We just returned from our honeymoon on St. John. I've never felt so much sadness coming home from a vacation before. I left my heart there, and we will always go back, as long as we can afford to. This island is magical. We stayed in a private villa near Hawksnest Bay (we saved $$ for the last several years), and rented a jeep--which is a MUST DO, if you really want to experience what St. John has to offer. I am in love with this island. I hope it always stays as pristine and natural as it is right now. I hope we don't ruin it like we have so many other islands. I came home with bug bites from head to to, and believe it or not, I'm sad to see them fading. They were reminders of how natural this place is. Everywhere I went was paradise. Everything I saw was pure. Every little critter we encountered was precious. I'm not a religious person, but I do believe, if there is a God, he or she lives here. Please go, but take care of this island when you do. Don't litter, don't take shells or pebbles, don't speed through its waters with speed boats or speed around its roads. Critters are everywhere here. They are kind enough to let us visit once in a while--it's the least we can do to respect their right to keep it the utopia that it is.<BR><BR>Ugh. I can't stop thinking about it. It's like that song in "South Pacific" about Bali Hai. It's intoxicating.<BR><BR>I can't believe a place this beautiful exists on the earth. What a privilege to have seen it in person.

Maggie love your report! Thank you! I love St. John too! It is an amazing place!

Penny--I'm glad you care about it as much as I do. It truly is a treasure. I hope we Americans always take the best care of it.

Maggie, I'm curious if you have ever been to any other caribbean island or was this your first experience?

I was on St. John for a day and loved the wildness of it, the lack of 'stuff' ie tons of restaurants and hotels. The water was amazing. However, you can get bitten by bugs anywhere. Trust me, i have been, from NYC to Venice, Italy. Mosquitos are no mark of natural or pure. If there's water, you will have em, period.

Well, we're kind of poor, so this was our first trip ANYWHERE, let alone to the islands. My husband's been to Europe (London and Leone), and I've been to California. Oh, six years ago, we drove to Maine for our first vacation together. (By the way, that was the last vaction we had before we just went to St. John.) It's not that we're boring, it's just that we're not from money. We're saving to go back to St. John as soon as possible.<BR><BR>I realize there are many other magical places to explore on this planet. I've heard wonderful things about tons of other locations. I just thought maybe all of you well-traveled souls would appreciate the opinion of a novice. Maybe it would remind those who've "done it all" that it's never as good as the first time.<BR><BR>&gt;bugsuck: Of course I realize bugs are everywhere--we're from Jersey where mosquitos thrive. I only meant to emphasize how much I miss St. John--even if it's only the bugs.

Maggie,<BR>I loved your trip report!!! It reminded me of the first time I went to Grand Cayman. And your absolutely right, the first visit is always the best!! But the rest of the visits are pretty good also! Hope you return to St. John soon!<BR>Sandy

We also just returned from St John where we hiked deep into the jungle to commune with nature and become one with the critters. When we got back to the States, we noticed to our horror that we accidentally brought back a pebble lodged in the sole of my hiking boot. So we've created an altar to hold the pebble safely until we can return it to its rightful place on our next magical pilgrimage to St John.

Just be glad it wasn't a gecko or some other critter! Been known to happen! <BR