A blog that follows our family life and journey from St. Croix, in the Virgin Islands to Texas where we explore our new city, raise our children and try to hang on to that island feeling.
Wow, wow, wow! Life has changed and I've neglected this blog. I am going to try to post once a week. Now that summer is here, that should be doable... yeah, sure.
So, we moved - and then we moved again. We are still in Texas, but rather than being south of Austin, we are now north of Austin in a little bedroom community called Cedar Park. I got a job, we bought a house, bought a dog, planted a veggie garden, A joined a swim team - or two, C is going to preschool, S stays home and is raising kids, cleaning house, being a taxi for the kids, shopping, taking car of any loose ends that I have left behind, and in short being a fantastic house husband, AND we have been exploring Austin!
C admiring a buffalo statue near Johnson City
There is SO much to do here - Capital tours, Austin sightseeing, pioneer farms, parks, Native American Pow Wows, music festivals, Cinco de Mayo celebrations, dog parks, shopping, movie theaters where they serve food(!), parties, GIANT book stores, kite festivals, etc. We have yet to scratch the surface, go past the tip of the iceberg, etc. in terms of what there is to do here. We like it, it feels comfortable. I can see how we will have to strive to maintain our island vibe though what with all there is to do, I can see us getting over extended. In fact, most weekends we manage to build in home time where we hang here and do stuff like paint, make flower crowns, ride our bikes, cook, etc.
Crucian peeps and others at the Dirty Girl Mud run
Scarf dancer at Powwow @UT
Do I miss St. Croix? yes. Do my kids and husband miss St. Croix? yes. In fact the other day, C asked Stephen when we were going back and NOT for vacation. When we told him we didn't know, he got very upset and muttered something about going back to his island and selling this house for sixty five nine dollars - sorry kid, we need more money than that for this sucker!
I discovered Crucians here in Texas! We are EVERWHERE!!!! Big Up Crucian massive! I need to have a real Crucian party here this summer, play some Violators, Stanley, Quelbe, and even toss some Daddy Yankee in that mix to really let the new neighbors that "we deh here, meson!" So, if you find yourself in Austin this summer, look us up and "Leh we jam!"
Today, we had the pleasure of going on a field trip to the Caribbean Indigenous Arts and Crafts Museum at Cane Bay! Whew, what a mouthful! This trip, although open to all ages, ended up being all elementary kids. There were three girls and three boys - what a great group they were too!
The kids arrived and were instantly captivated by Kelly the Parrot who sand Happy Birthday, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, some opera, and cried like a baby! She was really cute and hates to not be the center of attention. Anyway, after talking and interacting with Kelly, they all went over to the open air picnic area and took their seats.
The children learned all sorts of fascinating things about Tainos. Tainos were the indigenous people who lived here on St. Croix from PreColumbian times up until shortly after Columbus "discovered" the Virgin Islands. They were one of the most populous groups of Native peoples in the Caribbean. They farmed, hunted, gathered, and created beautiful works of art. It is thought that their farming techniques were so far advanced that they only had to dedicate 2 hours a week to gardening. They produced such food stuff as pineapples, cassava(or yucca), peanuts, and sweet potatoes. They also grew cotton. Apparently when Columbus came by he noted, as did other explorers, that the island of St. Croix was heavily terraced and farmed with cotton plants.
Some of the islands in the caribbean still retain their Taino names. Some of these islands are Jamaica, Cuba, and Haiti. It is thought that St. Croix's name was AyAy which means The River. Now, why would St. Croix be named The River? There are no rivers or flowing bodies of water here! Well, way before the plantation industry got going here, St. Croix was FULL of rivers and streams and guts. With the advent of plantation farming, all the trees were either burned or cut down and it stopped raining here. Once the rain stopped, guess what else stopped? THE RIVER!! Salt River is named just that because there was a river of water that flowed out of the hills and into the ocean. When we have tremendous rains, our guts fill and flow into the old path of our ancient river. I wonder what St.Croix would look like today if those plantation owners hadn't deforested our island - don't you?
