Dave's Travel Adventures: St. Croix, US Virgin Islands -- June 2014 (Part 5A: Ham's Bay & Mount Victory)

DAY FIVE: Wednesday, 4 June 2014

Waking up right before dawn so I could enjoy the sunrise, and sound of the waves crashing in the quiet morning, are the main reasons why I’m here. I’m enjoying the trip very much, but the energy is different than the last time I was here. That was the optimism of the first of many trips, and this is the reality of the last trip for the foreseeable future. I’ve taken a lot of pictures this time, but no where near the amount as the previous time. The sky still had some haze this morning, and that may stay through the rest of the week. I was told previously (last night by Rico) if I’d come down for the week of my birthday (like I’d originally planned), I would’ve had rain the entire week, and rain for half of the following week. So even though I didn’t get to spend my actual birthday on the beach, I have tried to make this entire week a celebration as much as I can.

During my first morning walk, I encountered an older gentleman fishing on the beach, and we chatted for a bit. His name was Gregory, and he’d lived on St. Croix all his life. He was now retired from the National Guard, and chose to remain here, even though his children had moved state-side (his daughter was in CT, and his son in SC). He talked about the reason why Hurricane Hugo was so devastating to the island wasn’t just the fact that most people didn’t have hurricane insurance. He said as young people left the island for better opportunities, they didn’t come back to claim the property left-behind by aging parents. Thus there were many buildings damaged by Hugo which have remained that way because some didn’t care (or had the finances) to repair them.

Gregory mentioned the resort next door (the Hibiscus) was closed permanently. Seems the owner (who lives off island) let his son manage it. A water source was damaged and never fixed, and there was some drug deal which happened on site, which lead to the place being closed down. Except for a couple maintenance people there, that place was abandoned.

Other than a few rooms, all the storm shades were closed. I had visions of Norman Paperman from Don’t Stop the Carnival coming in and taking over the place. Sure the infrastructure would need to be repaired, but it’s got a prime beach location (which is extremely desirable). This is one good thing about being a solo traveler, as it gives me the opportunity to interact with locals like this.

After my morning walk, I grabbed the camera to see if I could get a few shots of the grounds of the Hibiscus in order to make a determination of the condition of the property. I didn’t get very far, as the dirty looks from the maintenance guy loitering there put a kibosh to that. I just rounded out the rest of the morning swimming and enjoying the wave pool like I’d done the previous day.

I decided I was going to explore places I hadn’t been before. I hopped on Route 70 which would bring me towards Fredericksted, but I had no desire to return to that city. I was able to take Route 63 to avoid it, and came out on the northern side.

I was heading towards the lighthouse at Ham’s Bay today. The roads on the west side of the island are worse than on the east side, so as I worked towards the northwest side of the island I spent a lot of time travelling slow so I could avoid pot holes. The lighthouse at Ham’s Bay better be worth this! I passed the road (Route 76) which had taken me through the rain forest on my last trip, and then a turn off (Route 58) to Mount Victory. Since that was a listed resort on my visitor’s map, I figured that would be a subsequent destination.

There were some pull-off points where I could take a few pictures, but those areas were few. I passed a car called Coconuts (which had a Texas flag out in front of it), and Rainbow Beach, both which were small venues. Besides those, there wasn’t much to see. A lot of this section is residential, or there’s a decent amount of trees between me and the shore, so I couldn’t see anything. The roads were here were some of the worse I’d travelled on, due to the large number of pot holes. I finally found the turn-off for Ham’s Bay, but after travelling a ways I could tell I was heading eastward again. The lighthouse couldn’t be found. Once I found a usable turnaround spot, I exited this section.

Just south of Ham’s Bay was a cleared hillside dotted with a few trees known as Butler Bay. What got my attention was the large set of ruins there, so I pulled in to investigate and take some pictures. I wasn’t even ten feet in the driveway when this guy emerges from behind a ruined wall, and let’s me know there was no trespassing. I didn’t see a sign. And this wasn’t some random guy, but a member of the Highway Department (as I could see on his shirt, and the truck parked behind the wall). I gathered he and his crew were taking a rest break, but I wasn’t going to press the issue. I then resumed my southward motion.

Once I came upon the intersection for Route 58 (and the sign which said “Mount Victory 1.8 miles ahead”) I took it. The first mile was flat and level (smooth driving with no potholes). The second mile began to sharply ascend in a narrow and twisting manner. The two times I did encounter someone coming the other way, we both had to hug the shoulder to be able to pass. There wasn’t much shoulder to start with, very sections had any guard rails, and many places had a nice drop-off into a ravine. After the bust Ham’s Bay was, I hoped this would be worth it.

I located what served as the parking lot of the Mount Victory Eco-Camp, and pulled Silvara in there. Her transmission had been struggling as we ascended, so I was glad to be able to locate this. I passed through a canopy of trees, and after a few dozen feet, then emerged on to a cleared hillside dotted with bungalows. This was commune living at it’s finest. I didn’t hear anyone about, but I kept my eyes peeled so I wouldn’t be considered trespassing again. I wanted to look around the area, but it’s better to do so with the blessing of those there.

I scaled to the top of the hill to take a few pictures. I could see the forested hills, but nothing which gave me a good view of the entire island. Once I’d taken a glance around, I exited the area as there wasn’t anything else apparently to see. There was a set of ruins at the base of the hill, but there was also a section marked “private residence” next to it. Silvara had an easier time going down, but I could hear her brakes grinding. Funny the things you become aware of when working in the automotive industry.

About half-way down the hilly section of Route 58 was a small pond. I thought (when I was driving up) that would be a nice picture, but there was no place to pull off, but I didn’t want Silvara to lose her momentum. On the way down I encountered a guy who’d stopped in the road just so he could take a picture of the pond. Dude, I’m not that drunk! I had to go into the other lane of the curve to get around him. I’m glad I didn’t have to deal with another vehicle coming up.

Back on the main drag, I stopped into Coconuts so I could get a St. John’s Root Beer (as there were posters around for it). It was an open-air establishment, and I waited about five minutes, but didn’t see a soul. I called out, as perhaps there was someone in the back. Nada. All the lights were on at the bar, but otherwise it didn’t look like it was open. Well, I’ll find a drink somewhere else. I tried to make my way towards the Fredericksted Pier, but as I got closer to the area there was no reasonable place to park. I looped back around, grabbed the bypass, and ended up back on Route 70.