St. John...Sunsets and clear water....Little Jost Van Dyke

Wallace's Sailing Adventure on "Arbella"
Mike and Vicki Wallace
Thu 21 Mar 2013 09:48

18:21.919N 64:43.508W  While the BVI's are great, right next door is St. John and it is 70% national parks and beaches.  The Park was established in 1956, with land donated by the Rockefellers, and then in 2001 nearly 13,000 acres were set aside as the Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument, as a submerged part of the park.  Our favorite spot to go for solitude, pristine beaches, and great snorkeling is Leinster Bay with Watermelon Cay.  Exploring the park area brings us to the remains of sugar plantations and sugar mills and rum stills, dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries, producing at the time sugar, rum, and molasses.  The Annaberg sugar mill is kept up by the park service in a manner for visitors to follow the processes used 300 years ago!  Snorkeling at Watermelon Cay was superb!

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