ANYWAY back to some facts that our group thought was neato:
There were between 20 and 30,000 people living on St. Croix at the time of Columbus' arrival
A Taino woman shot one of the Spaniards with bow and arrow when Columbus' men came ashore
Columbus never actually set foot on St. Croix
Tainos had parrots
Tainos used blowguns
Spent a lot of time making very cool art
They wore feathered hats
Taino Indians were some of the first Indians to live on St. Croix
Many words came from the Taino Arawak language
So folks, if you get a chance to go visit Brian and his wife Jill at the Caribbean Indigenous Arts and Crafts Museum at Cane Bay, please let us know what you think. This is a great resource for artists, collectors, and children to learn a bit about our history here on St. Croix before the European conquest.
The summer is at an end. About 3 months ago I had all these plans for
our down time. I was going to clean out closets and under beds, go to the beach
3 times a week, finish a quilt, pick up a few other sewing projects, cook up
some great meals, fix the garden beds, explore a different part of St. Croix
every two weeks, etc.
Here is what I ACTUALLY accomplished – cooked great meals, ran
errands, took A to multiple camps, ran C around to different play grounds,
played with both kids, started tutoring, became a mom mobile, hung at the
beach, made new friends, explored science stuff with the kids,cleaned the house,read, put our dog to sleep,rediscovered Buck Island, realized that I
NEED salt water, built multiple train track configurations, did arts and crafts
with A, and had a GREAT time.
Watermelon Ice Pops!
Did I accomplish what I wanted to accomplish – no. Did I get
frustrated when I realized that my closet and under my bed is still a mess –
yes, but did I also get to create some wonderful memories with my family – YES.
Was it a good summer despite not getting through my to do list? Most
definitely!
I think that A has had the best summer of her life to date.
She was in Danica David’s art camp and got to do art 5 days a week for 1 month,
she made new friends, went of field trips, and got bitten by the art bug.Here is a video clip of their end of the camp
song:
Then she met not one, but two new friends named Alex. If she
doesn’t marry the one later in life I’m going to be crushed. She made new girl
friends who allowed her to stay multiple nights in a row for sleepovers, she
swam in someone’s pool or the ocean everyday, she learned how to sail, she had
friends over to play all the time, and she had 2 birthday celebrations!
Birding at the Buccaneer
C got to go play at the beach a lot, he played in his
sandbox, got Mommy all to himself, and missed his sister ALL the time! He took
walks, learned how to speak a ton more, came up with some great witticisms, and
started requesting odd, odd, odd songs at bed time. Anyone ever hear of the song
about the Farmer who ate his chickens pollos, the big friendly dinosaur who
played with horses, or the some about the bleeding dog in the bushes? I hadn’t
before this summer, but now I know them VERY well.
I LOVED my summer and I’m not really too disappointed that I
didn’t clean out the closets or under the bed. There are more important things
in life.How was your summer?
I don't know of anywhere else in the world where children and adults can take part in the highly comedic biannual ritual of passage where half wild donkeys are gathered into one spot and then you either ride, drive, or simply watch them being used for personal enjoyment. What in the world? Why it's the Gentlemen of Jones Donkey Races!
We first went and took part in the Donkey Races with children in tow about 2 years ago. I do remember going to one race donkey years ago that was held at Canegata Ball Park, I think I was in high school or maybe middle school. When they first started I have no idea.
Well, this year we decided to hang on the beach in Frederiksted until the children wanted to go to the races. Of course we stayed at the beach way later than anticipated, but it was fun. We got to the Donkey Races at the Paul E. Joseph Stadium about 3:30 and poor A was too late to sign up to ride. I was a secretly relieved Mama as I had C and didn't know what to do with him while I was leading A around the track with her donkey.
Those beasts are some of the most stubborn animals I have even met! Have you ever tried to lead a Donkey around and have it go where you wanted to? It's freaking IMPOSSIBLE! Especially if you have stuck a person on their back, but honestly in defense of the donkeys they only get someone on their back once or twice year, other than that they get hang out in the bush and not be bothered at all and then one day when they are minding their own business a human or two come along, grab them up, stick them in a trailer with a bunch of other donkeys that they don't know and then take them to Frederiksted. Now, while they get a free ride, I am not too sure if standing nose to ass in a crowded trailer while zooming down the highway is their idea of fun. Then once they get to Frederiksted, they are stuck in pens, bridled surrounded by loud music that ranges from Quelbe to Shakira, petted by children and adults alike, pointed at, not allowed to request any particular type of music, and indignity of all indignities have people tossed on their back and are expected to simply do what you want them to do? FORGET IT!!!!
