Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 25, 1993 TAG: 9304230454
SECTION: TRAVEL PAGE: F-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUGLAS PARDUE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Two of the best things about Jumby had been that it wasn't easy to get to and not many people knew it was there.
"But, gads!" I thought. "The Park Service has put in a staircase. Yech! Everybody will be going there now."
Judy and I discovered Jumby five years ago while on our honeymoon to St. John. Well, we didn't actually discover it. Others, mostly island residents, knew about Jumby, but few tourists found it.
We loved it the moment we felt the warmth of its confectionery sugar sand between our toes. Jumby is just a few feet wide and barely 100 feet long, curved in a tiny cove like a thin white smile. It separates crystal blue water from a green forest of palms and flamboyant trees climbing St. John's steep 1,000 foot high volcanic mountains. A protective reef within easy snorkeling distance keeps the water calm.
Jumby is a swiming pool out of a designer's dream.
Sheer beauty aside, the best part was that you could spend much of the day there alone. Most people stop a couple of coves back at Hawksnest or drive on to world famous Trunk Bay, which can be seen from Jumby around a rocky, coral encrusted point.
As I walked down the new wooden staircase to Jumby, I also worried that another quality of the tiny beach would be destroyed by easy access and increased popularity.
"Gee, do you think there are still topless and nude sunbathers on Jumby?" I said as we strolled the lush tropical path to the beach.
No sooner had I asked the question than up ahead on the beach I got a glimpse of bronze bodies through the foliage. A young couple with no tan lines.
Ah!! Jumby is still paradise.
Technically nude or topless sunbathing is illegal on St. John's beaches, which, along with two-thirds of the island, are under the control of the National Park Service. But on Jumby and a few isolated beaches, the Park Service just winks.
Now don't get me wrong, Judy and I are not nude sunbathers ourselves. We admit taking advantage of our dark sun glasses to check out the better proportioned bodies walking the beach. But our main reason for liking Jumby is that there are no kids and almost no people. In short it's what we go to St. John for - PEACE, QUIET, BEAUTY, and RELAXATION.
If your idea of a beach is miles of sand, like the beaches of Florida or North Carolina's Outer Banks, then you won't be happy on St. John, or much of the Caribbean for that matter.
Beaches here are much more intimate. In fact, they seem designed for changes in mood and interest. In St. John if you don't like a beach, just jump in your Jeep and drive to the next cove. The beaches are so different they seem to be on different islands.
Jumby is quiet, lush and intimate. Trunk Bay is large and crowded by St. John standards - only about 3,000 people live on the 9 mile by 5 mile island. It offers a spectacular view and is considered one of the Caribbean's most beautiful beaches. Naturally it is also popular with tourists, and has well maintained picnic, snack and water sports facilities. There's even an underwater marked reef trail to snorkle along - much of the reef is dying, but the trail is still striking.
Campers can stay at Cinnamon Bay or at Maho Bay where pelicans dive bombing fish often outnumber sunbathers.
Snorkling is hard to beat just down the road at Leinster Bay where many large sailboats anchor in the protected cove.
Most of the island's beaches are on the lush north shore where they are protected by the nearby British Virgin Islands of Jost VanDyke and Tortola. But far off the tourist path on St. John's dry southeast end are two gems - Salt Pond and Little Lameshur Bay.
You have to hike to Salt Pond, which can be a bit rough on hot days because there is virtually no shade at this dry end of the island where cactus and yucca plants replace palms and flamboyant trees. But the beach and a quick dip in the cooling Caribbean makes the heat, sweat and hike worth it.
Salt Pond Bay is calm on even the windiest days because it is ringed by ridges. And swimming is easy because the water remains shallow well out into the bay as the bottom slopes gently past the protective reef. Snorkling is good around the bay's southern point, but the tide can be treacherous outside the reef.
Little Lameshur Bay is even more unused than Salt Pond, which makes it a favorite for locals and regular vacationers. It's about as far as you can get by road from the more popular northshore beaches. Many tourists probably avoid it because the road is dirt and maps indicate four-wheel vehicles only. Except for one steep hill, the road isn't all that rough and the advantage is that you can drive right up to the beach and park under a shade tree.
One nice thing about going to Salt Pond or Little Lameshur is what you can do when you leave. As you drive back along the road to Coral Bay stop at Miss Lucy's restaurant and bar for a drink (Yes, grungy beach look and all is OK). Miss Lucy's used to play nothing but Billie Holiday music, but now it's gone West Indian. Chef Alfred Augustin also will happily prepare a snack of conch fritters and fungi - Caribbean soul food, tasty and filling.
The Caribbean, by the way, is not known for seafood, much of which is imported from the states. Native cooking tends to be heavy on chicken, goat and starches.
If haute cuisine and haute culture are what you want, St. John has two beaches that offer that in abundance. At Caneel Bay, a resort near the main port of Cruz, you can drop $100 for lunch and dine right on the beach. You might even see a celebrity or two. And on Great Cruz Bay at Hyatt Regency, which used to be the Virgin Grand, you can sit in lounge chairs and be served drinks by waiters who walk up on brick and stone paths swept free of sand.
Personally I prefer Jumby. I can carry a cooler with everything I need, and the view is much more - well - natural.
by CNB