Day 1- April 15, 2010

Day 1- April 15th, 2010
(exactly one year after Edmundo asked me to marry him):

We went on what seemed like a never-ending flight to get here. Actually it was shorter than flying to Boise or to Mexico City, but we were so excited it felt like forever. The flight to Miami was only an hour and I slept pretty much the whole time. I spent the flight to St. Thomas reading up on my copy of the Virgin Islands magazine. After 2 hours and 45 minutes we were ready to land. The winds were incredibly strong and the runway uneasily short. The plane got lower and lower over the water until finally land appeared…fast! The plane tilted dangerously to the left, then to the right as the wind seemed to toss it around. Suddenly *BAM* the wheels hit hard against the ground and bounced right back up, the runway was getting short so wobbling in the wind the plane went higher and higher until it was assumed that we weren’t going to land anytime soon. The pilot soon came over the loudspeakers, “No worry folks, the wind is very strong and was pushing the plane around, so I’ll bring her around and we’ll try again.” A little disarming to say the least, but finally the pilot got the plane down successfully though not terribly gracefully.  We did a slip and slide all over the runway to get here, but we were here!

Next we simply had to grab a taxi. A colorful virgin islander (the island not the man) picked up a whole group of us in his taxi-van and was soon whipping us around hairpin curves, chuckling all the while as we gasped and gripped our seats in terror. Here in the Virgin Islands they drive on the left side of the road, however, they still use the American style cars, meaning that the driver sits on the left side of the car. This basically means that both of the passing drivers are so far from each other that neither has any clue just how close they are to swiping the side of the other car, which basically translates into all of the foreign passengers biting our nails.

As for the scenery it was just beautiful; breathtaking, if we hadn’t all been holding onto our breaths. We winded (wound) up steep mountains to come out with outstanding views down to the turquoise bays and many islands dotting the horizon. The water is crystal clear with about as many shades of blue you could imagine. The view was incredible on the ferry ride over to St. John. Edmundo found us the best seats in the house. The only other people who knew about these few seats tucked into the very front of the boat were some locals who live on St Thomas. Two of whom were post college aged guys from Missouri working on the isle as waiters, and the other man owns an Italian restaurant on St. John. I’m so proud of Edmundo’s boat knowledge and the premier seats, because aside from the fantastic view, we also received some tips from the locals about restaurants, drinks, what to do, as well as some fun facts about the isles. One example is that the islanders drink a beverage called an R&R which is a cocktail made from mixing rum and root beer to cool down on summer days and heat up the summer nights.

When we arrived to St John our first task was the rental car, then the daunting job of driving it! A young islander picked us up from the ferry dock and in the short ride over to the company Edgie as usual had made a new friend. I love watching him chum it up especially in English because he’s getting so good at it! Plus it reminds me of my dad. Our new friend Lester left us with a car, advice for music on the island, and a reminder to “keep your shoulder to the shoulder”. Then the moment we’d been waiting for: Driving on the wrong side of the road!

I graciously let Edmundo take the first stab at it (frankly because he appeared to be slightly less panicked about it). I clutched my seat and clenched my jaw while co-piloting, thus getting us lost several times, but eventually we made it to Concordia with no major problems.

After checking in to our room, we had the chance to look around. This place is beautiful. I’m not sure why but I had a slightly skewed perception from the pictures. The location in general matched my expectations, but the individual units, the room space… I don’t know, it was all a bit different from what I imagined. But it’s certainly not the case that reality fell short of my expectations. I can’t say that it surpassed them either, but rather that we came to find ourselves in another dimension of perception.

For one thing, from the photos online, I didn’t realize that the entire unit is covered with canvas material and the windows are like those of tents that you simply unzip to uncover a screen. AND the unit is virtually wall to wall windows, which is awesome because right now I’m lying in bed up in the loft, a nice breeze off the ocean is tossing my hair just so, and the sound of the crashing waves and whistling crickets are soothing me to almost sleep… man, what an environment!

The room is very primitive with just a small gas stove and a modest sink. The shower is literally a hose coming down from the bathroom “ceiling”. It almost feels like camping, luxurious camping. It should be fun to cook while we’re here. It is also fairly secluded from the rest of the island, and although there are several other campers a stone throw away, our unit in particular is somewhat off the beaten track and we were told it was the best unit in Concordia. This is because it’s at a southern point of the island, which, think about it, that means that you can see both the sunrise and the sunset.

Tonight, exhausted and travel weary, we didn’t feel like cooking, so we went to Miss Lucy’s, a local-ish restaurant serving mostly freshly caught fish. To be honest, the fish was okay, but my favorite part of the meal was trying some of the local island style sides… sweet potato casserole, okra fungi, rum punch, fried plantains and rice with peas. The best was the sweet potato, but even better yet is that Edmundo doesn’t like sweet potato… I didn’t have to share!

Back at the room, to calm our nerves from a full day of excitement, we decided to watch a little TV before bed. Now we only get one channel here, and they’re always playing the same movie, though the subtle nuances of each scene are ever changing. I’m not sure of the title but it must be something like “A Million and One Magically Twinkling Stars”. A bit cheesy, I know, but it’s a classic, and it never gets old no matter how many times you see it. :-P


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La versión de EDMUNDO:

Dia 1-

St. John. Como lo imaginaba, es una isla solitaria frente a St. Thomas, mi sorpresa es que está más cercana y algo más poblada de lo que pensé.

Tengo mi primer piquete de mosquito, que fue una de las cosas que más pensé y trabaje para poder evitar, venimos cargados con un arsenal de repelente.

No hemos hecho aun ninguna caminata, ya identificamos un lugar que promete, está frente a Concordia, es una colina que termina en el mar, ya veremos que es.

