple of weeks I've looked into the steps to applying for a business licence.. I havent even really begun and its already seeming like an absolute nightmare.

Have spoken with several different people, including professionals and even the DLCA (Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs) and everyone is telling me conflicting things... for some reason I need to get a certificate verifying that my office space (i.e. HOME) has had a fire inspection and is safe...even though I will not be bringing clients through home.

The usual procedure of getting a background check and applying for a tradename seem like all reasonable requests but I've heard this entire process can take up to FOUR months! Please someone organise some champagne to pop once this is all over and done with, I think I may need it!

WTJX Channel 12 Golf Tournament

2011-07-10T07:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the big day - WTJX Channel 12 first annual Golf Tournament at Carambola Golf Course and we featured in it! It ended up being a huge success and we are now discussing possibly being in the next one.

Into the Wild...

2011-07-05T17:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we decided to take the opportunity of finally having a clear, sunny day to do the hike to the waterfalls in Fredericksted that we'd heard so much about.. 1 1/2 hours up and we still hadnt reached the top! It was a decent hike and VERY beautiful - see for yourself!

( Fresh noni, mango and passionfruit were available to snack on the whole way up the river!)

Oops, she found it!

2011-07-05T17:35:00.000-07:00

Wagging her ears....?

2011-07-05T17:34:00.001-07:00

Alpie began wagging her ears tonight... maybe she's forgotten where her tail is?

4th of July Celebrations

2011-07-05T03:07:00.000-07:00

This year there were no fireworks for us as the company that usually puts them on in St. Croix lost his license.. however we surely made up for it, celebrating with new friends and a delicious feast of food!

Rainy Day Creations...

2011-07-03T17:30:00.000-07:00

Rain, rain, go away... well actually its kind of nice sometimes as the mind becomes more creative and the tummy, of course hungry!

It had been ages since we had made real, fresh healthy Mexican food with homemade salsa and marinade so guess what we did today?

2nd Anniversary

2011-07-02T06:52:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to say a big thank you to all our family for helping make our second anniversary memorable! We received gifts and wishes and even had a beautiful dinner overlooking the ocean with a nice bottle of Italian red thanks to you!

Also - just an update on my business.. for those of you that dont yet know, I've decided to start flying solo and pursue my dreams of creativity, events, tourism and marketing and have teamed up with an amazing woman named Wendy who has lots of experience and many contacts on island.

We've developed: Spotlight St. Croix, or Spotlightstx for short. ("We help put YOUR business in the Spotlight!")

Yesterday we received our work email addresses and domain name for a website that is now officially ours! Its not up and running yet, until we can create a little portfolio of our work, and most importantly - have our business licence... that will be taken care of next week.. wish us luck!

Mango Melee 2011

2011-06-26T14:11:00.000-07:00

Mango Melee is always a big, big event and last year we just missed out on it, as we moved to St. Croix a couple of weeks after...yes - its almost been a year since we've moved to St. Croix!

The annual celebration of the Caribbean's iconic fruit, Mango Melee was held today at the St. George Botanical Garden. The event included cooking competitions, plant identification contests, the ever-popular mango eating contest, and the Mega Mini Mango Contest. (People can bring their biggest or their smallest full, mature mango to enter the contest)

Geoff and I volunteered at the St. Croix Animal Welfare stand for an hour, they had brought a dog along from the shelter and were trying to adopt her out. I handed out flyers and talked to people about the Pets from Paradise program, where people visiting the States (or returning to the States) can escort an animal to an airport in the States, where it is then picked up and taken to a 'no-kill' shelter. (This is a fantastic program and I strongly recommend it to anyone travelling.. there is nothing involved other than sending the shelter your flight itinerary - they set up the entire thing and you dont even have to handle the animal! Check out:

http://www.stcroixawc.org/programs/pets-from-paradise/ )

We then wandered the grounds, it was our first time to the Botanical Gardens so we had lots to see! We stopped for 'pinchos' (chicken/beef/shrimp kebabs with veggies) grilled with a mango chutney, mango wine, fresh sugar cane, mango salmon cakes and johnny cakes and of course - mango icecream!

The competitions were happening right, left and center but we steered clear of them and checked out the gardens instead - it was beautiful! Lots of different herbs, flowers and a whole area on medicinal plants - it would be great to go back when its a little quieter and really take the time to learn more about all the different, exotic plants and flowers.

