Yesterday we went up to Mountain Top, which boasts the best banana daiquiris, which I have never tried, and an amazing view of Magen’s Bay. It also has a huge store filled with every souvenir you could imagine. Jef got me a big floppy hat and I bought both a t-shirt and sweatshirt for reasonable prices.

After shopping, we headed to Magen’s Bay, which is generally THE beach to hit when you come to St. Thomas. It is where most of the tourists from cruises head for the day. We checked ahead of time to make sure there were no boats in the harbor that day so I could experience this beach. You have to pay for the beach and parking. It’s $5 a person and $2 for parking. It boasts lifeguards, several bathrooms with changing areas, a bar, and a place to rent water sports equipment.

As you can see, the water is a beautiful color and very clear. It is the one time I don’t mind swimming in the ocean because I can see everything. We set up our stuff at a picnic table in the shade and decided to walk down the beach. It was a bit windy and sitting in the shade was cool. I walked the entire beach, which was much longer than I originally thought. I tried to take a dip after my walk, but the water and the wind combined stopped me. We left shortly after because the wind picked up again and was causing whirlwinds with the sand.

After recharging with a nap, we headed to Sudi’s bar/restaurant, which is located in Saphire Village. Jef’s good friend, Barefoot Davis was playing there and we wanted to enjoy dinner while listening to him play. We ate some super fresh Mahi. Jef had a sandwich and I had tacos. Barefoot Davis plays with lots of different musicians and last night his accompaniment was a man on steel drums. It was really neat to listen to them play songs I knew well with steel drums and a guitar.

Today the winds were up to 25 mph, so we headed back to Secret Harbor, which is the best place to go when the winds are kicking up on the island. Sadly, it clouded over quickly and rained, then cleared, then rained again. I did not want to spend the day dodging the rain, so we left early and drove around the island. We decided to head down to Peterborg Point to watch the water hit the rocks.

Peterborg Point used to be the place many weddings took place for the sheer beauty of the cliff side and ocean view. However, now you are not really allowed near the cliffs any more because so many people have died there. The most recent tragedy was a 23 year old woman from Florida who was taking pictures of the trench with her boyfriend when a wave came up and threw them both in the trench. The boyfriend was thrown back up on the rocks, but she struggled to get out. A nearby wedding party actually came to her aid, but the waves were too strong and they never recovered her body. Her family urged the island to put up warning signs to tourists, since locals understood the dangers of the area. Now much of the area is blocked off from anyone entering.

We headed back to our place and after warming up on our deck, Jef wanted to get in the water. We drove down to Brewer’s Bay, which is past the airport and next to/on the University of the Virgin Islands campus. Brewer’s Bay has some really lovely shells and coral, but very little shade. I found a spot to read under the few trees while Jef enjoyed the water and later listened to a band that was set up on the beach for a private party.

Tonight we ate in town at The Green House, which has two for one drink specials from 4-7pm every day. Be careful what you order though because they give you two right away. They give you Johnny cake as your bread offering and it was AMAZING. Johnny cake is basically fried bread. However, the one they served us was not greasy at all, but very bread-like inside. I loved it.

Every year they hold an Agricultural Fair on the West Side of the island. It is quite a drive to get there, especially if you are staying on the East Side, but we were about 20 minutes away. The West Side is very lush and rainforest like and therefore is where you find the most farming land. The fair costs $4 a person and there are many vendors not only selling produce, but also essential oils, things to eat, jewelry, and clothes. The most interesting thing was that very few food stalls had. any signs of what they were serving or how much anything cost. However, there were lines for every single vendor and it smelled really rich.

We found a place to sit and enjoyed listening to the reggae band that played and people watching. There were many people dressed in colorful outfits of their heritage and kids were chasing each other around the stalls. We left after the first band finished, but they play until midnight each night it is open. We bought some bananas on the way out, but after tasting them, we realized maybe we don’t know how bananas really taste.