Things to Do on St. Croix: Day Six

Welcome to Day 6 of our trip to St. Croix – exploring the west end of St Croix.

DAY1 – Fly to St. Croix, p/u rental car, stop at Captain Morgan Distillery, check in at Airbnb, free evening
DAY2 – Cane Bay and The Wall
DAY3 – Protestant Cay, downtown Christiansted/boardwalk
DAY4 – Sunrise @ Point Udall, Hike Jack & Isaac Bay (snorkeling)
DAY5 – Tide Pools @ Annaly Bay, Frederiksted Pier
****DAY6 – West end of the island: Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge, Domino Club, Rainbow Beach sunset****
DAY7 – Buck Island (TBD)
DAY8 – Cruzan Rum Distillery, d/o rental car, fly home 

If you’ve been following along, you’ll notice our Day 6 agenda outlined above has changed from what it originally was. We made some modifications to account for the weather, things we’ve already done and tips we’ve received. Sandy Point is only accessible to the public on weekend, so we updated our schedule to include a visit today. Today is all about sea turtles as we encounter several associated themes throughout the day (other than actually seeing one). It becomes clear that St.Croix is a sea turtle loving island.

St. Croix Travel Tip: While the mainland sets it’s clocks back this morning, time remains unchanged here on St. Croix as they do not honor daylight savings.

sandy point National Wildlife refuge

It’s a stormy morning here on St. Croix. We take our time re-evaluating our plans for the day and are slow getting up and out. The storms are forecast to clear up mid-morning but it looks like another overcast day. SO we settle on a trip to explore the west end of St Croix. Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge is open from 10am-4pm on Saturdays and Sundays, so we set  our sights on arriving there in time for the gates to open. We jump on Hwy 70 and head West. As we come upon Plaza Extra West, we realize we forgot to grab some ice for the cooler so we pop into one of the larger grocery stores on island. We browse the aisles, checking out what it has to offer and to see what their prices are like compared to the other stores we’ve shopped at. 

St. Croix Fun Fact: This is the site where the last scene in Shawshank Redemption was filmed! If you check it out on Google Maps (Zihuatanejo), there is actually a ‘tourist attraction’ marker for it! 

We arrive at the south west end of St Croix, at Sandy Point just after 10am. The entrance to the refuge is at the western most end of Hwy 60, aka the island’s “four lane highway”. There is a large, brown, ‘National Park’ style sign at the entrance to the refuge. As we make our way along the gravel, winding road, we cross paths with a riffle wielding environmental officer. He is friendly and reminds us to keep off the beach if we see the lightning returning. We thank him for his guidance and double check our course to the beach.

As we continue on, we drive alongside Westend Salt Pond which has it’s own collection of wildlife on display. This brackish lagoon, is a birdwatchers paradise!  As you continue along, you’ll want to keep to the right at the fork, and Tranberg Road essentially dead ends in a parking loop so you’ll know when you’ve arrived at the beach access. Once you park your vehicle, you’ll see signage describing the species of sea turtle that nest here and the beach entrance is to the right. 

St. Croix Travel Tip: The park is closed during the sea turtle nesting season from April through August, so if you are travelling during this time, you will be out of luck in visiting the refuge. 

The early bird gets the worm

We decide to leave all our things in the car and to walk down to the southwest point of the beach. This spot came as a recommendation from our waitress at Cheeseburgers for the fact that you can watch the south and west currents converge. Coffees in hand we enter the short, bushy path that opens up to the beach. As we make our way onto the sand, it would seem we have the ENTIRE BEACH TO OURSELVES AGAIN! This west view out over the Caribbean Sea is GORGEOUS. It doesn’t take long to realize that the water is as turquoise as it comes, even in overcast conditions. We make our way south along the beach, admiring the view and taking notice of all the expired sea turtle nests that line the shore. We even come across some empty egg shells. 

As we walk along, the sand gets deeper and deeper, taking us back to our childhood memories of walking knee deep in snow. We continue along as firmer sand returns, all the way down at Southwest Point. The converging currents are a very neat sight to see! Some of them manage to miss each other, generating a pattern of weaving waves, and the odd pair collide. A mesmerizing natural wonder not to be missed if you find yourself at Sandy Point.

After several minutes of admiration, we decide to make our way back to the car to grab our gear and set up on the beach. It appears we no longer have the beach to ourselves, as a couple fishermen have taken up shop along the shore. A couple beach goers have also taken their place on the golden sand and are frolicking in what has been referred to as ‘the island’s best floating beach’. Our original intent here was to snorkel but the visibility is pretty terrible, so we decide to join them.