Fuimos a cenar a Lucy’s, dicen que es un lugar local, no me pareció que sea para locales que más bien era lo que tenía en mente para la cena de hoy. Por cierto, que un platillo está entre los 20 y 25 USD y el ron en 5 USD. Elevadito de precio, aunque en estas latitudes no tengo idea de que es caro y que no lo es.

Las tiendas o eco-tiendas de Concordia son justo como las fotos en sus páginas, tal vez el único punto es que no me imagine que fueran tantas y bueno, que es mucho? Claro…

Hablando de los caminos, el auto que rentamos es idéntico a los de USA o México, esperaba que el asiento del conductor estuviera del otro lado, ya que en los caminos se debe de manejar del lado contrario, esto es, por el lado izquierdo.
Que mas podíamos esperar para este día! Si no que viajar y llegar al destino, así fue, nos tomo prácticamente todo el día.

La mejor parte fue la cara de emoción de Abra en el avión de Miami-St. John, sus ojos brillaban, sus pestañas estaban enmarcando sus ojos y su energía era transparente, iluminada todo el avión.

Es casi media noche y haría sentido ir a dormir, pero el sueño me ha abandonado, la brisa por otro lado también, de vez en vez sopla un poco. Es raro, por la tarde el sueño me golpeo y pensé que dormiría hasta el siguiente día, pero valiente deseo, porque creo que la emoción del lugar me mantiene despierto.

Me senté a ver las estrellas, como uno lo hace cuando haces el ritual de ver un programa de televisión. Bueno, todas ellas se morían, se acercaban y salían de foco. De pronto, cerca, muy cerca y parecía que fuera de lugar salió una estrella fugaz que hizo partir por la mitad el cielo, de izquierda a derecha, y se mantuvo en blur por un instante y desapareció.

Después vinieron dos más. Fue que entonces comencé a poner atención y cada vez más a lo que se escuchaba allá; cada sonido del venir de las olas era único, las piedras redondas de la playa hacían caprichos con el agua. Parecía un dialogo, de noche los dos se comunican.



Edmundo's Journal translated:

Day 1-
St. John. As I imagined, it is a solitary island next to St. Thomas, but I’m surprised that it’s closer and more populated than I thought.

I have my first mosquito bite, which was one of the things that I’d thought about and tried to avoid, we came armed with an arsenal of mosquito repellent.

We haven’t gone on any hikes yet, but we’ve already found a promising site. It’s in front of Concordia, a hill that ends at the sea… we’ll have to check it out.

We went for dinner at Lucy’s, they say that it’s a local place, but it didn’t seem to me like it’s for locals, which was more what I had in mind for tonight.

Of course, one plate cost between $20 and $25 USD and rum was $5. The price was a little steep, although I don’t really have any idea what is expensive and what isn’t around here.

The tents or rather eco-tents of Concordia are just like the photos in their webpage, maybe the only point is that I didn’t imagine there being so many, and well, what is many anyway? Yeah…

Talking about the roads, the car that we rented is identical to those of the US or Mexico, I had expected that the driver’s seat would be on the other side, since you have to drive on the wrong side of the road here, that is to say, on the left side.

What more can we expect for this day! If not to travel and arrive at the destination, which is what we did, and it took us practically the whole day.

The best part was the look of emotion on Abra’s face in the plane from Miami to St. John, her eyes shimmered; her eyelashes framed her eyes whose energy was clear, illuminating the whole plane.

It’s almost midnight and I’d thought of going to bed, but sleep has abandoned me, the breeze has as well, but every once in a while it picks up a little. It’s strange, in the afternoon I was so sleepy and I thought that I would fall asleep until the next day, but wishful thinking, because I guess that the excitement of the location is keeping me awake.

I felt like looking at the stars, like one does when you do the ritual of watching a TV show. Of course, all of them will die someday; they come closer and farther from focus. Just now, close, very close, and seeming out of place, a shooting star appeared and began to cut they sky in half, from left to right, and it hang blurry for an instant, then disappeared.

Later two more came. It was then therefore that I started to pay attention and each time more to what I could hear there, each sound that came from the waves was unique, the round stones of the beach were whimsical with the water. It seemed like a dialogue, in the night the two communicate.

Day 2- April 16, 2010

Day 2- April 16th, 2010

I cannot believe the place where we are right now. It’s just unbelievable. Right now we’re lying downstairs on the little “daybed” of our unit. We have screen windows all around us. We’re snuggled together like two peas in a peapod, and on all sides we have a view of the stars with a nice breeze coming through to cool us down and tickle our sunburnt skin. It’s the perfect ending to a perfect day.

The morning sun cast a new light on the island, new colors, new shadows, new Mongooses? We started the day a little slow, lazy from the travels from the day before and still adjusting our eyes to the morning sun. After tea and oatmeal, we headed over to the store here at Maho Concordia to see what they had. There we met Patty, the very nice store manager, local expert on island trails, and leader of island hermit crab races. She sold us an excellent trail map and gave us all the insider tips on which route to take for less uphill hiking.

Then we were off down the small trail next to the Lobby that led us on a winding path past some old plantation ruins and down to Salt Pond Bay.

The beach was beautiful but a little crowded. So we continued walking on around the bay over to one side until we finally found a private tucked away cove to leave our things. From there we launched off on our very own little snorkel trip. We saw so many fabulous fish, but the highlight was when we came across a small school of squid. Edmundo was ecstatic. They were just the cutest little creatures. So cool. I looked back feeling a hint of guilt for eating them a couple years ago in Sevilla. The school was squishing their way past some rocks out at the top of the bay. The rocks were almost keys, but I think they were still too small to be considered such.

The snorkel trip was amazing, but it was quite cute when Edmundo thought that he had to teach me how to snorkel. That means that he knows enough that I don’t have to teach him! It also means that he enjoys it so much to have learned it on his own. I just love having so many interests in common. And it seems like we are still finding out these little surprises about each other at every corner we round together in life.