Also - another exciting thing - i met the other australian that lives on island here today! We met on Facebook through one of my spa clients and never had the opportunity to meet up - well he spotted Geoff with his "Quantas" t-shirt on today and approached us!

Home Office :-)

2011-06-25T16:06:00.000-07:00

We picked up this desk at Officemax last week for just $56!! I can finally get organised and really begin working on my own business now!

Garden Splendors..

2011-06-25T15:43:00.000-07:00

Alpie :-)
Watermelon - our first one!(Also our first) bananas!!

Bell peppers

Todays harvest... the tomatoes need some more sun though
Bok choy
Getting our next lot ready for planting
Corn on the cob...mmm..
I've found a way to make the pics work (for now!) Its longer and complicated, but we get there in the end.. enjoy viewing our latest crop!

Problems Uploading

2011-06-25T15:37:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

Sorry for the lack of posts recently, I'm having trouble with the Blogger problem uploading photos. Have some great garden pics which I'd love to post, but they'll have to wait until the photo upload tool is working again.

Just thought I'd mention our first watermelon is growing though!!!!!!!!! Very excited to see how this will turn out!

Hope all is well!

Home grown and healthy!

2011-06-21T08:33:00.000-07:00

We picked up some freshly baked roti bread on the way home last night and realised we didnt have any toppings once we got home..

Thank goodness for our little veggie garden! I picked some eggplant, basil and tomato and found some mozzarella in the fridge...voila! One of the yummiest pizzas I've ever had....

A very beachy weekend...

2011-06-13T14:48:00.000-07:00

What to do with a 3-day long weekend in St. Croix? :-)

Hit the beach up!!!

On Sunday I had a long-time-coming girls day out at Hibiscus, a brand new bar/restaurant on a beautiful beach on the north shore. Cant remember the last time I had a 2-hour-long lunch with cocktails and my girlfriends!

Today Geoff, Alpie and I loaded up the truck with the kayak and explored someplace new - Sand/Shell Island (depending on who you ask)! This little island is located off the south shore of St. Croix, and since its right by the refinery, isnt such a popular spot. However, we were in for a suprise when we got there - it was beautiful! Unspoilt by people, this little island was brimming with all sorts of wildlife - exotic fish, colorful birds and conch galore! After exploring for about 2 hours, Geoff decided that we must just try to cook up some conch ourselves.. so we grabbed a couple, put them in our cooler we had brought with us and are just in the process of cutting it up now! (Well Geoff is, I wont touch the slimy things).

We plan on going back here soon and camping the night!

(The first couple are from Sunday, with my friend Dana and the others are of Shell/Sand Island.. note the pic of the conch shell in the water.. you can see his eye peering out at us!)

And to finish...

2011-06-09T12:25:00.000-07:00

A few final photos of some memories of our time in Monheim with Omi and Mum...

Marvellous Munich (Muenchen)!

2011-06-09T10:27:00.000-07:00

As we pulled into Munich, it was already getting late and since it has been raining most of the day, it was grey and really just that sort of weather that you want to snuggle up with a blanket and drink hot chocolate. On top of the weather, we spent about an hour trying to find our hotel that we had booked as the Google directions were wrong, and there was a blocked road due to a building being on fire.

We pulled up to all the policemen there and found someone who was very helpful to give us directions - viola! We pulled up to the 'newly renovated Marriott' - as it claimed online...WOW - this hotel was incredible... pretzels and apples at check in, selection of about 8 different newspapers (including New York Times!) and we were lucky enough to get a room on the 14th floor, which gave us great views. To our suprise our mini bar was FULLY stocked, and was all complimentary... so given the weather, we made ourselves a comfortable night in and snacked on the fresh cheese and baguettes we had bought earlier on in the day with the bottle of red that was in the fridge for us!

Once again, for just 5E/person more, we got a full buffet breakfast the next morning (We always stuffed our pockets with some boiled eggs and pretzels so our lunch was covered too :-) sshhh..

We hoped to wake up the next morning with better weather, but no such luck (maybe it was the payback for taking food with us from the buffet :-)

Still, we were here and we were going to make the most of it.. we went for a walk through the English Gardens, which was a beautiful piece of greenery in the midst of the city, followed by a wander through the Altstadt (yes, every city in Germany has an old city in case you havent realised!), stroll over the farmers market, where we picked up some cheese (suprise suprise), and some gingerbread.