Dorsch Beach & Mampi

After some time and a bit of lunch, we decide to head back to the car to drive north and check out Dorsch Beach, another recommendation from our Cheeseburgers waitress. The beach itself alternates between rocky and sandy so there’s some strategy to picking an entry point. There is a small clearing near the Dorsch Beach sign (just north of the Harbour  Beach Village Condominiums) which is where we make our entrance. It soon becomes clear why this stretch of coastline is a local snorkelers dream. We are immediately greeted by various species of colourful, tropical fish, hanging out along the rocks. We spend about an hour here snorkeling near the shoreline as the sun teases us from behind the clouds. If you are a diver, there are also SEVERAL known dive spots a couple hundred yards off shore. Hopefully we get a chance to check them out next time!

Beautiful as this spot is, once we emerge from the water, we soon became familiar with ‘mampi’. These ‘no-see-um’ biting flies are a force to be reckoned with. Fa true! The worst part is, while you notice a faint bite here and there, the bites don’t actually materialize for about 24 hours. It wasn’t until the next couple days that Kat realized she had been pretty savagely attacked.  Over 150 (yes, we counted  them)! Luckily the itch passes after a couple hours but the bite marks flare up and remain for over a week… 

Mount Pellier Domino Club

We dry off and head back into the rainforest to check out Mount Pellier Domino Club, slightly inland of the west end of St Croix. Sitting just off winding Mahogany Road, this little place is known for it’s beer drinking pig, (don’t worry it’s N/A beer). This is a HUGE draw to tourists, so naturally, we decided to check it out. When we arrive there are a handful of people sitting around the bar. We grab a chair and explore the beverage menu. While we debate what to order, Phil notices, jugs of mamajuana! Upon inquiry, the bartender provides a list of their mamajuana cocktails. WHAT?!? That’s right, it isn’t just a shot here. They concoct ‘hot mama’, ‘mama bull’ and ‘waterfall’. We order a couple Presidente, a shot of mamajuana and a waterfall (mamajuana shot mixed with…can’t remember, but it was DELICIOUS!!).

PS they sell their Mamajuana in 750mL bottles, so you can take the taste of the islands home with you!

We hang out and chat with another couple who had recently moved here. The guy is from the mainland and the girl from St. John, she was displaced by the Hurricanes last season. They inform us of a free concert that is taking place tonight in Sion Park, where Machel Montano will be headlining. It’s apparently part of one of the local campaigns as election day approaches. We part ways and head back to Rainbow Beach and Rhythms for dinner and a sunset that will likely be non-existent.

Rhythms & #theLastStraw

As we roll up to Rhythms at Rainbow Beach, the place seems to be quite busy! It is after all, dinner time on a Sunday, with NFL football on every screen. We are still able to snag a waterfront spot as the overcast sky starts to darken. Their menu consists of great local seafood items and fun cocktails. They have also banned plastic straws! Patrons have the option to purchase a reusable, metal straw  (for 50 cents) for their beverage. Luckily, we packed our own! We order a ‘Rum Punch’ in a bucket to share, along with fresh caught wahoo bites and an order of onion rings. THE BEST ONION RINGS EVER by the way! The food, drink and entertainment are delightful. As the sky grows darker, we notice the street lights starting to project their light. These streetlights however, are not your average street light as they emit a red glow. How cool! Because the street lights are essentially beach front, all of the bulbs have been replaced with sea turtle friendly red ones. Sea turtles are EXTREMELY sensitive to light, and the long wavelengths produced by red light are the least disruptive to adults and hatchlings. This is in our opinion, BRILLIANT!

Live Entertainment!

From the west end of St Croix, we head back to our Airbnb to chill for a bit before heading to the free concert as Machel is set to get on stage around midnight. As the night progresses, we prepare to head out again. You can hear the music nearly a mile away. As we begin to approach Sion Park, it is evident that this event is kind of a big deal. Cars are parked along side the road and the local lots are packed as people swarm towards the park. There is a large stage set up, entertainment is full swing and food vendors and the cash bar are busy.

We stick around for the full set of what we believe to be the opening band, just prior to Machel taking the stage, but the next performer follows and before long it’s well after midnight. Exhausted, we decide to head back to our pad, having missed Machel, but a fun night out none the less!

Be sure to check back in for day 7!

Until next time,

One of the harsher realities of traveling in the Caribbean is getting used to seeing dogs as road kill. Dogs are generally perceived very differently in the islands, mostly as a nuisance which is a sad fact to consider. Luckily, there is a program on St. Croix which sponsors dogs to be flown off the island and taken to mainland shelters. ‘Pets from Paradise’ is a program that we unfortunately found out about to late but fully intend to participate in on our next trip.  How does it work? All you need to do is connect with the St, Croix Animal Welfare Center with your itinerary for you flight back to the mainland. And they take care of the rest! They meet you at the airport with the dog (or cat), you travel with the animal, and upon landing, someone form a local shelter will meet up with you to take the animal from you. That’s it! There is no cost to the traveller transporting the animal, though they are happy to accept donations towards the pet’s airline ticket. Pretty cool right?! Check out if their website to see if your town of departure is associated with a partner shelter.