On my second trip to St John, USVI I once again stayed in the tree-house like canvas tent cabins of the Maho Bay Camps. It was relatively cheap, eco-conscious, and amazing views!
However, the tents were getting a little worse for the ware. Small holes dotted the roof and screens. Doors wouldn’t fully close. But, when you are in paradise, these complaints fade away.
Iguanas lounged on the deck. Hermit crabs scurried underfoot (after being captured and released by a young child.) Gekkos in your tent became your friend as they would eat the bugs. Rain would lull you to sleep (and sometimes drip on you!) A walk to the beach rewarded you with lush corals, curious squid, lots of little fish. It was amazing!
But, nights for me were a bit sleepless. Both trips I slept on the vinyl couch in the living area. On the second trip, the floor sloped downward, and I kept sliding out of my makeshift bed! Thankfully, Maho had a “leave/take” section where people could leave items for others to use after they left. Think extra beach chairs, sunscreen, or luckily for me 25 copies of a hard cover book about St John from the previous year. I had seen them before and thought it was odd, but around midnight of the first night I got an idea. I walked in the pure dark to the main pavilion, grabbed all 25 copies, and headed back to my tent. After a little playing around I was thankfully able to prop the couch into a better position where I wouldn’t fall out! Thank god!
But the next night I woke up again. This time it was a bump and a thud…right onto my chest. I felt something wet and slimy so I bolted right awake. A translucent white frog had fallen from the rafters and had a soft landing on me! It was just as stunned as I was! Before I could react it hopped off into the dark. The next day I saw it once again up in the rafters, but thankfully it didn’t fall down the rest of the trip!
Note: The Maho Bay Camps closed down a few years ago, and much of the USVI was damaged during two hurricanes in 2017. So these tent cabins no longer exist.
Travel Missteps is an every-other week series on how sometimes part of the journey is making mistakes and getting lost.
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