Off to the famous Hofbrauhaus - the state court brewery of Munich. The reason why its so well known is because in earlier days, the brewery used to belong and produce beer to the Kingdom of Bavaria, later it was used as Hitler's meeting spot with the National Socialists.

Today, it is a popular tourist attraction where the most famous beer in the world comes from! They own the main tent at the Octoberfest, as well as a couple of other Hofbrauhaus's around the world. Geoff had the obligatory bret'n (pretzel) and stein of beer - I had myself some homemade Spargelcremesuppe (Cream of Asparagus soup) since I was so cold from the rain!

Barcelona Pt. 4

2011-06-09T10:16:00.000-07:00

This series of photos sums up our last day in Barcelona well... sightseeing the beautiful gothic Sagrada de Familia... followed by the most delicious paella!

F1 GP at Catalunya

2011-06-09T07:27:00.000-07:00

Even before we reached the race track, I could feel the energy in the train ride and the excitement vibrating through the crowds as the air grew thicker and hotter in Barcelona's sun... this was the beginning of the weekend that many people traveled to Barcelona for, to support their driver, their country and to show the world that the Spanish really know how to rock the show.

It was an exciting change to be part of that mass of people, that mass that had to walk the 3 miles (possibly even more) from the train station to the circuit, that mass that passed through all the bakery stands selling crusty baguettes filled with local cheese and salami, freshly mixed sangria and of course all the souvenirs that one could possibly think of.

For those who dont know, my only experience with the Grand Prix is working at it.. which is a whole different level excitment - I've mingled with the rich and famous right at the finishing line, across from the pits but I was also stuck in a little box for 10-12 hours/day so being able to be not only one of the 'fans', but one of the loud, vibrant and energetic Spanish fans was a real treat.

It got so hot during those 2 days were there, that the crowd stripped down to not much more than their swimsuits - and the queue for the men's (i wont even go to the ladies) was longer than I've ever seen a men's bathroom line before!

Barcelona Pt. 2

2011-06-09T07:20:00.000-07:00

A few more pics from our first night in Barcelona...

Night Market by an old church

Beautiful old cathedral - of course under construction like all other cathedrals in Europe

The beautiful harbour downtown Barcelona

Just one of the many narrow little alleyways.. you never know what surprises they may bring!

Barcelona Pt. 1

2011-06-09T06:27:00.000-07:00

I've decided to do Barcelona is a few posts, as there is so much to write and we have so many beautiful pictures! These pics are just a snapshot of our first day there. We opted to stay in a Renaissance (Marriott) hotel as we got super cheap deals, even though it was a bit out of the city. It didnt matter though, there were shuttles going to and from the city throughout the day, and the public transport in and around Barcelona is excellent, so we never had a problem making our way around.

It was a lot of fun challenging ourselves after speaking German for a week, to dig deep into our brain and pull out our Spanish vocab once again. Although very different from Puerto Rican spanish, words were still similar and we got by quite well.

As you can see from the market picture, Geoff isnt wearing any shoes...our layover in Paris ended up being so short (20mins!) due to a plane delay and so we raced to catch our next flight..

By the time we landed in Barcelona, we were sick of airports and so we just headed straight to our hotel...luckily Barcelona is such a modern, eclectic city that anything goes in terms of fashion, so Geoff with his bare feet fitted right in (dont worry, we did find him a pair after a few hours!)

My first mission was to find good tapas and sangria, so we spent several hours on a self-guided walking tour, soaking up all the sights of the beautiful architecture and the harbor, whilst keeping a lookout for a tapas place.. we went off La Rambla (the main drag) and down some little alleyways, trying not to get ourselves lost but ended up at the best restaurant of our whole trip! The doors opened at 6pm, we got there at 5:55pm to make sure we were the first ones in (also our stomachs were rumbling after all that walking!) and ordered about 8 tapas between us, ranging from calamari to spicy meatballs to roasted peppers with rocksalt. Yum! You could've rolled both of us out of the restaurant afterwards... I couldnt wait to see what other culinary delights the next few days would bring....