When we finished our snorkel we hiked back to our lodge to shower/hose off. The water was cold but refreshing. We both noticed that the view from the shower was what most wealthy people put on their flat screens to make their bathroom appear more elegant. Flat screen, schmat screen. HA!

After showering, we took the most outstanding nap. When our stomachs began to growl, we arose like lazy hibernating bears in search of food. We knew it was about time to make our way into town to buy gas and food for the week. So we loaded up our car and cart, and prepared the most terrific meal: garlic seared Mahi Mahi, sun dried tomato rice topped with fried plantains, and to drink, the local beverage R&R. In my opinion, it was even better than last night’s dinner by the bay at Miss Lucy’s. Plus we had dessert with this meal, brought all the way from the U.S. at Edgie’s request, No-Bake-Reese’s Peanut Butter and Chocolate Bars. Edgie took the liberty of garnishing our dessert with fresh peanuts.

Oh what an amazing day. But of course, now here we are exhausted at 9:30, ready for bed so we can wake up for another incredible adventure tomorrow.

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La Version de Edmundo:

Dia 2- 16/04/10

Cuando despertamos el show comenzó, no lo podíamos creer, el mar y el cielo llenaban todo el paisaje, era simplemente perfecto. Caminamos para ir a nadar en el arrecife.

Caminamos y caminamos por una vereda, hasta que encontramos una plantación, nos detuvimos y tome fotos. Luego seguimos el camino a Salt Pond Bay donde nadamos alrededor del arrecife, la corriente era fuerte en las esquinas. En la roca más alejada encontramos una cueva que divide ambos espacios, era grande, con muchos peces e imponente, con personalidad.

Más tarde salimos a Cruz Bay a cargar gasolina, solo hay una en toda la isla que monopoliza todo el lugar. De regreso manejando me sentí mas cómodo con los caminos angostos de la isla. Cuando llegamos preparamos una cena increíble, pescado mahi mahi, con ajo y especias, arroz salvaje con plátano macho y un postre que sabia a gloria. Todo esto con ron Cruzan y root beer, sabe muy bien. Lo que fue un lujo fue ir a conseguir hielo, en definitiva la bebida sabe mejor así.

Después de eso adaptamos una cama para recostarnos mirando las estrellas, que maravilla estar con Abra y ahora puedo saber que es compartir la felicidad, y como en “Into the Wild” la felicidad no existe si no se comparte. Es cierto, pero cuando la compartes solo tienes que respirar profundo y sostener el aliento, para imprimir el recuerdo.

Edmundo's Journal translated:

Day 2-

When we awoke the show commenced, we couldn’t believe it, the sea and the sky filled the landscape, it was simply perfect. We hiked to go swimming at the reef.

We walked and walked down the path, until we came upon an old plantation, we hung out there a while and I took pictures. Later we continued the hike to Salt Pond Bay where we swam all around the reef; the current was strong along the edges. In the rock farthest away we found a cave that divides both spaces, it was big, with many fish and impressive, with personality.

Later we left for Cruz Bay to fill up our gas; there is only one gas station in the whole island that monopolizes all the area. As I was driving home I felt more comfortable with the narrow roads of the island. When we got back we prepared an incredible Mahi Mahi fish, with garlic and spices, wild rice with plantain and a dessert that tasted like glory. All of this with Cruzan rum and Root Beer, it tasted very good. The luxury was that we found ice, and the drink definitely tasted better with ice.

After that we made a bed where we could relax and watch the stars, how wonderful to be with Abra, and now I know what it is to share happiness, and like in “Into the Wild” happiness doesn’t exist if you don’t share it. It’s true, but when you share it you just have to breathe deep and hold your breath, to imprint the memory.

Day 3- April 17, 2010

Day 3- April 17, 2010
(Happy Birthday Mom)

Today was incredible. I woke up from the sound of the wind and/or it’s shaking of the cabin, and looked out to find a beautiful pink and purple sunrise! I woke Edgie up and we both watched the sunrise as pink and purple turned to gold and orange until finally it was its normal yellow/white hue. We fell back asleep for a couple hours.

After breakfast we decided to go on a drive to explore the other parts of the island. We went up to the East End. There we found a great bay and went out for a quick snorkel. We got some great underwater photos and even a video of Edgie being silly.

Afterwards, we were both hungry so we came and cooked our other portion of Mahi Mahi and heated up our leftover rice from yesterday. It’s fun here because it’s almost a mixture of a hotel and camping. We really enjoy making our meals and Edmundo gets really creative with our limited ingredients. Today he added some secret ingredients to our fish and it was amazing! It tasted great plus it was really flakey and tender.

When we finished lunch, we went out to explore more, this time to the central Northern area. We stopped along the way for a smoothie from Colombo’s Smoothie Shack, then went on up to Leinster Bay.

We walked a little way on a trail by the beach taking photos and then decided to go back to check out the Annaberg ruins. It was interesting, an old Dutch sugar mill and slave quarters.

Then we winded our way over to Maho Bay to check out the other facilities we had thought about renting. They were not nearly as cool as ours and way more crowded!

So finally we headed back to Concordia and our wonderful Eco Tent to make Chef Boyardee Raviolis. Edmundo had a little startle when a little black mouse decided to jump out and visit him while he was cooking. But all in all, the day turned out great… another long day here on the island.


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La Version de Edmundo:

Día 3-

OK, el día de hoy fuimos al “east end”, ahí termina el parque y da paso a propiedades privadas y playas privadas también. Resulta que justo donde termina el camino encontré más una playa increíble, nadamos con snorkel y fue mágico, el agua se veía turquesa, casi blanca. Bueno, esa playa estaba llena de erizos de todas las formas y tamaños y también repleta de coral y pescaditos.

En el camino de regreso paramos en una playa con manglares, caminamos en el agua que no era profunda y si transparente en todas partes.
Más tarde regresamos a comer y preparé mahi mahi con arroz, delicioso, muy suave, que rico.

