Settlers of the Caribbean: Weekends are better at the beach

The Preserve at Botany Bay. It is just like having our own private beach...

As you may imagine, we spend a lot of time at the beach here. We don't go every day or every weekend, but we certainly go enough to fulfill our heart's desires.

The Preserve at Botany Bay is just a short drive from our apartment. The Preserve is actually a luxury gated community, which is having trouble selling lots for luxury homes under the current economic conditions. Although there are many lots available and the infrastructure has already been put in place, the Preserve has not able to sell more than approximately 5 lots. The rest of the community resembles a ghost town in the middle of a rain forest. It is complete with a road and sidewalk for nobody to enjoy and is surrounded by a beautiful tropical landscape. For these reasons, they allow the public (for now) to come in and enjoy the beauty the Preserve has to offer. Justin and I dread the day when they put a stop to it. However, we feel like it will be a long time coming given the circumstances. We like to go to the Preserve because of the unspoiled beauty and lack of crowds. Only those that know about it can get there and know which routes to take to get to the beaches. When we go to the Preserve, we drive there, park the car outside the gate, leave our names with the security guard, and take a hike down to one of three beaches of our choice: Sandy Bay, Botany Bay or Mermaid's Chair. Our favorite beach of choice is Sandy Bay with all that the name implies, but the other beaches are just as nice. Botany Bay has a lot of coconuts, which we collect, crack and take home. Mermaid's Chair is the westernmost point of St. Thomas and is straddled by the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

And so I share with you, the natural splendor that is the Preserve at Botany Bay (in pictures of course).