Rheinfall

2011-06-07T13:30:00.000-07:00

Enter Schaffausen, the tiny little historical town leading up to the famous Rheinfall, located on the upper Rhine river in northern Switzerland.

The Rheinfalls are the largest plain waterfalls in Europe, and are a big tourist attraction today. Instead of paying the entrance fee to go in and just see them, we paid a little bit more and did an hour's boat trip around the falls, which was well worth it. We're so lucky that we had nice weather when we were there too!

Off to the land of Movenpick and great skiing!

2011-06-07T12:55:00.000-07:00

Our second week landed us in Zurich, which is located close to the German border, in the south. As we came down from Munich, we crossed through Austria and hugged the southern side of Bodensee (Literally meaning, "Bottom Sea"), eventually bringing us to the city famous for author James Joyce, amazing architecture and beautiful views of the Alps on clear days.

We went out for fondue that night, and enjoyed with it a bottle of local Pinot Noir - which was delicious and made us realize that the Swiss dont just do chocolate and cheese right :-)

We wandered around the "Altstadt" (Old City) a little and checked out many of the gothic buildings before it finally got dark.

The next morning we found ourselves at a huge antique market where we could've literally spent all day had our wallets lasted that long! We picked up a few beautiful pieces, some yoghurts for the road and then we were on our way again, enjoying the lovely countryside Switzerland has to offer!

SPEED

2011-06-02T07:09:00.000-07:00

We cracked the 200km/h!

What an exciting rush of adrenaline in our little rental car :-)

Playtime!

2011-06-02T06:36:00.000-07:00

Our first day on the road.. we happened to drive past a tobaggon park so of course we had to stop and jump in for a couple of laps!

http://www.sommerrodelbahn-altenahr.de/index.php?p=index&area=1

Mon (kuchen) Berg

2011-06-01T10:47:00.000-07:00

The latest attraction in little Monheim - Monberg! This is actually built on top of a former landfill, but made very well - its now a restaurant/bar/event space and offer great views of the Rhine on a clear day.

http://www.monberg.de/

Schlossburg

2011-06-01T07:53:00.000-07:00

A trip to a German castle is like stepping back in time when Kings, Princes and Emperors ruled the land. No trip to Germany is complete without visiting at least one of the many majestic castles!

We spent a day at Schlossburg (literally meaning "Castle Castle"), located in Solingen. It was built in the early 12th century but by 1849 had become little more than a ruin.

About 40 years later an architect reconstructed it and is a major tourist attraction today. We were lucky enough to be able to have most of it to ourselves, being a cold weekday there werent too many people around!

It was pretty big, with lots of rooms to explore inside - including an old-style pharmacy which was interesting to see how they manufactured medicine back in the days. Of course Geoff found the Waffle House sign almost immediately so we warmed up in there with some coffee and waffles :-)

Europe May 2011

2011-06-01T06:34:00.000-07:00

A wonderful, wonderful trip which I cannot wait to blog... instead of the traditional day-by-day blogging, I will make all my entries by subject/event this time around.. partially because personally I think this is a more interesting way to read a blog (instead of "day 1 we did this, day 2 we did that blah blah blah..) and also because I know that as I write, more memories will spring to mind and then I have no way of backtracking and adding things in here and there.

Saying that, I'll begin with our last day in Germany, and that was the stretch from Karlsruhe to Dusseldorf - taking lots of small, windy little country roads and coming across (by accident) a white german shepherd breeder. Of course we had to stop in and check them out.. and were pleasantly surprised when we were invited into the owners house to watch the Grand Prix with them! They ended up being such nice people, giving us mugs with shepherds on them, and a standing invitation anytime to stay with them in their spare apartment.

http://www.white-paradise.de/

Chill-axing...

2011-05-12T05:46:00.000-07:00

Not only will we miss our little Alpie dog whilst we're gone, I think she's going to be missing the view :-)

I love watching her lie on our hill, completely and utterly happy with not a care in the world and enjoying the simple pleasures of life.

2011-05-12T05:44:00.000-07:00

This was another "Only in St. Croix..." moment.. Really, would this vehicle even be street legal anywhere else in the Western World??

Bok Choy anyone?