Después nos dirigimos a una playa que conectan las ruinas de Annaberg en Leinster Bay y vimos que el siguiente camino será otro día ir a caminar a la bahía Watermelon . De regreso pasamos al campamento Maho y era enorme, parecía como si la película de “La playa” de Guy Ritchie se hiciera material.

Al regresar al campamento en Concordia el aire soplaba y el cielo era negro, pocas estrellas. Comencé a pensar en las opciones para la cena y prendí el quemador, de pronto un ratón que se escondía junto a él salió corriendo volado y seguro espantado y quemado, pero mi corazón latía a mil por hora.


Edmundo's Journal translated:

Day 3-

OK, today we went to the “east end”, there the park ends and you pass by private property and private beaches. It turns out that just where the road ends I found one more incredible beach, we snorkeled and it was magical, the water was turquoise, almost clear. Anyway, that beach was full of sea urchin of all types and sizes and it was also full of coral and fish.

On the way back we stopped at a beach with mangroves, we walked in the water that wasn’t very deep and therefore transparent all around.

Later we came home to eat and I prepared mahi mahi with rice, delicious, very soft, so good.

After that we went on to a beach that connected the ruins of Annaberg in Leinster Bay and we saw that the hike there that went over to Watermelon Bay should be saved for another day. On the way home we passed by Maho Campsites and it was huge, it seemed as if the movie “The Beach” had been made a reality.

Returning to the campsite in Concordia the air blew and the sky was black, very few stars. I began to think about options for dinner and I turned on the burner, suddenly a mouse that was hidden next to it came running flustered and surely burnt, but my heart beat at a thousand miles an hour.

Day 4- April 18, 2010

Day 4- April 18, 2010


Today we didn’t really DO much of anything because we both woke up with sore backs this morning from the hike and snorkel yesterday. But it was a fabulous day hanging around the cabin, taking naps and being lazy. Oh and taking random pictures of course...

Edmundo made the most amazing lunch, Paradise Penne. It was penne pasta with tomato sauce, garlic, onion, and a can of tuna…with a few other secret ingredients. It was delicious.

Then we combined efforts for dinner. I made an Uncle Ben’s rice adding raisins and peanuts to the ingredients (although cashews would have been better) topped off with fried plantains. Edmundo made another outstanding Mahi Mahi. It was great. Then we played cards and drank R&R. I know it seems like we didn’t do anything all day but lie around and eat and that’s kind of true, but for just relaxing all day, I sure am exhausted! We’re hoping that relaxing today will make us feel better so we can go on some hikes tomorrow. Here’s hoping! Cheers and good night.

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La Version de Edmundo:

Día 4-

Estuvimos en casa y preparé de comer un nuevo platillo, pasta con salsa de tomate, platano macho, ajo, cebolla, y unas cosas más, delicioso. (y atún) duh!

Ahora estoy muy borracho para seguir escribiendo.



Edmundo's Journal translated:

Day 4-

We’ve been hanging out in the house today and I prepared a new dish for lunch, pasta with tomato sauce, plantain, garlic, onion, and a few other secret ingredients. (and tuna) duh!

Now I’m too tired to keep writing. :P

Day 5- April 19, 2010

Day 5- April 19, 2010


Oh man. I am absolutely exhausted. Today Edgie and I went on a hike to Ram’s Head. We got off to a little bit of a late start to our morning and didn’t begin our hike until almost noon! The sun was hot and strong so we slathered on the sun screen and hit the trail. First we had to hike the 15 minute trail down to the beach at Salt Pond Bay from Concordia. From there it’s a mile-long trek through rocky uneven and desert terrain. Finally, we made it up to Ram Head and it was such an amazing view.

It was just a great moment to stand up there with Edgie with the wind in our faces, shouting to the world, “We’re here!! We made it! You can’t stop us!”

The look on Edgie’s face was priceless. It really seemed like he left the world and the stress from it down at the bottom and up on top he was a new man. (I’m reminded of an inverted version of Goonies...)

  Ha!

Eventually it was time to head back down. It was mostly downhill on the way back so we took the opportunity to take lots of photos. And Edmundo used his new found peace to build rock towers.

When we got back to Salt Pond Bay we stripped down to our bathing suits and jumped into the cool water for a swim. We were both so hot that the normally ambient water felt especially cool (which was nice). Once we cooled off, we threw on our packs and began the short hike back to Concordia.

There was only one problem. We hadn’t thought this through, but now that we’d cooled off our muscles, they didn’t want to work! We both struggled back up to camp, our legs shaking with every step, and when we finally got back and showered off we were literally drained of all our energy. We got some fish from the shop (and a free “honeymoon” bottle of Cruzan Rum Cream), made a quick lunch, and plopped down on our beds. But we were too exhausted to fall asleep! So we went on a car drive to Cruz Bay instead.

We needed to stock up on food and that way I could call my parents too. This time we took the scenic route along the northern coast of the island. It was beautiful scenery and a bit more relaxed (unlike the more direct main west-east road on which everyone is in a hurry), although this route was equally as winding with jaw-droppingly steep curves and dips.

When we got back we made tuna-plantain patties cuz even though we weren’t that hungry we figured we needed the energy. And now it’s time for bed. Poor Edgie is already asleep! :( Until tomorrow!


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La Version de Edmundo:

Día 5-

Hoy salimos a caminar por la vereda del Ram head, era muy árido y el sol hacia que todo el lugar funcionara como un horno gigante, de pronto entre los acantilados vimos como salía el agua despedida por el choque con las rocas. Comenzamos a gritar y fue liberador.

Aun no llegaríamos a la cima, seguimos caminando entre cactus de caprichosas formas hasta llegar al esperado lugar, era grandioso, el mar de frente, acantilados no vida humana o rastros de ella, comenzamos a gritar de nuevo al unísono y se llamo de nuevo nuestro pacto de amor.

