Can i start by saying how much we are loving the quality of coffee out of the electric presto perculator!?! Super fast and tasty, I will use this at home and retire the expresso machine. In past we used the stove top perculator but it burns a lot of propane and takes too long. We are perfecting the lazy mornings on this calm and peaceful mooring in Cinnamon Bay. Yep, still here! Most mornings are so relaxed and no rush. Jim usually works from his “remote office” and we both downing WAY too much of this French Roast brew!  The hatches are all open and the soft velvety breeze is floating through the boat. I can hear the birds on the hill and the sun is just peaking over the hilltop. I’ve seen 2 turtles surface and the same 3 deer on the beach take their morning stroll. Savannah is sleeping, Jim is working and I so enjoy recapping the prior day events in our blog even if no one is actually taking the time to read!

Yesterday after a late start and downing more pancakes… breakfast of choice this trip… with bacon of course, we motored the sailboat around the bend to Leinster Bay and Watermelon Cay. I actually think this is the worst of the damage and vegetation devastation we’ve seen since the storms. I know i’m mentioning the hurricanes a lot here but it’s remarkable how heavy they sit on everyone’s minds even after 9 months to the day. You speak with a local and it’s usually the first thing that comes up and it’s just natural to talk about it and it’s still very raw and fresh in all of us.  I know there have been ugly storms in the past such as Hugo, Ivan, Katrina and the likes that did massive devastation. No comparison, and not trying to do so. However the islands are difficult even on a good day and two back to back category 5 storms don’t help along with the inefficiency of the governments and inner bureaucrats that can’t seem to get their crap together  while the islands, people and tourism continue to suffer. Not to mention the wildlife.  It’s a vicious cycle that could be fixed or at least some bigger efforts made.  Folks are tired you can see it in their eyes, and they all say the same thing: they don’t feel the response is very organized or productive.

St. John is controlled mostly by the US Dept of the Interior National Park Service. Beaches are not closed, but not exactly a happy place either, so it’s killing tourism which is really putting a hurt on the folks who make their living that way . Cab drivers, store owners, food/drink concessions that are not allowed to start back up… Then there is the conservation side.. the parks here work with local, stateside and Caribbean-wide conservation to preserve the area’s natural and cultural resources, being a part of the international network of biosphere reserves.  Also including the home for two endangered species of turtles, the hawksbill and the green, which dig their nests and lay their eggs on these beaches. Pre-Irma, Cinnamon Bay was a campground with a camp store and facilities including paddle board and snorkel rentals along with day sailing and scuba excursions that are no longer operating.  Truly paradise in it’s day. Old school hippy camping! Hope it comes back in it’s original form, finding the balance of conservation and still a source for enjoyment and economic sustenance.

One gentlemen at the Annaberg ruins cleaned the entire site himself. A tall and kind west indian with a big head of covered dreads in a knitted and worn beanie, volunteering to keep the ruins accessible. Many of the huge old turpentine and flamboyant trees were gone along with much of the vegetation. He gave me a tour of the garden he kept and it was remarkable, with offerings of sugarcane and gooseberries! There were also thousands of wild papaya growing that the birds and deer are feasting on.

We moored our boat and dinghied to the rocky beach to begin our hike. The trail along the water’s edge was literally gone. There used to be a mile of tree tunnel lined beautiful path along the waters edge with huge trees, mangroves and little hills. It is now raw bluffs and mud, no vegetation and rock. Shocking to think how powerful these winds must have been to do such damage. This will never be the same again, however if you didn’t know any better the rocky shore along the water is also nice.

We made a quick hike to the Annaberg ruins which we’ve done many times in past to see haw it faired, and as I said above it took a good hit but the ruins themselves held strong. Stone, brick, mortar and shell.. can’t beat it!

