Girls Trip - Island Style

After enduring an awful, never-ending winter on the East Coast, a vacation was in order! I was so excited about going to my first island, outside of Mackinaw and Boblo, I actually planned the trip! To you it may not seem like a big deal to plan a trip but for me, I would rather tweeze someone's armpits.

Renting a car and driving on the left was easy. Being lost because the signal wasn't strong enough to use the GPS on my phone, was not. It was cool though because the sights were so beautiful!  

The complimentary rum punch we received upon arrival was well deserved!  St. Croix is home to Captain Morgan and Cruzan Rum so you know their rum punch was on point! If you want to get right to it, try the real Cruzan Confusion at the Carambola Beach Resort & Spa; 6 different rums in one drink = nice and confused!!

Dinner reservations were at The Waves at Cane Bay and not only was the food delectable, the view was too.  I had Mahi that was caught that day and that alone made me want to move to St. Croix. Fresh seafood is everything!

After dragging ourselves away from the beautiful sunset, we went back to the resort to see the Friday night show.  Someone said it was a fire show but apparently, we were in for another treat, the Mocko Jumbies!

The tradition of these masked people on stilts, came over with the enslaved Africans who were brought to the island during the slave trade. Their presence was an important part of African religious ceremonies, the rites of passage (when a boy is recognized as a man and a girl as a woman), and many African tribes believed that Mocko Jumbies acted as the spiritual seers and protectors of the village.  Now, they are still a part of the Cruzan culture and can be seen at Jump Up! (a carnival like celebration) four times a year.

Since my friend grew up on St. Croix, I had my very own island guide. She took us to Rainbow beach which had the most activities (jet skis, volleyball, a beach bar, and this catamaran "Jolly Mon") and the most rocks! The reef there died, R.I.P. coral, so there were a LOT of rocks and shells that you had to step over before you got to the non-rocky part. Once past the rocks, the water was fine.

Just beyond my River Island double layer Creole earrings, you see a cruise ship docked which brought more activity in the area so, on to the next beach we went. Dorsch beach was so nice, I stayed in the water until I got all prunie. By then, we were starving so we went to UCA's Kitchen and got some delicious vegan/vegetarian food, spicy popcorn, and real guava juice! The popcorn is so good, I'm thinking about getting some shipped to me right now!

After we ate, we headed up to this gem hidden away in the rainforest. 

A sustainable farm with over 20 fruit trees and many that I had never heard of; bread fruit, stinky toe fruit, etc.  My mind was blown! The drive on the rocky road was definitely worth it. The fresh fruit was better than Whole Foods and I didn't have to sell a body part to get it! I tried carambola/starfruit for the 1st time, right off the tree…LOVE it! I'm drooling just thinking about it. I really wanted to stay and work for food!

                          The last day, we stayed on the beach at our resort as long as possible…

well...I had to get one more drink, or two, thanks to the bartender who didn't want to be wasteful ;)

Then we walked back to the room...

got lost one last time, and then headed back home…but not before picking up a bottle of Key Lime Cruzan Rum of course! I will definitely be back, this time, with hiking shoes to hike to the tide pools and a scuba certification so I can dive to see some coral.

-Cam