For the people in attendance, this leads to many many side splitting laughs, guaffaws, and ass jokes. The above video isn't from this year, but I thought it would give you a good idea of what goes on during a Donkey Race.
First place finisher! Woo hoo!
Anyway, once we got to the Stadium, and found out that A couldn't ride we decided to hang out and watch one, maybe two races because frankly standing around watching people and asses make asses of themselves with a cranky toddler just isn't fun. ANYWAY, as we were standing around a little girl backed out of riding her donkey in the 12 and under race so A was able to hop on ride her donkey around the ring. The course consisted of two laps and A did a phenonomal job on hanging on as her helper lead her around the ring twice. She did fall off in the homestretch and was able to get back on. A ended up placing first for which she got a trophy and a ribbon. She also got a sore arm and jammed pinky but hey, if you don't get hurt it isn't fun right?
If you are ever around for the Donkey Races, you should go out west and watch and if you are brave enough, participate. I did two years ago and got my trophy tons of good memories and the title of chief ass rider(for at least one year). Seriously, where else but St. Croix are you going to see something like this???
Aerial photo of Sandy Point taken
from stcroixtourism.com
When I was a little girl, I remember going with my parents to see the Leatherback turtles come and nest on Sandy Point.I tried to take A about 2 years ago to do the same, but the group we were with decided to leave at 10 and we didn’t get to see anything. So, in the spirit of homeschooling and experiencing the island I decided to give it a go this year.
Let me just tell you, it was AWESOME, AMAZING, INCREDIBLE, and COOLIO!!!!
This was our group minus a few adults because
taking pictures in the dark is near impossible!
So, here’s the lowdown. Anyone can go see these amazing animals come up on shore and lay their eggs at Sandy Point as long as you have reservations and the turtles cooperate.You need to get a hold of the Fish and Wildlife personnel to do this. If you have a large enough group (15-30 people) it’s like your own private tour, if you are a small group, they might be able to sneak you into another group.Oh, and it’s FREE.Of course if you want to make a donation to a great group you can pay St. Croix Environmental Association to make your reservations for you as they block off certain dates in advance.Anyway, you need to make your reservations, confirm your date, and then on the day of gather at the Refuge entrance at 7:45 pm. Bring bug spray and PLENTY of it.I brought drinks and snacks for my kids, but we ended up not needing anything but drinks.
photo from simonsen.photoshelter.com
This is how it went for us. We got there, all the homeschoolers who had signed up for the field trip were there. We listened to Jennifer from the FWS talk and tell us the rules. We got back into our cars and headed into the refuge. After driving down some amazingly well paved roads, we got to our beach spot.Then we waited – it was POURING for about 30 mins.Eventually we got out of our cars and this is what happened according to A:
When we got out of the cars it was wet and damp and I could smell the wet sand and the sea and it smelled wonderful. Then we went on a path to the ocean and there was a bridge that we had to pass. We went to a spot on the beach and we stayed there for an hour and a half until we got the first call on the radio and there was a leatherback sea turtle! When we got the call I was so happy that we were going to see a turtle nesting.
photo from thew2o.net
After getting the call on the radio, we packed up all our stuff and moved back to the road and booked it to the next parking area where we walked/ran to get to where the turtle was.All this time, we were only using the light off the moon and the stars to navigate by. It was amazingly cool. We could hear the surf the whole time too because it was a rough night.Once we got down to the beach were the turtle was, we had to walk along it until we actually found her.The beach sand was a luminous white with ribbons of black seaweed all along it, so walking was a big difficult, but not bad.All of a sudden, there appeared before a huge, hulking, black mountain that hardly moved at all but was quite substantial.It was our leatherback momma.She was in the process of laying her eggs. The researchers had started to collect her eggs as she was laying then in the area of the beach where the waves broke and could potentially have been washed out to sea if it had gotten rougher.After being able to touch her carapace(shell), back flippers, shoulders, and even sides we got to see the researchers measure her from the front of her carapace to her back, measure her width, and put in new tags.She did NOT like the new tag bit – can’t say I blame her. Then she disguised her nest for a bit before “the mother sea turtle clumsily slid into the black ocean.”
