U.S. Virgin Islands. Roads, Reefs, and Rum on St. Croix Island
My wife and I wanted to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary on picturesque St. Croix Island. Indeed, the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) had been on our bucket list since we scrubbed honeymoon plans to visit the islands because of damage caused by Hurricane Hugo in 1989. I’m ashamed to say that a basic geographic mistake nearly torpedoed our second attempt to visit. Preparing to push the “go” button on an online reservation, I double-checked the distance between the airport and our hotel and was embarrassed to discover I was about to book a room on St. John Island. Without mentioned anything to my wife, I quickly found a suitable hotel on St. Croix. For the geographically challenged (including me), the USVI is made up of four islands: St. Thomas, St. John, St. Croix, and Water Island. There is also a group of British Virgin Islands, but let’s not make things more complicated.
With its name derived from a French translation of the Spanish, Isla del la Santa Cruz, St. Croix is the largest and most southerly island within USVI. The island was occupied by indigenous people when Christopher Columbus landed on its north shore in 1493. More than 130 years passed before Dutch and English settlers arrived in 1625. The Spanish came in 1651, followed by the French a year later. In 1733, the Danish West India Company purchased St. Croix for growing sugar cane. A 1742 census listed 360 white Europeans and 1,906 slaves living on the island. The Danes continued to control the island until it was sold to the U.S. in 1917. Today, St. Croix’s economy centers around tourism, rum distilling, and petroleum refining.
Our flight to St. Croix’s Henry E. Rohlsen Airport originated in Miami, Florida. After disembarking, we checked in at the rental car desk and were handed keys to a sedan that had sustained scrapes and other damage from Hurricane Maria in 2017. St. Croix’s two largest cities are Frederiksted, located on its western coast, and Christiansted, positioned on its northcentral coast. After checking in at our hotel, we drove a few kilometers to Christiansted. Near the waterfront is Christiansted National Historic Site which interprets Fort Christiansted and colonial activities of the Dutch West Indies Company. Painted a pastel yellow color, Fort Christiansted was constructed between 1738 and 1749 with a mission to protect the harbor and city from privateers and slave revolts. After dinner we strolled through some of the city’s neighborhoods. Located on King Street and surrounded with palm trees, is a house where future U.S. Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton lived (1765-1772) while clerking for an import/export firm. In a few places we passed green iguanas relaxing in the grass.
The next morning, we explored the western portion of the island including a wide beach at Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge. With stunning ocean views, the beach was nearly deserted. Returning to the eastern side of the island, we made a stop at Point Udall, the easternmost place in the U.S. A sundial called Millennium Monument was built there to celebrate the first U.S. sunrise in the year 2000. For the most part, we found primary roads to be in good condition. However, some secondary roads were barely passible as a result of hurricane Maria.
Our most memorable excursion was a catamaran trip to Buck Island Reef National Monument. Administered by the National Park Service, the monument protects Buck Island (0.7 km2) and its surrounding reef (18.4 km2). During the 1700s, Buck Island served as a goat pasture. Today, the only way to reach the island is by private yacht or concession-operated boat. After making a boat reservation, we arrived at the dock prepared for a six-hour excursion that included reef snorkeling. Our catamaran held ten passengers and a crew of two. Departing Christiansted’s small harbor, we motored the 2.4 kilometers separating St. Croix from Buck Island and dropped anchor near the shoreline. After putting on masks, fins, and snorkels we were instructed to follow an underwater trail marked with interpretive signs. A dominant feature of the reef are massive strands of elkhorn coral that extend upwards towards the surface. Hiding within colorful coral formations was a variety of sea life that included trumpet fish, blue tangs, parrotfish. I waved to my wife (a certified scuba diver) to come to the surface for a question about long, tubular fish with pointy snouts that were swimming nearby. She answered with a single word: barracuda. After some time on Buck Island’s beach and a brief hike, we returned to Christiansted under sail.
Waiting for a restaurant table that evening, my wife and I struck up a conversation with some well-dressed men. One turned out to be governor of the USVI. We spent our second day touring the relatively flat southern section of the island. Driving west, we passed petroleum refineries with massive storage tanks. Continuing northwest from the coast, we drove past several short brick towers. After some checking I learned that they were foundations for windmills that once powered machinery for crushing sugarcane. A few were located adjacent to dilapidated boiling houses used to convert sugarcane juice into sugar crystals. Another side trip took us to the Cruzan Rum Distillery. Owned and managed by the Beam Suntory Beverage Company and in continuous operation for more than 250 years, Cruzan is the world’s largest supplier of American rum. After a brief orientation we were led through buildings with machinery for fermenting and distilling sugarcane molasses mixed with water. In another building were stacks of wooden barrels. Cruzan’s production process involves aging rum in barrels previously used to store whisky or bourbon. Following the tour, we were invited to sample rum drinks prepared with fruit and other additives.
