We noted kapok trees, lime trees, wild pineapple, and mango trees. The hike is smooth sailing. We even took time to note the huge crabs, spot the termite nests, and look for the bee colony.
We found the remnants of a homestead that dated back to the 1800s. The people living on this side of the mountain had their own gardens, cattle, and pigs. We stopped for water. It’s only 82 degrees. This hike is a breeze.
Next we followed the trail to a waterfall and a holy pool of water that had petroglyphs that dated back to the Taino Indian days. The waterfall was more like a trickle - nothing to see there but history. Keagan stopped to refuel.
My hair is a mess! It’s just the humidity, though; it has nothing to do with any exertion on my part. We continued on the path to the remains of a sugar mill. This would have been fascinating if I knew anything about the fermentation of sugar. But I don’t.
After an hour of hiking, we were rewarded with this coveted view. Keagan was a bit disappointed saying, “Is this all?” I know he was thinking that was a lot of walking to just see the beach.
Keagan went in for a quick snorkel, but he only saw a few fish.
Then it was time to head back out on the trail. Let’s talk about the 45 min hike back to the Jeep. Who rated it “moderate?” It was horrible! It was straight up. Up the side of a mountain. My legs were jelly in the first 15 minutes, but I could hear cars up ahead. I just knew I had to be close to the end. I kept climbing. What’s that ahead? A switchback? Another? Fifteen more minutes uphill and I’m pretty sure I’m dying. I think now the cars must have been my imagination. I think again I’m going to die right here. On this trail. My knees are locking, my blisters are bleeding, and I have one collapsed lung when I finally make it to the top of the God forsaken mountain. Moderate? I think not. I need to talk to the local hike rater.
Fearful we would miss the last car ferry, we were first in line to catch the 5:00 to St. Thomas. We made it home to catch another sunset.
The best one yet. It was God saying he didn’t forsake us on that mountain after all.
We found the remnants of a homestead that dated back to the 1800s. The people living on this side of the mountain had their own gardens, cattle, and pigs. We stopped for water. It’s only 82 degrees. This hike is a breeze.
Next we followed the trail to a waterfall and a holy pool of water that had petroglyphs that dated back to the Taino Indian days. The waterfall was more like a trickle - nothing to see there but history. Keagan stopped to refuel.
My hair is a mess! It’s just the humidity, though; it has nothing to do with any exertion on my part. We continued on the path to the remains of a sugar mill. This would have been fascinating if I knew anything about the fermentation of sugar. But I don’t.
After an hour of hiking, we were rewarded with this coveted view. Keagan was a bit disappointed saying, “Is this all?” I know he was thinking that was a lot of walking to just see the beach.
Keagan went in for a quick snorkel, but he only saw a few fish.
Then it was time to head back out on the trail. Let’s talk about the 45 min hike back to the Jeep. Who rated it “moderate?” It was horrible! It was straight up. Up the side of a mountain. My legs were jelly in the first 15 minutes, but I could hear cars up ahead. I just knew I had to be close to the end. I kept climbing. What’s that ahead? A switchback? Another? Fifteen more minutes uphill and I’m pretty sure I’m dying. I think now the cars must have been my imagination. I think again I’m going to die right here. On this trail. My knees are locking, my blisters are bleeding, and I have one collapsed lung when I finally make it to the top of the God forsaken mountain. Moderate? I think not. I need to talk to the local hike rater.
We had lunch and drinks on the water in downtown St. John to try to recover. I had a painkiller and that was not strong enough to kill any memories of that mountain climb. We hiked so long we were now in Happy Hour, so I ordered another. That did the trick.
Fearful we would miss the last car ferry, we were first in line to catch the 5:00 to St. Thomas. We made it home to catch another sunset.
The best one yet. It was God saying he didn’t forsake us on that mountain after all.
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