The kids named her Friday as we saw her on Friday the 13th! She measured 164.5cm from the front of her carapace to the back. If you added her head into that she was at least 184 cm long if not longer.She laid 132 eggs that night. Can you imagine doing that?!
Sadly out of those 132, probably only 1 will survive to sexual maturity and come back to nest.
photo from youthgo.gov
If you have never been to a turtle watch before you NEED to do this. Email the Fish and Wildlife Service, call SEA, find a group, sell an arm or leg to do this. It is an AMAZING experience. It touches you in ways that you didn’t know possible. It makes an impact on kids. I REMEMBER each and every time we did as a child, I remember helping hatchlings on other beaches find their way back into the water. I remember being so amazed at these turtles size that I thought it was as big as a VW Bug when I was little.This event only happens between April and Jule/July so if you are here during that time, it is well worth the effort to go and see these animals up close and personal.
I have been much inspired by the recent trend towards lapbooking for homeschoolers. I think it’s a great idea to get your kids writing, drawing, creating, and recording their experiences from various subjects. We just finished our Mangroves/Wetlands lapbook. It was a project – only because we had so many holidays and breaks during the last few weeks in trying to finish it.
Here it is:
Cover of book
Inside pages, you can see there are multiple pages in the book.
A had to cut, color, paste, write, think, define words, look at maps, etc in order to finish it. I think she did a pretty good job and I am proud of her. We did pull pictures and drawing from the net where we could, but she also drew some things on her own.
Journaling and a flat diorama of animals in the mangroves.
More photos from her field trip
We are currently working on two others – the Middle Ages, and Sea Turtles – specifically Leatherbacks because we are doing a turtle watch this Friday. The turtle one is going to be very artsy fartsy and it will require a helping hand from Mommy at points, but will be primarily put together by A. I will post photos when we are done with the Sea Turtle lap book. It should be pretty cool.
It seems like everyday we find something new to explore. Some days we need to go hunting for things at the beach, in the bush, in Christiansted, etc. Other days, our find come to us. Today was a case in point. we opened the front door this morning and an AWFUL smell entered the house - almost like something was dying. My first thought was that the cat:
brought us a present and hid it somewhere over the weekend while trying to emulate the Easter Bunny. Then C found it, A yelled at me to come see, and I grabbed the camera. What did we find you ask?
Tada! Here it is.......
WHAT IS THAT?!?!
It's a Clathrus ruber or a fungus in the stinkhorn family. It is also know as the latticed stinkhorn, red cage, or basket stinkhorn. It feeds of decaying woody plant material, and is usually found alone in areas where there is mulch, leaf litter, grassy soil, etc. The brown part is the sticky, stinky pollen. It smells so bad to attract flies, ants, etc. It really does smell bad, not as bad as 24 hour side of the road Caribbean road kill, but pretty close.
Go find something and learn about it. Just remember if you see one of these guys, wear a gas mask!
This is a BIG departure from my regular posts about our adventures, but I feel the need to write this. There aren't many pictures, but I will include a video of some cool stuff. I promise.
I grew up here on St. Croix. My Dad got a boat when I was about 5 or 6 and some my earliest memories of life here on the old rock are of going to Buck Island with my family. Buck Island was and still is my favorite beach "on" St. Croix.
In the 80's there were a LOT of sail boats and people used to do spinnaker swinging. That is where you anchored your boat, attached your spinnaker(the colorful sail that is only used in racing) that had a seat on the bottom(no idea how they attached it), and you could sail up into the breeze and then plunge back into the water! It was cool and I ALWAYS wanted to do it. There were huge parties out there at Buck. People wind surfed, snorkeled, hiked the trail, little kids played in the Salt Pond(very messy, very muddy, VERY not allowed). People saw turtle hatching on the beach and made way for the hatchlings to get to the water. The beach sand was white like sugar, soft, deep, and just so AMAZING.