Mas adelante descubrimos la ruta del otro lado de la isla avanzando en el carro, es muy espectacular y llegamos a Cruz Bay.


Edmundo's Journal translated:

Day 5-

Today we went to hike Ram Head path, it was very arid and the sun made the whole area become like a huge oven, just then between the cliffs we saw how the water came rushing out through the cracks in the rocks. We began to shout and it was liberating.

We still hadn’t reached the top, so we kept walking amoung strangly shaped cacti until we reached the summit, it was magnificent, the ocean in front, and cliffs with no trace of human life all around, we began to shout again in unison and it echoed back our pact of love.

Later on in the day we discovered another route along the north side of the island, a spectacular road, and we arrived at Cruz Bay.

Day 6- April 20, 2010

Day 6- April 20, 2010


Today was rainy rainy rainy! I woke up with the sunrise to find that my back wasn’t really sore at all. But still we thought we should take it easy and let our bodies recover. We had talked about hanging out at the beach all day but it was cloudy and rainy (and by rainy I mean occasional light sprinkles, but not Florida sprinkles, more like a slight mist of dew drops). Anyway, then we realized it was the perfect day to hang out at the beach all day: not too many people, not too much sun, perfect.

So we started out, should I mention here that it was only 9:14am? I had been awake since sunrise which I naively assumed was the same time as sunrise in Florida, 7:30am. But come to find out, here it’s more like 5:30am local time. So when I thought we were getting out at around 11, it was actually 9. Of course we had no idea until we got to the car which has a digital clock, because neither of us has a watch, our phones are dead and there are no outlets, and it was so cloudy that we couldn’t tell where the sun was in the sky.

Well when Edgie saw the time, he thought of a fabulous idea… the Donkey Diner. He had remembered seeing on their sign that they were only open for breakfast. So we stopped in for our second breakfast of the day. When I spotted “Ricotta Chocolate Chip Pancakes” on the menu, I could barely contain myself. Apparently they substitute ricotta cheese for some of the milk called for in the original recipe. Edmundo got “Donkey’s Mess”, which, contrary to the name, is actually a conglomeration of eggs, cheese, onion, green and red peppers, tomato, home-style potatoes, ham chunks, sausage, and topped with sour cream. Needless to say, we shared our plates. They were both fantastic.

Then we went in search of our beach. We found a little access, maximum four cars, between Trunk Bay and Cinnamon Bay so we figured it would be the least crowded, which it was. It was actually quite a nice little beach. After there for only about 20 minutes or so, with only another couple and a chill family of four, a group of young locals arrived, dread locks and all. The friendliest of which, (who seemed as though his friendliness may have been influenced by the effects of a little ganja) said “hello lovahs” as he walk past and wished us a good day. When I asked, “How are you?” He replied that he was going to “spend de day at da beach wid some hot girls.” He was quickly followed by two other twenty-something year old dreaded boys and 3 “hot girls”. So you know what that meant… the peacocks were about to spread their tail feathers.

As the boys began their flirtation techniques and muscle show, the girls took pictures of each other sprawled out on the rocky outcrop like Maxim models. With this whole show going on, several of the tourists stormed off to other beaches appalled by the young carefree flirtation of the locals. I couldn’t help but do Dave Chappelle impressions of the tourists reactions… “look at him, he loves it!” Of course Edmundo and I didn’t mind the show at all because it meant that the beach was less inhabited. I couldn’t really understand why it was such a problem for the tourists in the first place as the locals were very respectful of our space and had set up camp on the very far end of the bay.

The other family of four had stayed back as well, they seemed very down to earth, laid back, and most importantly aware of the lifestyles of young singles bonding at the beach. The boys splashed water on the girls, the girls squealed, they chased each other around, and threw each other in the water, they swam out into the sea and held each other. It was all fairly innocent in reality. But for some reason, it was highly offensive to many. One man said to his wife after he and their two kids had just arrived, “Honey, I think this beach may have been a mistake.” And on the word mistake, he motioned with his eyes to the locals.

Later, it was apparent that the locals on the far end of the beach were smoking something and this new family had had enough and left. But to Edmundo and I it seemed a little strange why anyone would travel to the Caribbean, if they were offended by pot smoking Rastafarians.

Edmundo spent his time going out for small snorkels while I waited on the beach taking pictures.

Anyway, just when we were starting to get sun sick and beached out, a friend joined us in the tree overhead. It was a not-so-small iguana that began eating the leaves off the tree just above us. We both quickly reached for our cameras and extended our beach stay by about 30 minutes.

We didn’t end up leaving the beach until 4:30. Back at the cabin, we were pretty well starved, so we had Chef Boyardee and ramen noodles with a view of a gorgeous rainbow forming over the water.

Now we’re ready for bed with the hopes of a big hike tomorrow!

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La version de Edmundo:

Día 6-

Abrí los ojos y el amanecer hacia un show con el cielo, no pude mantenerme con los ojos abiertos por mucho tiempo y dormí de nuevo, a los pocos minutos desperté de nuevo y Abra estaba tomando fotos del amanecer. Volví a dormir.

Cuando desperté, que creo fue a la hora después del amanecer Abra ya tenía el itinerario del día. Ir a la playa Trunk y reposar todo el día. Eso hicimos, solo que encontramos una vereda que lleva a una playa algo escondida y listo arena, sol y mar color esmeralda.

Durante el día desfilar muchos personajes y llego un grupo de locales con estilo Bob Marley y fue la sensación, fue como ver un programa de national geographic, con las hembras esperando a ser cortejadas por los machos y todo lo que esto rodea. En el inter las familias llegaban y se iban espantados por lo que veían, claro, solo algo subidito de todo con sus acercamientos, pero nada más.

