St. John Day 2 - Donkey Revenge

Beaches Visited: Jumbie, Hawksnest, Francis Bay
Trails Hiked: Peace Hill Trail
Mosquito Bite Total on Heather: ~27
Mosquito Bite Total on Bill: 0

Although it was still cloudy and stormy-looking this morning, we were determined to not let that stop us. We got ready and headed out to Jumbie Bay on the North Shore. We immediately fell in love. It was incredibly peaceful and beautiful. We found snails and sea urchins and were accosted by tiny fish. The water was shallow and calm, so we were able to just sit in the water for as long as we wanted.

Jumbie Bay

We knew there was much more to see, though, and so after lunch, we headed toward Gibney Beach, which only has 3 parking spots so it's incredibly difficult to get to. Of course, they were all taken so we went on to Hawksnest Beach. It was big and nice, but a bit too crowded for us so we decided to try somewhere else.

Along the North Shore Road, we decided to stop at the Peace Hill Trail to see what we could see. This ended up being our big drama for the day, as we were promptly assaulted by a highly aggressive pack of wild donkeys. I think they could smell the Chex Mix on us and they weren't going to take no for an answer. Three of them distracted me while the other one cornered Bill. Here, you can see him desperately looking for an escape route.

"Hand over the Chex Mix and no one gets hurt."

After we were able to flee the donkeys, we headed up the Peace Hill Trail and saw some old sugar mill ruins and some lovely, breath-taking views of the ocean below. We turned to head back down the trail, only to find that the donkeys had followed us and were blocking the trail! It was like a horror movie. We weren't sure how we were going to get back to the Jeep.

"You cannot escape us. Just hand over the Chex Mix and you can be on your way."

Luckily, it turns out, they were just giant chickens and fled from us as we got close. Speaking of chickens, we saw a lot of those running around randomly today too. And we saw a deer right by the road that didn't run away from us. Once back on the road, we headed to Francis Bay Beach. What can I say? It was also amazing. The water was shallow and dead calm. We spent much of the afternoon just sitting in the water. It was quiet with very few people around and the sun finally started coming out. What a great way to spend the day.

Francis Bay Beach

We spent the evening having a fantastic meal at Morgan's Mango in Cruz Bay. I had locally caught Wahoo with chimichurri sauce and Bill had seafood paella. We struck up a conversation with the couple next to us and they just happened to be from Atlanta too. What are the odds?

Other tidbits from today - apparently St. John mosquitoes scoff at my Deep Woods Off with 25% DEET, which also happens to turn my skin green. We found a very odd radio station here that was playing some of the hits from our college years, including "our song" by Mazzy Star, "Fade Into You." Bill is getting very good at driving here. We both got some nice sun, but no burn - thank you Coppertone Sport SPF 50!

Finally, this may be the most beautiful place I've ever seen in my life.