Only good photo I could find. Sorry about the watermark.
Buck Island was a magical place. It was a place that you fell in love with and it touched your soul.
If you were lucky enough you got to spend the night on your boat at Buck; wake up to the fish splashing around, see the sunrise from the top of the hiking trail and know just how wonderful a world this planet is. If you have ever been to Buck Island and snorkeled outside the reef on the North side, or even just outside the lagoon area by the trail you would see an amazing collection of fish, corals, and other sea life. There were times that the snorkeling trail was full of non poisonous jelly fish and it felt like you were swimming in jello! You could imagine that there were mermaids around the next head of HUGE brain coral. You would feel peace, contentment, and a camaraderie for all living creatures around you.
Doing this would not be allowed under the new plans!
When the sun set and you were getting ready to go back to port, the water would turn pink, then purple, then green, and finally the dying rays of the sun would be reflected on the water around you. If you stayed too late, the stars and the moon would be your guide back to port and their reflections in the water would lead your boat back home until another day at Buck Island could be enjoyed.
All of these things are going to be taken away from YOU, from ME, from GENERATIONS to come if we do not act now. The National Park Service must by law come with with a General Management Plan for Buck Island and it's surrounding waters. The MUST by law figure out a way to protect the threatened Elkhorn and Staghorn corals in the water around Buck Island. The NPS, has a plan......... yes, this plan protects the coral; but it also removes TONS of liberties that you the user of this National Park should be able to do. Some of the proposed plans seem reasonable, other bits just don't make a DAMN bit of sense.
Painting by Linda Mooreland
Here is the low down:
The NPS wants to protect the coral - great. They have decided that if you snorkel around the coral it damages it, so they will allow you to swim around it instead. Umm, excuse me, but if I can't see where I am going aren't I going to hit that threatened coral and do more damage? Wouldn't it make sense to let people continue to snorkel around it for both the people's safety and the safety of the coral?
The NPS - has decided that paddle boarding, kite surfing, kayaking, windsurfing, surfing, etc are damaging to the National Park and that none of that should be allowed to happen to anymore. Hmm... no studies to back this one up, and as I don't kiteboard I can't make a comment on that one. I do however paddleboard and I know how to wind surf. On both of those counts, I am going to stay FAR the heck away from coral. I don't like getting scratched or stuck - hey, maybe you do, but most sports people I know don't enjoy getting hurt on coral when they can avoid it. The NPS also wants to prohibit people from landing at Buck Island with those water craft. So say I grow a pair and I paddle board to Buck from St. Croix........ now how do I take a break and recoup my energy if I can't put my board on the beach? Oh WAIT! I don't. I just float around getting closer to that threatened coral because I can't drop an anchor!
Anchors are BAD according to the NPS. Putting our anchors in sand kills coral and hurts fish. They are going to install moorings instead. I am ALL for moorings for larger yacht type boats, and for people who want them; but don't tell me that my 19 boat with it's puny anchor is going to damage the coral and kill fish or other animals if I put it in wet sand. Don't force me to compete with my friends for a mooring that isn't well maintained, that won't be secure, and that doesn't allow me to anchor near enough to the beach. If I can't anchor close to the beach how are my children going to get to the beach, or back to the boat if they don't swim well? What if I have some who doesn't swim with me? I have a small boat, therefore I don't have a digny. If I had a kayak I could use it - but oh, wait, I can't use those in the park either according to the new plan. CRAP! I guess I can't go to Buck until my kids can swim 200 meters without drowning, my husband who doesn't swim well can't EVER go with me, and I can't leave a napping baby on the boat while I sit in the sand because at 200m it's too far away to see or hear if he's awake until he falls over board and drowns!
I know. You are saying, I don't live there what does it matter?
Well, it does.
This is a NATIONAL park. That means that every SINGLE person in the US has a stake in what happens here. This means that if you live in Alaska, are an expat in China, or are even thinking of visiting the US and going to a NATIONAL park you should care. Why should you care? In this day and age of governments failing, of economic downturns, of depressions, any of these new plans are going to cost you money. This is another way of big government trying to take away something that is YOURS, that is YOUR right to enjoy, that belongs to YOUR children, YOUR grandchildren, and YOUR great grandchildren. The ideas and sentiments behind the plans are great but there needs to be some common sense used here.
