Tourists of the Caribbean

Loren Blackwood and Richard Moriarty

We opted for Christmas in the Caribbean this year and left Friday,

Dec. 19, flying directly from LAX to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Our trip

lasted seven glorious days and nights, and coming back to the states

on Saturday was a breeze, with no hitches at customs.

We boarded the Windspirit Cruise at St. Thomas and departed at

midnight for St. John. We took the ship’s tender (a small motor boat)

ashore for a guided tour of the island and snorkeling from the beach.

The next morning we went on the “Under Two Flags St. Martin Island

Tour.” The native tour guide (several generations of his family lived

and thrived on the island -- his father had 24 children) explained

that France and Holland have shared the island since 1648. Only a

small stone marker distinguishes the border of this island.

We stopped at the Dutch side to shop, then enjoyed a beautiful

drive with spectacular ocean views. The afternoon was spent walking

around the particularly enticing Orient Beach, with its wide expanse

of sand and clean and intensely blue water. The rich color was

absolutely magnificent and inspiring. Richard got sun and read while

I looked at the many beachside boutiques and open-air

restaurant/bars.

The next day was spent exploring St. Barthelemy, French Antilles,

on our own. Our first stop was the capital and the shopping Mecca of

Gustavia. We caught a cab just as a tropical storm moved in. The

driver took us through the gorgeous hills to the savage side of the

island. We met our friends Lee and Myra, who were staying at the

ultra-posh Le Toiny hotel with their girls for two weeks. We lunched

in the restaurant, which was situated at the top of a steep mountain

with breathtaking ocean vistas.

We were blessed with six brief bouts of rain that cooled the air

while we leisurely dined on five-star cuisine. Afterward, we piled

into their rental jeep and drove to town to shop and ogle the latest

designs from Paris. We boarded the ship to exchange stories with our

new friends and enjoyed the amenities of the evening.

The next day was spent at Tortola, British Virgin Islands.

Although it was very remote, we enjoyed the fascinating J.R. O’Neal

Botanic Gardens, a cool and peaceful refuge located in the center of

Road Town. The beautiful four-acre garden included a lush array of

indigenous and exotic tropical plants. Richard was our tour guide,

explaining points of interest, plants’ Latin scientific name and

other botanical facts. He even identified plants that were labeled

incorrectly.

We wandered into town to eat local fare, salt fish and curry goat

stew. Once again, we jumped in a cab at the right moment to avoid

another tropical (bathtub warm) storm.

Christmas morning was spent at Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin

Islands, reputed hideaway for a Dutch pirate of the same name and the

most out-of-the-way island. Richard went scuba diving while I walked

the tiny rustic island. I walked all of Main Street in 15 minutes to

a building that housed the post office/police station/ administrative

office/real estate office, where I mailed my postcards in a slot

labeled “mail drop.”

It was really hot, about 87 degrees, humid and perfect for me. I

was doing what I wished for on Christmas Day -- walking in sunshine,

no hype, no TV, no Christmas crazies. Just sunshine, peace and quiet.

The population is 150 on this four-square-mile island and it has more

bars than anything. At 9:30 a.m., it looked like everyone was still

asleep. There was a group of local women sitting on plastic chairs by

the shore, shelling nuts and talking. I stopped at a small general

store for water. The owner was remodeling an exterior room and called

up to his wife, who came downstairs to take my money. Most of the

people we met on these islands were natives -- fourth- or

fifth-generation who had been born, raised and never left their

island. All were very hospitable, friendly and very relaxed.

We moved on to Virgin Gorda in the afternoon. Early in the

evening, Richard and I jumped on the first tender to explore the

Bitter End Yacht Club. This island is a popular port for yachts and

those who want to enjoy secluded luxury. We stopped at a small

souvenir store and bought T-shirts. A nearby restaurant was filled

with happy families enjoying the Christmas buffet. Back at the ship,

we were treated with more premium fare and a holiday meal that

rivaled the best restaurants at home.

We stayed overnight and got up early to explore the spectacular

natural wonder, the Baths of Virgin Gorda. An open bus took us on a

scenic ride to the top of a trail to the Baths, a curious assembly of

vast granite boulders, underwater caves, pools and channels. These

smooth rocks are buried in sand and jumbled on one another, creating

caverns and tunnels to explore. We rushed ahead so we could be the

first that day to explore these unique shapes. We climbed, waded

through warm waters and walked up man-made ladders over the smooth

rock formations. We emerged through this maze to a perfect isolated

beach, Devil’s bay, to snorkel. We swam through schools of tropical

fish and viewed beautiful soft and hard coral. It was the best

snorkeling of the trip.

This was our last day and it ended with a spectacular sunset from

the top deck, gorgeous cloud formations, temperate winds and views of

beautiful island architecture as we sailed back to St. Thomas in the

U.S. Virgin Islands.

* LOREN BLACKWOOD AND RICHARD MORIARTY are residents of Newport

Beach.