~ SWIMSUIT: Victoria's Secret (I'll be doing a post soon on where they're still selling suits!) ~
~ SUNGLASSES: Tom's ~
Jose and I stayed at 3 different places on the island, but our favorite was an AirBnB on the Eastside of St. Croix. Our host Gail was incredible and she reminded me much more of a hostmom from my time in Spain than of a typical host. She constantly was going above an beyond, blowing our expectations out of the water (but seriously, I think we're spoiled for any future AirBnB stays).
We were all chatting on the porch and she recommended that we go out to see Jack and Isaac's Bay out near Point Udall. We left pretty early in the morning and the hike from the road to the beach was beautiful: filled with gorgeous aerial views of the water. It made the feeling that you were hiking through a tropical rainforest much more enjoyable ;) . We finally make it down to a map and it says that Isaac's Bay is straight ahead. So we spend some time there snorkeling and soaking up the almost deserted beach before deciding to try and find Jack's Bay. Huge mistake! We set off on this path and run into the occasional sign pointing towards Isaac's Bay. We keep going and going up some pretty big cliffs and end up at...Horseshoe Bay. With no one in sight.
Now we enjoy only having to share the beach with a couple of people, but after seeing The Shallows (with Blake Lively, if you haven't seen it you need to. Sooo good! Plus I've loved Blake ever since she did Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Gossip Girl) being the only ones on the beach seemed a little dangerous. So we hiked back. In our Walmart flip flops we had brought thinking this was going to be an easy stroll to the beach. Thorns popping through the soles and drenched from the humidity we finally make it back to the last sign that says Jack's Bay, make a turn. And we're at the exact same beach. An hour of hiking to learn that Jack and Isaac's Bay are just two opposite sides of the same beach. The gorgeous water though made it hard to be upset! This was definitely one of the top three beaches we visited. Between the crystal clear water, white sand beaches, and semi-isolated location, what's not to love!