Regresamos a cenar a la casa con un arcoíris de paisaje y burro resistimos todo el dia sin comida porque por la mañana fuimos al burrito Diner que se convirtió en el favorito.

Edmundo's Journal translated:

Day 6-

I opened my eyes and the dawn was making a show with the sky, I couldn’t keep my eyes open for long and I fell back asleep, a few minutes later I woke up again and Abra was taking pictures of the sunrise. I went back to sleep.

When I woke up, which I think was about an hour after sunrise Abra already had the itinerary for the day. We would go to Trunk Bay and relax at the beach all day. So that’s what we did, except we found a little path that went to a hidden beach, and well, sand, sun, and the emerald colored sea.

During the day several people came filing past and a group of locals with Bob Marley style came and they were a sensation, it was like watching a National geographic TV show, with the females waiting for the males to attend to them, and everything that implies.

Meanwhile, families arrived and they were frightened by what they saw, of course, the worse thing was just the closeness of their bodies, but nothing more.

We returned to eat at the house with a rainbow covering the landscape, and well we had gone the whole time at the beach without eating because we’d gone to the Donkey Diner in the morning which has become our favorite.

Day 7- April 21, 2010

Day 7- April 21, 2010
Today was insane! Edgie and I hiked 10km from one beach, Lameshur Bay, over a hill to another, Reef Bay. We stopped off on a slight detour to see some petro glyphs and some old sugar mill ruins.  We are so exhausted, but it was worth it! Such an incredible day. After a shower and a very short nap, we went down for happy hour in the café at Concordia. We had one drink and were back in our rooms, lazily laying around. Now it’s time for a GOOD night’s sleep.

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Día 7-

Caminata a Little Lameshur Bay, Europa Bay, petroglyph trail y Reef Bay Sugar Mill. Ha sido la caminata más larga. OK!!!

Hike to Little Lameshur Bay, Europe Bay, Petroglyph Trail, and Reef Bay Sugar Mill. It was the longest hike yet. OK!!! 

P.S. Lots of creepy crawlies on the trail!

Day 8- April 22, 2010

Day 8- April 22, 2010

What a day. We took it easy today because we were both a little sore from the hike yesterday.  So we went for breakfast at the Donkey Diner again.  In case you're wondering, the name is very appropriate.  We are always getting slowed down on the way by the wild donkeys crossing the road. 

Then we went over to Cruz Bay.  When we got there we stopped in at the Mongoose Junction shopping area, went to a couple shops, then to the Tap Room for some R&R. Today was SO hot. When we got back to the room we pretty much just laid around the rest of the day (no AC… of either form). Anyway, pretty uneventful day for the most part. Maybe more to say tomorrow...

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Dia 8-

Cruz Bay, Tap Room, el camino estaba resbaloso y fue una aventura averiguar cómo echar a andar el 4X4 de auto.

Cruz Bay, Tap Room, the road was slippery and it was an adventure to figure out how to us the 4x4 of the car.

Day 9- April 23, 2010

Day 9- April 23, 2010


Well today wasn’t much more exciting than yesterday. We had to figure out the logistics of catching our flight on Monday to Puerto Rico when the first ferry doesn’t leave for St Thomas until 6am, we wouldn’t get to the airport until 7, and we have to check in and go through customs before our flight leaves at 8:20am. Talk about cutting it close! Anyway, besides that we pretty much sat around all day playing board games and eating homemade kettle corn and drinking R&R. Nice day! Tomorrow the plan is to go snorkeling! Yey!  Tonight Edgie went outside to get some night pictures of the eco-tent.  They turned out so great!

Awesome!

P.S. Today was just as hot if not hotter. But thankfully tonight a nice breeze has picked up which cools things off a lot.

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Dia 9-

La pasamos en la ecotienda, jugando juegos de mesa, comiendo muchas palomitas, borrachos de tanto ron, y abrazandonos, que rico, como se disfrutan los días así.

We spent the day in the eco-tent, playing board games, eating lots of popcorn, a little tipsy from so much rum, and cuddling, how fantastic, I really enjoy days like these.

Day 10- April 24, 2010

Day 10- April 24, 2010


Holy WOW! Today was the best day ever! We went to snorkel EARLY in the morning at Watermelon Cay, a small island just off the coast. From there we snorkeled out around the back side of Watermelon Cay and back around to the front side and then over to the beach again. We saw tons, I mean TONS of starfish. We saw a bunch of sting rays, and of course your typical sergeant majors, parrot fish, angelfish, and those tiny little silvery ones that are right near the top.

Once back on shore, we started walking back toward Annaberg but stopped for a bit to relax on a small sandy area of the mostly rocky and pebbly beach. People had told us that they’d seen sea turtles near Watermelon Cay, but we didn’t see any while we were out there. I was a little disappointed, but I could have sworn that on our walk along the trail over to the end of the bay I saw something pop it’s head up out of the water just ahead of this little sandy beach area. So I secretly wanted to camp out there for a little while to see if I could spot something again.

Sure enough, after only a few minutes, I could see a little head popping out of the water with a dark round splotch of a body underneath. “SEA TURTLE!!!” I shouted pointing at the little spot. “Did you see it?” Edgie helped me scramble into my snorkel equipment, and I was out in the water in a flash. I wanted to see if I could find it and stay with it until Edgie could make it out. I found him only 10 or 20 feet out just hanging out on the ocean floor grazing on seaweed. I poked my head up, spit out my snorkel and yelled for Edgie, “He’s right here!!! Hurry up!”

Then Edgie was there in a flash (we’re both pretty flashy). I can’t believe what a beautiful creature it is. It let us get really close, so close that at one point I could have reached out and touched it. It couldn’t have been more than two feet below me. When it was on the bottom it was a little further, but it swam right up underneath me. We actually saw two different sea turtles. One of them was pretty big and absolutely majestic! It’s just such a beautiful creature.

