Tide Pools Hike

Last weekend we finally did the Tide Pool Hike, which leaves from Carambola and ends up at Annaly Bay, famous for its natural forming tidal pools. The hike itself was beautiful but the beach was the real reward - not your typical white sandy beach, but very rocky - beautiful in its own way!

Let there be light!

Everyone had been talking for weeks about the famous Christmas Boat Parade held annually in Christiansted.. Saturday night finally came so Geoff and I went to check it out and what it was all about.

I think the entire population of St. Croix was there! It was busy, busy, busy - I was surprised we even got a parking spot!

The night started with the boat parade itself - contestants pay an enormous amount of money to participate and the fees go towards covering the cost of the fireworks which follow the parade.

I had to say WOW - some boats went all out with a cruzian flair - there was one boat that even had a mokko jumbie pinned all the way up high on it.

The parade went on for about 30 mins, and was followed by an amazing fireworks display!

Home - 3rd time lucky!

"All For the Better" - the name of our new estate and so, so true... We moved in about a week before Halloween and loving it so far! Our new landlords, Steve and Ellenor with their newborn baby are some of the nicest people we've met yet - and spoil us with fresh fruit and veggies from the garden daily - coconuts, papaya, eggplant, collard greens, bell peppers, mustard greens, oranges...you name it.

Pics - Our View, our swimming pool, our kitchen, our workout area/storage/office, bedroom with bathroom

Jack and Isaac's Beach Hike

I got an unexpected day off today! The resort was shutting off power for 4 hours, of course right during the opening hours of the Spa, so my manager was nice enough to let me stay home.. what was supposed to be a fix-it, paint-it, buy groceries day turned into a spontaneous day out hiking and beaching with Alpie at Jack & Isaac's beach on the East End.

We were lucky we escaped the rain - at least most of it. Check out how beautiful and serene it is here!!!

Renaissance Carambola Beach Resort

For those who havent visited the website, I thought I'd post a few pictures of the beautiful resort we work at...with more to come from the desalination plant and the Spa!

Buck Island

We finally made it out to the famous Buck Island - just 10 mins off the north coast of St. Croix, its a national wildlife refuge which is also a popular place for locals and tourists to visit on the weekend.

Denise, my manager invited a few of us out on Sunday - and it couldnt have been better conditions.

Geoff had BBq'd a beef brisket the night before, everyone else brought along an item and we spent the afternoon swimming, snorkeling and BBQ'ing...it was so beautiful!

Doggy Play Date!

This was a couple of weekends ago, but I havent really had the time to post them.

My friend (and co-worker) has 2 doggies - and live right on the beach. They also have air conditioning, a BBQ and the same day off as us - no reason not to get together and let the dogs get themselves properly tired and for us to enjoy ourselves too!

Weekend with Michelle

We had our friend, Michelle from Puerto Rico over this weekend and it was fun to drive around and do a few touristy things - including some things we havent seen ourself!

The pigs in the photos are up at the Domino Club, (Or "Normas" - the cook is more famous than the bar itself)... pay your $2 for a beer and throw it to the pigs - they'll crush it with their teeth and gulp the whole lot! It was hilarious. The reknowed "Mamajuana" had to be tried as well - a homemade blend of honey, rum and fermented herbs... wow that packed a punch!

The afternoon we spent at Sandy Point - another beach we hadnt been to before. Its a turtle nesting ground, only open on weekends and only at certain times of the year. The drive in there is rough and long, but so worth it. I know I say this every time, but it was the most beautiful beach I've seen in my life .. i'll let you decide from the photos!!

Frederiksted during Earl

To the west of us lies Frederiksted, a small sleepy fishy town... far from sleepy today, locals were out and about braving Earl and checking out just how rough the ocean got...even some boats got stranded!

Driving in Earl..

Click on the picture to see what the driving is like during a small hurricane!

Hurricane Earl

Earl has now reached a Category 4.. thankfully the worst of it has passed us and now we're just on the watch for Hurricane Fiona (due to reach us around Thursday). Thankfully our landlords have a generator so at least we've been able to watch a couple of movies and keep our food refrigerated.

Something to add to the shopping list though: battery operated fans!

La Reine

Some pics of our new house! (and the puppy Pinky, that lives upstairs)