Photo credit: costalliving.com
We have until May 1, 2012 to comment on the NPS plan. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE take 3 minutes of your time, click on the comment link on the left hand side of the page and fill out the form. Tell the NPS to either leave Buck as it is, or at least allow for snorkeling on the North side, to allow kayaking, paddle boarding, windsurfing, kite surfing, etc within park boundaries, and to allow anchoring in the wet sand. PLEASE. It's not just my plea to you as a Virgin Islander, but my plea to you as a human being. Do this for your fellow man, for your family, for yourself, for the generations to come.
I thank you and Buck Island thanks you. If you do this, drop me a comment. I'll buy you a rum drink and get you to Buck Island when you come visit so you can see what you helped to save.
The other day another home schooling mom and I were talking about how we wanted our kids to get out and do MORE exercise. Don’t get me wrong; both of our children are active. A swims 4-5 days a week, plays in the bush, participates in all the kids biking, running, swimming races, etc; but I just don’t feel that she gets out there and is active enough. Apparently, my friend feels the same so we decided that we would get together once a week and let the kids, bike, run, or whatever as long as they were outside and DOING. During this time, we get visit and C has a friend over to play. We decided to meet at Altoona Lagoon because it is between both our homes, it is flat, and where they hold most of the kids’ races.
Altoona Lagoon is another one of our undiscovered St. Croix areas for many reasons. There is a whole fishing community of old time Crucians who grew up swimming in the inlet to the lagoon, jumping off the bridges, fishing, and generally having a good time there. It is a great place for walking, running, biking, limin’, and generally just enjoying the views of Christiansted from a different angle. Altoona Lagoon also has a GREAT playground and fun exploring beach for little ones.
Our day started early with us in the car, the trike in the trunk, and the bike(new big 26” bike) racked on the back of the red SUV. Water, and snacks were packed in the reusable shopping bag, and I had had at least 2 cups of tea by 7:30! We were set. Once at Altoona, and unloaded – I really do think we are related to Gypsys since we cannot seem to go anywhere without the entire contents of the house and the kitchen sink ---- Oh wait! It’s because I’m a Mom not related to Gyspsys!!! ANYWAY…. A got con her bike and as soon as her friend showed up away they went. The two kids did about 10 loops, which I think translates to just about 2 miles! Then they took a break to go explore the beach, whereupon they stuck their heads together and decided that they needed to go fishing! Crazy kids!
The two kids, my wonderful mom friend and her equally wonderful hubby walked down with C to the inlet by the bridge. Once I got there, which was about 15 minutes later – I had to re-rack the bike, put stuff away, etc. I found both kids wading through the inlet, with fishing nets in hand, HUGE self satisfied grins on their faces and COMPLETELY, soaking wet. During the course of the day, they caught Lizardfish, Coral Banded shrimp, regular shrimp, and Blue Crabs. We saw Blue Herons, a Great Snowy Egret, fishermen coming in with their catch and then it happened… the kids spotted a Lionfish! Turns out there wasn’t 1 Lionfish, but 3. They were hiding in the Mangroves. My friend’s hubby shucked down to his shorts and got in the water and caught 2 of the three. At first we though maybe we could eat them, but they were too little. What actually scared us was that the Lionfish were in the Mangroves, which are breeding grounds for other fish, and we all know Lionfish eat EVERYTHING so they were in the worst place possible for our native fish. Not, that having Lionfish anywhere in the Caribbean is good, but in a breeding ground it’s like an A bomb ready to go off at any moment.
Photo by Jill Updyke.
One of the things I really liked about this day, was that both kids ended up wading around in only their shorts and never even batted an eye. They are the same age, and look exactly the same chest wise and for them it was super natural and not embarrassing to be that way. I love that our island still allows our kids to be kids and doesn’t make them aware of the opposite sex until later. We are able to keep our children innocent of the societal pressures that other children face elsewhere in the world.