After our encounter, I was just ecstatic! It was the one thing I was looking forward to doing since the moment I heard someone say that they’d seen turtles, and it was even more incredible than I’d imagined. The only bad thing is that our camera battery had died while we were out around Watermelon Cay so we couldn’t get any pictures of the sea turtles. I made Edmundo promise we could come back tomorrow.

We were pretty hungry by the time we left, so we went to the Donkey Diner for another hearty breakfast. When our adrenaline rush had finally passed we went home for a shower and a nap. Edmundo made us a yummy rice and tuna late lunch. And for dinner we had no real plans, but went to the store to get some more root beer. While there we heard Patty the store manager recommending a restaurant bar called Skinny Legs as her favorite place on the island. So we decided that we might as well check it out.

Oh man, it was great. We really lucked out because tonight there was a live band, an old hippie trio playing bluegrass/folk type music. The band was SO good, and it was cool for Edmundo to see a very classically American live band. We got burger, chilli, and chips and locally brewed Virgin Island pale ale called Summer Breeze… delicious! And now we’re ready for bed after a dream come true kind of day. Don’t ya just love those!?

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Dia 10-

De adelante para atrás, léase en el tiempo. Fuimos a Skinny Legs, hamburguesas que en esta isla es un lujo, cerveza, que también lo es y una banda que tocaba guitarra, contrabajo, una como mandolina y harmónica, algo así como blues. Muy bueno.

Por la mañana el arrecife en Watermelon que fue imponente, vimos rayas muy grandes, se sentía la inmensidad del océano cuando fuimos alrededor del cayo y de regreso en la playa Abra vio una tortuga que salía a tomar aire, y saltamos al mar, fue increíble, que buen día!!!

This goes from end to beginning of our day. We went to Skinny Legs, hamburgers which in this island are a luxury, beer, which also is, and a band that played guitar, double bass, something like a mandolin, and harmonica, something like the blues. Very good.

In the morning, the reef in Watermelon Bay which was impressive, we saw huge stingrays, you could feel the immenseness of the ocean when we swam around the Cay, and on the way back, on the beach, Abra spotted a turtle that came up for air, and we jumped into the sea, it was incredible. What a great day!!!

Day 11- April 25, 2010

Day 11- April 25, 2010


Oh man, today was so incredible. I’m getting a little worked up tonight because we leave for Puerto Rico in the morning. Or at least we HOPE we leave for Puerto Rico in the morning. We’ve got a big problem with making our flight on time. But never mind that, today was awesome.

We woke up early again to go snorkeling so that I could finally get my photo of the sea turtle. And boy did I ever! I got an incredible picture! I had to go through a whole camera snafu and miss it the first time, but after sorting the camera problem out on the beach, I went back out, found another turtle and got a killer shot. I had to wait around forever for this one to come to the surface, but he finally did.

Then Edmundo took over the camera and got some great shots of me with the turtle! And you can’t believe this, but I read yesterday in National Geographic that it is OK to touch the turtle on the shell, and this turtle in particular really liked me at lot. He swam right up next to me, so finally I just reached out and petted his shell! WOW! Then he started bobbing up and down, I think he wanted me to clean his shell for him. They have discovered recently through “Crittercam” (another thing I read about yesterday) that Green Sea Turtles use sea sponges to clean their shells; they actually rub up against them. Plus, they often have sucker fish leached on to clean off all the algae. So you may have imagined my friends’ shell being slimy and gross, but it wasn’t the case at all. In fact he was nice and smooth. It was the coolest experience ever!

Also Edmundo got to see lots more stingrays (which were his favorite creatures from yesterday) although he didn’t reach out and touch any of those, thank goodness! But we did see that one of the stingrays actually had a travelling companion… another kind of fish swam just above him everywhere he went. It was so funny! Edgie got cool photos of that too.

Most of the rest of the day we were just getting everything ready to leave in the morning. But tonight we went to BBQ night at Donkey Diner, “Kickass food.” We got brisket that was smoked for 21 hours and smothered in BBQ sauce *yum* and coffee-wings smoked with Kahlua. Both our plates came with cornbread and “ranch style steak and beans” (steak chunks, corn, black beans, and kidney beans). They also threw in an extra crab and shrimp chowder that was quite possibly the best chowder I’ve ever eaten. Anyway, it was an amazing way to say good-bye to St. John and hello to San Juan!

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Dia 11-

Hoy Abra me apuro para ir de nuevo a la bahía y tomar fotos de las tortugas, ya que ayer nos quedamos sin baterías y no pudimos tomar ninguna. Y bueno al llegar al lugar lo primero que vimos fue a dos tortugas saliendo a respirar, Abra y yo saltamos al agua y nadamos con las tortugas, Abra tomo muchas fotos y una de ellas es increíble, la tortuga salto a respirar y el sol la ilumino, Abra tomo la mejor foto del viaje.

Today Abra hurried me up to go to the bay again and take photos of the turtles, since yesterday we were left without batteries and couldn’t take a single photo. And well the first thing that we saw when we arrived were two turtles coming up to breathe, Abra and I jumped into the water and swam with the turtles, Abra took a lot of photos and one of them is incredible, the turtle came up for breath and the sun illuminated it, Abra took the best picture of the trip.

Day 12- April 26, 2010

Day 12- April 26, 2010


Well first of all, Puerto Rico is pretty much the coolest place ever! Oh and secondly, Puerto Rico is pretty much the coolest place ever! We got in, got our rental car and headed into the city of San Juan just to check it out before heading to our eco-resort “Casa Grande” in Utuado.

Along the drive through San Juan, Edgie spotted what we thought was a statue on some rocks jutting out in the ocean where the waves were breaking, so he stopped over on the overlook so we could get a better view. It turned out they were fishermen balancing precariously up on the rocks casting their lines into the waves to catch the fish.

