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How About a Little Island Update?

The island is so green! No filters ever. These colors are real!

Hello everyone, and happy Wednesday! I think it’s about time to post our very first, but certainly not our last, Island Tidbits island update!

Ok, so I have to start with the obvious… We have had SO MUCH rain lately. Our cisterns are full, and the island is super green and lush. Enough already Mother Nature, you can stop now. We need our blue skies to return on the regular please.

For those of you who are new to island life, the majority of us here on St. John live off of collected rainwater. Those living right in Cruz Bay are the exception. The rest of us, however, rely on the rain to collect water for our homes. The rainwater is then funneled through a gutter system and into a cistern, which can be likened to a basement in a way. But rather than be living space, it’s typically a big ole’ concrete room (most of the time – some people have plastic ones beside their homes) that holds our water. And when we run out of water, which happens from time to time, but certainly is not happening for anyone right now, we call the water truck to fill us up.

And when it rains like this, we often get runoff into some of our bays and onto our beautiful beaches. Check out this brown water we saw at Maho Bay earlier this week. When you see water like this, you do not want to swim nearby.

Maho Bay runoff earlier this week

Want to know what I think are the best sites to monitor our weather? Click this link to check that out. You can also check out our webcam page at www.IslandTidbits.com/webcams to see what’s happening live on island.

Ok, so now back to the positive stuff. Nearly everything has reopened on island at this point (after being closed for slow season). The island is starting to fill up again, but it is in no way super busy. It’s still relatively easy to get a parking spot at the beach or a reservation at a restaurant that requires one. (You also have time to book an island tour!)

For those of you planning to stay at the Westin over the next month or so, you are very lucky because the sun is setting, once again, directly in front of Great Cruz Bay. This is also great for the folks staying in parts of Chocolate Hole, Virgin Grand Estates and areas on Gifft Hill as, you too, will have a direct view of the sunset. And as we get closer to Christmas, you will even have the opportunity to see the sun set over the water which means one thing… the potential for a green flash! Exciting stuff.

Sunset at the Westin earlier this week

Now can we talk about the butterflies? There is an insane amount on island right now. I chatted with my friend Charles, the gardener up at Annaberg, and he said we have so many butterflies because the island is so green. Makes total sense. But seriously, if you are currently on island (lucky you!) or if you have a trip coming up soon, you are going to be absolutely stunned by the amount of butterflies here right now.

And lastly, I truly want to thank each and every one of you for reading Island Tidbits. When I sold News of St. John back in 2020, I never thought I’d write about the island again. I missed it tremendously, and I am so happy to have the ability to share all of these fun stories with all of you again! If there is anything you’d like to know more about, please feel free to email me at anytime at jenn@explorestj.com.

That’s it for today, folks! Tomorrow is my birthday, so I may or may not post. Let’s see how much fun I have tonight. πŸ˜‰

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13 Comments

  1. Kim westermann

    Happy birthday tomorrow! Enjoy! Here now and loving it! My in laws really enjoyed their tour! Thanks so much for taking them!

  2. Clayton Henry

    We’re so happy you did start Island Tidbits. We missed your insight, and, well, just your personality. The other blog has turned into nothing more than an advertising vehicle with no heart and soul! Keep up the good work! BTW, we’re coming down for 2 weeks tomorrow (Sat, 11/12) and can’t wait!!!

  3. Joe Barone

    Your News of St John was a constant read for me. Not the same without you. I so look forward to Island Tidbits and appreciate your return to writing about St John, a place we’ve enjoyed so much over the years.
    Thank you!
    Have a wonderful birthday, Jenn.

  4. Mark Bushor

    Happy Birthday!

    Have a great day and great weekend.
    Thanks for writing again.

    If you have any photos of Cinnamon Bay or an update on Caneel.
    I’d be interested to hear about that.
    Also, a bar that I really loved got destroyed, I don’t believe they are fixing it.
    Island Blues. How’s things there?

    Cheers

  5. Wendy Messick

    So happy to get your island updates again!!!
    My husband & I have been enjoying your piece of paradise for 23 years and every year we look forward to our return. We are officially on island time starting tomorrow!
    Hope you have a very happy birthday!!!

  6. Pingback:The Road to Lameshur Bays - Island Tidbits

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