We back tracked to our starting point stopping briefly to admire the efforts being made to recover the “The New Horizon” sailboat that washed up on shore. We’ve seen her sailing many times in the islands.  Incredible damage repair that the owners are taking on. They have the top of the mast tied down to port and starboard with rope and chain and forward with the same to keep her on keel. Otherwise with the condition of the forestay and pulpit the mast would probably come down. There is a gaping hole in the port ferro-cement hull. I’ve never really used the reference “gaping” as well as it applies here. The entire scene was so sad other than the remarkable  efforts being made to get her floating again. We saw some guys head over to work on her as we were leaving the bay later in the day.

Once back to where the dinghy was beached we made our way through the toppled, crunched and bulldozed looking mangroves and trees to get to the head of the trail. It’s amazing these trails have been cleared, yet the beaches are not ready for tourists. We even asked the folks that were on the beach where our dinghy was if they had enjoyed some of the hiking that St. John offers… they said they don’t do that type of thing, that they like the beaches but had not found yet they likes and that most amenities were closed. To me the beaches are still gorgeous and the water just as much or more.. I personally love the quiet, but I also understand how tourisms works and how important it is to our islands.

Ok enough about that. The hike was superb! We did a 7 mile out and back and the views and trail were just perfect. There was no shortage in the enormous Soldier crabs who live in abandoned shells, mostly the West Indian top shell, locally called whelk. Also saw a huge one in a tulip shell!

We made a few detours to see 2 other “ruins”, remains of old sugar mills and housing back in the day. Jim posed for his infamous standing on the wall with no shirt photo with views to Tortola and Jost!

The skies were overcast and the temperature very mild for this time of the year, which made it perfect for hiking the Brown Bay Trail that branches off the Johnny Horn and descends through a dry thorn scrub and open hot valley. It eventually ascends over the ridge overlooking the beautiful Hurricane Hole bay.

The hills and trees are barren but there are many signs of the vegetation coming back strong. Especially with the rains we received the past 2 days. The smells were sweet and birds sang loudly. We also saw deer along the trail.

On our way back we were delighted with 4 wild donkey. Donkeys and deer are a common site here on St. John. Cardinal rule is to never feed the wild animals. We broke that one. These Asses were too sweet to pass up and not in the best condition. They most likely came from Caneel bay resort where they lived like kings and were hand fed daily both by staff and tourist. The resort is literally gone. So the donkey move on .. One was pregnant, one had a broken leg, one had an infection in his neck and the other had terrible teeth. But they were docile and more than eager to share our watermelon. One rolled on his back in the sand and the other tried getting into the dinghy. Once they had a tummy full of watermelon they all quietly sat on the beach and remained there the rest of the afternoon and until we cast off the mooring. I’m sure they were hurt during the storms and I hope they continue to be ok.

We headed back to our little spot off Cinnamon and enjoyed our sundowners while dinner simmered. Split pea soup (both yellow and green pea) ham, onion, carrot, celery and spice over rice! Meanwhile we made some facetime calls with our Mums and watched the sun go down.

We also had a feeding frenzy off the stern while Savannah rinsed the bowls. She started squealing and said bring the bread and the spot light! She had made a little friend with Mr. Remora.. took him a little while to get used to the light but he got the hang of it in no time. There were several tarpon a few feet below watching and some big jacks. The remora stole the show with his affections (they usually hold on tight to sharks and turtle with the suctions on the top of their head.)  Sometimes we can hear them sucking on to the bottom of the boat at anchor.  Note: not the best idea to feed the fish as they need a natural diet to survive but we were considerably away from shore and in deep water rinsing dishes…can’t help they like my cooking! 😉

Great day.

Note: First sightings of nesting pelicans while hiking the trail along side the salt flats in the valley and also a few large termite nest that did not get destroyed (although we can do without those!!).  We usually see many more pelicans fishing and roosting.  No shortage of seagulls.. nor the thrush.  We did have an emerald colored hummingbird grace our stern while in Virgin Gorda and I have seen several Bananaquit birds.