Frommer's EasyGuide to the Virgin Islands by Alexis Lipsitz-Flippin

Author:Alexis Lipsitz-Flippin [Flippin, Alexis Lipsitz]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781628870695
Publisher: FrommerMedia

Continue down the meandering curves of King’s Alley. Within 1 block you’ll be standing beside:

11Christiansted’s Harborfront

End your tour here by strolling the boardwalk of the waterside piers and watching the sailboats bob in the harbor (and perhaps a seaplane touching down).

Frederiksted

This former Danish settlement at the western end of the island, about 17 miles from Christiansted, is a sleepy port town that comes to life when a cruise ship docks at its pier—which is happening more frequently these days. Frederiksted was destroyed by a fire in an 1878 labor revolt, and the citizens rebuilt it by putting Victorian wood frames and clapboards on top of the old Danish stone and yellow-brick foundations.

Most visitors begin their tour at russet-colored Fort Frederik, at the northern end of Frederiksted next to the cruise-ship pier ( 340/772-2021). This fort, completed in 1760, is said to have been the first fort in the Caribbean to salute the flag of the new United States. An American brigantine, anchored at port in Frederiksted, hoisted a crudely made Old Glory. To show its support for the emerging American colonies, the head of the fort fired a cannonball in the air to honor the Americans and their new independence. Such an act violated the rules of Danish neutrality. It was at this same fort, on July 3, 1848, that Governor-General Peter von Scholten emancipated the slaves in the Danish West Indies, in response to a slave uprising led by a young man named Moses “Buddhoe” Gottlieb. In 1998, a bust of Buddhoe was unveiled here. The fort has been restored to its 1840 appearance and today is a national historic landmark. You can explore the courtyard and stables. A local history museum has been installed in what was once the Garrison Room. Admission is $3, free for children 15 and under; it’s open Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 4pm.

The Customs House, just east of the fort, is an 18th-century building with a 19th-century two-story gallery. To the south of the fort is the visitor bureau at Strand Street ( 340/772-0357), where you can pick up a free map of the town.

SANDY POINT WILDLIFE REFUGE

St. Croix’s rarely visited southwestern tip is composed of salt marshes, tidal pools, and low vegetation inhabited by birds, turtles, and other wildlife. More than 3 miles of ecologically protected coastline lie between Sandy Point (the island’s westernmost tip) and the shallow waters of the West End Salt Pond. This national wildlife refuge is one of only two nesting grounds of the leatherback turtle in the United States—the other is on Culebra, an offshore island of Puerto Rico. It’s also home to colonies of green and hawksbill turtles, and thousands of birds, including herons, brown pelicans, Caribbean martins, black-necked stilts, and white-crowned pigeons. As for flora, Sandy Point gave its name to a rare form of orchid, a brown/purple variety. The area consists of 360 acres of subtropical vegetation, including the largest salt pond in the Virgin Islands.

The wildlife refuge is only open to the public on Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 4pm (admission is free).

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.