A little way down the road we came into Old San Juan with its old Spanish forts. It was so beautiful. The city itself had these little cobblestone winding streets and the whole scene with the buildings, the balconies, and the streets, reminded me so much of Spain. It was so cool. We just took a quick driving tour because we’re spending our last night right in the heart of Old San Juan. Then we continued on our way to Casa Grande. Along Route 2 we saw several vendors on the side of the road. Neither of us had any idea what they were selling… “pinchos”? What are those? Why didn’t they say anything about that in our guide books?

We actually passed through the town of Utuado to get to Casa Grande, so we stopped for a bite to eat at El Caney, a local dive. There we discovered the meaning of Chuleta Can Can (GIANT deep fat fried pork chops), mofongo (REALLY garlicky plantain mush…strangely quite tasty), and arroz con habichuelas (which I discovered means rice and beans in Puerto Rican Spanish as opposed to frijoles in Mexican Spanish).

After eating we continued our drive on to a tiny road that went south up though the mountains to an even smaller road that winded even higher into the mountains, then to an even smaller road, and so it went, until we finally arrived in paradise at the Casa Grande.

Casa Grande, deemed a “mountain retreat”, is snuggled into the side of a mountain in the middle of a tropical jungle, like a little toucan nest. In front of us is a spectacular view of the valley below, behind us is the trail “el camino”, and all around us lush vegetation and wildlife.

It is a quaint upscale cottage that doubles as an ecologically friendly retreat. It is both trendy and sheik and has the impression of a moviestars private getaway. It’s not hard to imagine Brangelina coming to escape stardom, going for a dip in the pool, and waking up for the yoga class in the morning. It is perfect, just the right blend of frugality and luxury. No A/C. Hot Showers. No TV. Gourmet cuisine. Tit for tat. Edmundo took a nap when we got here, so I went out to the porch, lay in the hammock, and watched the bamboo trees across the valley dance in the wind. My very own puppet show.

Now as we’re lying in bed after a wonderful dinner of Creole shrimp, more mofongo, and fried yucca balls (F.Y.I. Yucca is a vegetable, NOT an animal), and we finished off with coffee and coconut pudding. All around us is the sound of a plethora of night animals chirping us to sleep. Coquí (ko-key), the flesh colored frog is Edmundo’s favorite night sound, and it blends in well with the rest of the medley.

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Día 12-

Día 12 y dejamos Concordia muy temprano para ir a Puerto Rico. Morena, esa boricua!!! Llegamos a la isla y nos quedamos en Casa Grande es un lugar que por la noche se llena de sonidos.

Day 12 and we left Concordia really early to go to Puerto Rico. We arrived to the island and we’re staying in Casa Grande. It’s a place where at night it fills with sounds.

Day 13- April 27, 2010

Day 13- April 27, 2010

We wanted to get an early-ish start this morning so we checked out at 8:30 and hit the road, of course we didn’t make it very far before the smells of breakfast in Utuado lured us in. It was just as well because in the Café Joel they had the best pastries just waiting for us and free Wi-Fi. We chomped on a Besito de coco (kind of like a coconut muffin) and a Tornillo (similar to an éclair) while looking at all the beautiful photos Adam took of our wedding.

After breakfast we headed in a beeline down south to Ponce. We did a driving tour of Ponce and then continued on east along the coast. We stopped in for a fresh coconut at a seaside shack near Maunabo.

We also stopped for gas at one point where we got Limber (a local style Italian ice). Then we headed to the southern edge of El Yunque, the tropical rainforest and National Park of Puerto Rico. On Route 191 we wove our way into the mountains to our next eco-lodge Casa Cubuy.

There are even more night sounds here with the most notable being the crashing of the nearby waterfall. There are actually several along the valley. The sounds of this place could be used for one of those nature CDs to help you fall asleep. It is simply extraordinary.

We just finished eating dinner at Noelia’s, a restaurant overlooking the valley. I got home and took a shower to get ready for bed and a little friend wanted to join me. It was a coquí, the little flesh colored frogs that we were told were endangered on this island because the iguanas like to eat them! Well as much as I appreciated finally getting to meet Mr. Coquí, I took him downstairs to the garden where I think he will be much happier. But hooray for seeing a coquí!

My back was a little sore yesterday and today from the flight and driving, but hopefully I’ll be well rested tomorrow so we can hike to the waterfall. YEY!

Oh and P.S. at the gas station along with our Limber Caribeño, we got a couple of local sodas Piña Buena and my personal favorite Coco Rico (Pronounced here “Coco Lico”). Mmmmmmm….

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Día 13-

Hoy salimos temprano y deja Utuado para ir a Ponce, en el camino desayunamos: huevos y unos panes que se llaman “besito de coco” y “tornillo.” Manejamos por toda la isla y creo que en total fueron 7 horas de camino que valieron la pena para conocer la isla. Arecibo, el observatorio, cierra en martes, y era algo que estaba esperando. Creo que tendremos que regresar en otra ocasión a esta isla, por otro lado por fin llegamos a el Yunque, Casa Cubuy que es donde nos estamos quedando, está en medio de todo esto. Mañana haremos una caminata a los ríos. Ya veremos que tal.

Today we got out early and left Utuado to go to Ponce, on the way we stopped for breakfast: eggs and some bread called “besito de coco” (kiss of coconut) and “tornillo” (screw…it’s twisted like a screw… and just in case you were wondering, it doesn’t have the same connotation in Spanish :P). We drove all over the island and I think that it was 7 hours in total which was worth it because we were able to see the island. Arecibo, the observatory, is closed on Tuesdays, and that was something I had really been looking forward to. I guess that we’re going to have to return another time. In the end we arrived at El Yunque, Casa Cubuy where we’re staying, it’s in the middle of everything. Tomorrow we’re going to do a hike to the rivers. We’ll see how it goes.