We decided that the kids had such a good time – even C, that we are going to make this a weekly occurrence. We hope to go kayaking into the Lagoon next week. I’ll keep you updated J Sorry for the lack of personal photos but we were so busy having a good time that I didn’t think of taking pictures until the end.
I’ll leave you with a word from our kids: "Lionfish.. they taste like Chicken."
One of my earliest memories of growing up here is going to see the Monk’s Baths in Frederiksted. I clearly remember going down the incline of death, and stepping into this HUGE pool of clear, warm water that I was going to drown in. I also remember the GIGANTIC waves that splashed over the baths and soaked my Dad and Mom. I remember the feeling of being somewhere magical, somewhere where no one else was around, and somewhere that just had discovered.
In reality, was that how the day went? Probably not - I was younger than 5 and older than 3. Somewhere in my childhood mind, this memory stuck. It actually faded into the background quietly for a LOONNGG time, but recently it has been popping up and nagging me. I think it was telling me that I needed to do it again and I needed to do it 1. soon and 2. with my kids. So, since there is no day like today, I called/texted a bunch of my friends, my kid’s friends, and even some distant acquaintances to see if I could get a group to go with us.
What are the Monk’s Baths you ask? Good question. They are not on any tour of the island, no reference is made to them in any literature that is given to visitors, they are not talked about, and there are only obscure reference made online to them.
Aislin and her friends clowning around.
Here is what I remember my parents telling me. WAY back in the 1600s, the Knights of Malta (click on the link for an interesting look at the Knights of Malta – a group still in existence today), a group of French monks who were commissioned by the King of France, lived on St. Croix and they had two “outposts”. One in Judith’s Fancy; and one in Frederiksted. These monks, being cleanlier than regular people (cleanliness is next to godliness, maybe) decided that rather than bathing with fresh water – which was hard to get here - they would carve out some “Roman” types baths in the hard coral outcroppings along the beach in front of their monastery. So with much hard work, and I am sure “praises” to God, they carved two rectangular baths into the hardened coral outcroppings, carved stone steps into the sides of the baths and “Viola! Zey had a baz for warshing!”(say it with a French accent, it’s quite amusing).
A few interesting side notes that I stumbled across when looking up the Knights of Malta: 1. They still exist as an organization and were created in 1085 to protect hospitals, not for fighting in the Crusades, 2. They made St. Croix profitable and used mainly Catholic indentured servants as slaves and then used enslaved Africans, and 3. It is thought by one historian, that they brought the Ark of the Covenant to St. Croix and hid it here. My Dad would have liked that last factoid.
Pretty cool, n’est pas? I mean, this stuff should be mentioned to tourists, it should be on some sort of guided island tour on cruise ship days, and it should at least be marked so that the intrepid tourist or newbie islander could stop and say: “oh, what’s this?” This is history that is accessible to everyone, the location is free for everyone to use and admire as it is on the beach, and all our beaches are public property, and it is really super neato (if for nothing less than the history alone)
We meet outside Rainbow Beach in F’sted at 9 and caravanned out to where I thought the Monk’s Baths were, we only had to stop once before I found the right spot. Went down the incline of death (JUST as I remembered!):
After walking about 5 minutes north, this is what we found:
Beautiful!
So, if you live here and haven’t been or are visiting, or planning a visit, the trip is well worth it. To get to the Monk’s Baths you go out of Frederiksted going North, pass Spratt Hall, pass Butler Bay plantation, go around the curve (look out for the random pillars on the right hand side on the curve), go a bit further, and look for the sign on your right that says “Northside Valley”. Stop there just after the orange house on your left. If you look carefully, you will see a 4X4 with ropes leading down the incline of death.
Here is a video of the Baths both outside and in, as well as a review of what the girls thought of the Monk’s Baths. Listen to them, they are after all the experts on what is cool. Excuse the choppiness of the video, I was trying to keep my balance. There is also some weird banging noise going on, no idea what that is from, but you will get a general idea of what the Baths are like.
Wow, wow, wow! Life has changed and I've neglected this blog. I am going to try to post once a week. Now that summer is here, that should be doable... yeah, sure.
