US Virgin Islands News

Apr 20, 2011

Sunsets ... Got one?

Got a sunset photo of which you're proud?

Email it to frank@newsofstjohn.com. We'll create a portfolio page for them.

Taking better Virgin Islands sunset photos

We're into making lists for St. John this week.

Another photographer friend is Scott Bourne. His speciality is wildlife photography, often concentrating on birds.

Since so many people want to come back from their visits with pictures of sunsets, Scott's recent blog post about how to get great sunset pictures is worth a read.

This, by the way, is one of my photos of a sunrise, taken during a photowalk with Steve Simonsen.

Here are some of Scott's top tips:

1. Use a tripod. "Eliminates the blur caused by camera movement."
2. Find something for your foreground, to add depth to the scene. " A picture of the sun setting with nothing else ... can be pretty boring."  Pretty, but boring.
3. Be ready.  Best light is 30-45 minutes before sunset.
4. Use the Spot meter setting on your camera.  "Meter a spot 25 degrees to the left or right of the sun."
5. Using a telephoto lens, zoomed into the light, will make the foreground more prominent, and perhaps more dramatic.

• Read all of Scott Bourne's tips here.

St. John's largest retailer is for sale

St. John Hardware is being offered for sale for $1,695,000.  

The owners are long time island residents, well known for their community involvement and support of its activities and charities.

Now located at the Marketplace, and one of the original developers of the project, the business has been the go-to place for builders, contractors, craftsmen and home owners for more than 15 years.  The owners bought t just a year before Hurricane Marilyn, which devastated the island in 1995. 

Accessible trail at Cinnamon Bay ruins

A formal ribbon cutting this week marked completion of the island's second accessible train in the Park.

The project at Cinnamon Bay project is 610 feet long and uses ramps and raised walkways to make it possible for people using wheelchairs or needing support or assistance to enjoy the recovered ruins of the ancient sugar factory.  

Visitors can see where sugar cane was processed to become rum, a boiling house where kettles boiled down the syrup to crystal form.  Also on the property are crypts of a Danish family who lived and died on the island.

Why there will be more tourists on St. John

New York Magazine's latest choice for its "Weekend Trips" feature is your favorite island.  And with one exception, travel writer Grace Bastidas' recommendations are spot on.

It's unfortunate she's only writing about a two- or three-day stay, but then again, you know how New Yorkers are!  

Here's what she suggests:

Parking lot, Centerline repairs soon come?

There is more evidence that the St. John Chamber of Commerce chapter's public frustration about Cruz Bay parking is having an effect.

The group's president, Kate Norfleet, publicly asked why the nearly-complete lot at the Enighed Pond commercial port couldn't, at least, be partially opened, despite several unfinished elements.

Over the weekend, the St. John Source quoted the Commissioner of Public Works saying, in effect, 'OK.'

Baby, it's dry outside

The islands are in the beginning stages of a drought, according to a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in San Juan, the St. John Source reported.  "That was the driest January on record," said Rafael Mojica.

Making the lack of moisture more troublesome is the low humidity which only adds to the risk of fire, he said. According to forecasters at Weatherunderground.com, rainfall this month has been 10% of normal.

What this means to people on St. John is noise.  More water trucks than usual can be heard coursing across the island to fill cisterns at rental villas.  

A load of water, 4,200 gallons, goes for $365 or 8.7 cents a gallon.  By some calculations, that would mean a five-minute shower uses $1 worth of water.  

On St. Thomas, because water reserves are low, some people are being asked to conserve and residents may find they have little water pressure during the daylight hours.  This is because several pumping stations are being repaired.

So,  the usual caution to visitors ... please watch your water use.  On St. John, except for Cruz Bay which gets its water via an underwater pipe, the only water available comes from the sky and into the cisterns.  

Warming up for Wagapalooza

Planning for the St. John version of the Westminster Dog Show is well underway.  

The 11th annual Wagapalooza is set for Saturday, May 21, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Winston Wells ball field in CRuz Bay, across the street from Fatty Crab, and next to the Sprauve School. They hold the fund raiser for the Animal Care Center in the evening to avoid the heat of the day.

As always, the show will feature competition.  Prizes will be awarded to the "Best Old Timer," "Best Lap Dog," "Best Chow Hound," and others. "Winners will chosen by a distinguished panel of judges comprised of infamous St. Johnians," according to the ACC.

This the logo for this year's show. It's just been released and soon it will appear on posters and t-shirts, suitable for purchasing and/or framing.  Bring either to the event and you could get it paw-graphed by your favorite mutt.

• The Wagapalooza Web site is here 
• Eloise Anderson of the St. John Sun-Times posted nearly as hundred photos from last year's Wagapalooza. see them here. 

Mario Batali's St. John restaurants

One of the best known chefs and restaurant operators in the US made it a point to taste some of the best of St. John's eateries. (Who's Mario Batali?

During his vacation at Caneel Bay last week, Mario Batali made it to Cruz Bay several times and used Twitter to let his fans around the world know what he found.

The new fatty Crab restaurant apparently was the favorite.  "Yeow! Back at Crabby fatso ... presently surfing wave of yumminess," Batali Tweeted one night.  Another visit prompted this comment: "The crabby chubster rules."  It also appears, from a Tweet, that besides two dinners at FC, he lunched there on his way to the airport and home.

La Tapa was also a fave.  "Ahh, La Tapa.  Paella again?"

After a day of "Sweeet fishing w our Capt. Chris," Batali and friends brought fresh snapper to be "cooked with love by Tapa kitchen."

On that fishing trip, Batali reported "Susi (his wife) caught and released a nice little sail fin off Lizard Rock," and posted this picture.

Also getting positive comments from, the former would-be pro football player-turned-food magnate, was La Plancha del Mar.  "Great menu. Killer amuse of crisp polenta with Duck Confit. Yumster!!"

He gave the St. John Brewers boys a thumbs up. "Killer brew and root beer made in USVI!," he Tweeted. The chef also visited Waterfront Bistro at Wharfside. His comment, "What a view."

When he wasn't eating, Batali stayed at Caneel - playing tennis, lounging on the Turtle Bay beach and "Counting clouds for the government!! 1, 2 .....3, uh?"

The Inquiring Iguana knows that some readers of this item might think the little green guy is a stalker. But, clearly, Mario Batali wanted the world to know his almost-every-move.  He even continued Tweeting at the St. Thomas airport where he proudly announced, "I just ousted @madisonmalone as the Mayor of Island News & Gift Store at St. Thomas Airport on Foursquare."

Come back soon, Mario!

Cinnamon Bay building to get $400K makeover

A long, long time ago in a land far, far away, the building that is now the archeology museum at Cinnamon Bay was a convenience store.  

This was well before St. John had the Starfish Market and La Plancha del Mar.  

Campers were happy if the little shack had butter and hamburger.  

It also rented snorkels.

Today, the little building at the water's edge is closed for renovation.  In recent years, it's been the place where archaeologist Ken Wild and his interns have displayed their finds as they excavate on the beach looking to write more history about the island's original inhabitants.

Wild told the Virgin Islands Daily News that best evidence says the building was constructed in 1680.

Now it is getting a face lift to become a contemporary archaeological lab and museum.  The National Park Service has budgeted nearly $300,000 for the project., The money will come from the $4/person admission fees charged at Trunk Bay. The Friends of the Virgin Islands National Park expects to spend an additional $120,000 on the project including the costs of display cases and building exhibits. (Details on the Friends' plans are here.)

Construction is expected to take about three months, according to the Daily News.
Read more in the Daily News' story here,