2011-05-12T05:43:00.000-07:00

This stuff growing like weeds!!!! We're never short of fresh veggies anymore :-)

T-Mobiles take on the Royal Wedding

2011-04-30T06:03:00.001-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kav0FEhtLug

Now THIS wedding would've been worth watching!!!

Only in St. Croix..

2011-04-25T04:39:00.001-07:00

... do people tie their horses on the OUTSIDE of a fence - so the horses can reach the fresh green grass that lines the road... luckily we live in a friendly neighbourhood!

Brunch at Topside

2011-04-25T04:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday (Easter sunday) we were invited by friends to brunch at Topside restaurant, less than 5 mins down the road from us but we've never been there before.

GREAT food, including an omelette station, lobster lasagne, mahi, ham, caribbean-style vegetables and eggs benny... we stuffed ourselves only to come home to a delicious kingfish bbq cookout that our landlords put on for us.

We certainly didnt go hungry this Easter!

Green thumb

2011-04-24T09:02:00.000-07:00

Our veggie patch we started just 3 weeks ago bore its first crop last night!

A Crucian specialty...

2011-04-23T06:56:00.000-07:00

...at Easter!

One of my friends Dale from work brought in a plate of traditional Crucian Easter lunch (typically eaten on Good Friday):

Saltfish: very popular all over the Caribbean, the saltfish is usually made from codfish, green and red bell peppers, onion and vegetable oil. (and salt, of course :-)

Callaloo: I love this stuff! Usually its made from okra (a root vegetable, similar to potato), spinach, oil, onion and spices boiled down into a soupy stew that is often served the main vegetable side in Jamaican cooking.

Ducana : a traditional dumpling made from flour, coconut, cinnamon, butter, salt and sugar and then boiled. I would consider them a desert as they are a little sweet but Dale told me that its eaten as a side to offset the saltfish. Delicious!

Next step... to learn how to cook all these yummies!

Easter in St. Croix

2011-04-22T11:39:00.000-07:00

I found this article online which described a Crucian Easter very well...

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=378829349325

Or for those who dont have Facebook:

http://www.stcroixlime.com/content/crucians-prepare-easter-camping

Its crazy to see all these big colorful tents on the beach for weeks on end!

Morning hike in Paradise!

2011-04-22T07:27:00.000-07:00

The last few months I've started my day with - what used to be - a gruelling hike up and down "The Beast" (as the locals call it). Its a steep hill right near our workplace that took me a good hour to walk once...now I'm proud to say and I can do it twice in about 45 minutes!

The views are phenomenal - to the north is the resort (pics above) and if I'm lucky, St. Thomas and the BVI's on a clear day - and to the south (right pics) is Carambola Golf Course.

A wonderful way to start the workday!

Sunset Sail to Buck Island

2011-03-31T06:29:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday night we were invited by one of my work friends to go out on Caribbean Sea Adventures for a sunset sail for her birthday. We'd never been on a boat during sunset so this was set to be beautiful - especially since it was such a nice clear sky. Little did we know that we were going to Buck Island and everyone had brought their swimsuit except us..... well lucky for me, my friend Wendy whipped out another bikini (who carries two pairs with them, really?) and I could jump in the water and join in on the fun! Geoff - well he just jumped in wearing his work shorts - in which he went straight back to work after we docked back in until 4:30am... :-(

Kayaking at Sandy Point

2011-03-27T14:23:00.000-07:00

Although I dont have any pics (the waves were really rough at the Point today), I just thought I'd mention that we saw a huge (could've been leatherback?) turtle swimming out in the ocean today whilst we were out kayaking. She stuck her head up out of the water, looked around and then dove back in... it was the most beautiful thing I have seen in a long time and absolutely made my weekend as i've never ever seen a wild turtle before!

Baby turtles!

2011-03-26T17:20:00.000-07:00

Geoff was lucky enough today to witness baby sea turtles hatching and scurrying towards the water! They're so cute!! (I was hosting our Spa event - we had the local orphanage in which we raised $1000 for during the month of February and had all the kids and volunteers in at the resort for a fun day)

Our new inflatable kayak!

2011-03-20T17:00:00.000-07:00

We got an inflatable kayak yesterday! Neither of us knew just how big and sturdy it was until we pulled it out of the box and blew it up...we took it down to Great Pond, on the south end of St. Croix and took it for a little paddle around and got Alpie used to her floatie jacket.