st. john

The day we spent on this island deserves its own post because well, I fell in love. Coming into the ferry port we saw the shops and restaurants that lined the beach and I immediately knew this was going to be a good day. Yes, food and shopping equate to a good day for me. We stepped off the boat I was just smitten with the quaint charm of Cruz Bay. The store fronts were all brightly colored and individually decorated. The people were SO friendly. After 2 minutes I had already decided that I wanted to stay there forever.

First up was lunch and we were completely caught off guard. All of the restaurants were closed as it was only 11:30. Our only option was this little walk up counter with some plastic tables and chairs out front. Café Livin’ was probably the best meal decision of the entire trip. Not only were the accommodating (they actually weren’t serving lunch when we got there but they started for us) but the food was incredible. We ordered pita’s and hummus to start with… I’ve had plenty of hummus in my time and this one tops it all. It had a nice little chunk to it, was perfectly season and the best part? They poured a little pool of olive oil in the center of the pile of hummus and topped it all with paprika. Not to mention this was all served with nice, freshly toasted (and brushed with garlic) pita bread triangles. I literally squealed with enjoyment. Yea, that makes me sound like a fatty but whatever..it was fabulous. Not to sound like an afterthought but I also ordered a falafel for my meal and that was great, as well. I can’t really compare it to anything though as that was the first falafel I’ve ever had. Yea..where have I been?

Once we were geared up with our full stomachs it was time to grab a taxi and head off to our primary destination of the day…Trunk Bay. We were told that the view of the bay from a nearby hilltop was the most amazing thing you’ll ever see. They were right, it was breathtaking.

I practically ran for the beach when we got there. The water was turquoise blue, the sand was white and powdery. It was beach perfection. We found a little alcove in the bushes that line the back end of the beach, tossed the towels down, and into the water we went. Anytime I’d get out of the water to either try to get some color or because the waves knocked me around a little too much I was lured back in by that crystal clear water. I couldn’t stay away. Needless to say, I was sad when it was time to go.

Once back in Cruz Bay we stopped at High Tide for some (rather strong) mid-day drinks, shopping (by far my favorite stop was the St. John Spice Company- coffee’s, tea’s, hot sauces, spice rubs galore…I was in heavennnnn. They even had the Baron’s West Indian Yellow Hot Sauce that I discovered at High Tide..Score!), and then finally dinner and more drink’s at Spy Glass. Even after the taco’s and wings I was still determined to accomplish my little goal of this trip there…try conch fritters. I was glad I did, they were quite yummy.

We boarded the ferry a little while after we watched the sunset from the deck of Spy Glass. It was finally time to say goodbye to my perfect island paradise but leaving wasn’t all too bad because we got to enjoy the amazing night sky on the ferry ride back. This was by FAR my favorite day of our trip.