Goodbye Ziggy

Once upon a time a young girl in St John bought a pig. When she bought the pig she was assured that it was a miniature and as such would never get above 25-30 lbs.  Fast forward a couple of years and the young girl has married and Ziggy (the pig) is a full grown pig of over 200 lbs.  In fact, Ziggy has become somewhat of a celebrity around St John.  He regularly walks down the beach in Cruz Bay where both locals and tourists feed him cherries from their drinks and cheerios and coconuts.  He has his own web page and posts daily about a pig’s life in St John.



The couple’s lease expires at the end of September and they have been unable to find an apartment in St John that would allow them to have a pig (that is probably the most surprising fact in this tale).  So what do you do if you have a 200 pound pig and nowhere to live?  Their plan is to move back to the states and take Ziggy on a traveling road show across the country.  I am not sure how that will work but never-the-less they are leaving Oct 1^st and so everyone is saying goodbye to Ziggy.  There was a party at the Beach Bar last night to send Ziggy off and we made the 8 mile trip across the island to attend.

As you can see Ziggy really knows how to have fun at a party and relax at the beach!

 

Hello Sally ... I really like that bug spray on your legs let me rub some off on my back!

Sometimes all you need is a shady spot and a friend to share it with

A dip in the ocean is always good to cool off

Boy am I going to miss this life!



“Low Season”

September in St John is officially considered the low season.  Many of the bars and restaurants are closed and there is the worrisome threat of a tropical storm.  In addition, the temperatures are a little bit higher and due to the rain, the bugs (mosquitoes) are more prevalent.  However, that being said, there are a lot of reasons to recommend September.  The crowds are almost non-existent.  During the high season, we have to get to the beach early to get a prime spot but now we can go to any beach at any time of day and we are assured of being able to get a good parking place and a shady spot on the beach.  The temperatures may be warmer but the water is also warmer.  It is almost like bath water and it is not uncomfortable to spend several hours floating.  Although many places are closed, many are still open and they have a different philosophy towards customers at this time. The island is generally more friendly and open and since there are fewer people on the island you can get to know people on a one to one basis.

As a for instance, we had a great day yesterday.  The wind was blowing strong which meant no mosquitoes so we headed to Maho about 12:30 in the afternoon.  Normally this would be a terrible time to find parking or a good spot on the beach but yesterday was just fine (got to love low season).

Chairs in the Shade

It is certainly a rough life

 

I hate crowds at the beach

 

So what do you do on a Friday evening  in Coral Bay after a day at Maho … you head over to Aqua Bistro for their special Ponzu Tuna night!  Aqua Bistro has this special every Friday and it is very popular with the locals.  The fact that the live music was from Lauren who just had her second child about a month ago was another reason last night was so special.

Ponzu Tuna ... Dinner!

 

Where else but in St John could the music include a version of Wagon Wheel sung by a 4 year old

(Rock Me Mama Like a Wagon Wheel)

 

After too many margaritas at the bar, we finally walked back up to the apartment and called it a night!

 

 

 

Labor Day

Coral Bay has a yearly parade to celebrate Labor Day.  For the past several years this has been somewhat anticlimactic and resulted in a couple of cars, some donkeys and a goat or two.  This year the community really pulled it together (not sure if it was because of the Marina controversy).  My unofficial count included about 30 “floats” and two music trucks.  Although this is far short of the Carnival Parade, it was also in many ways more enjoyable.  For instance, it started on time (at 11 am) and ended before lunch and it just had the feel of a small town parade … one where you knew all of the people in it and they knew you.  Like most parades the floats threw out favors for the “crowds” standing on the road but unlike most parades these favors included school supplies for the children who start tomorrow (of course, I was really partial to the Aqua Bistro Float which handed out rum punch).  We had a great time and afterwards walked over to get a lunch of fried chicken and Johnny cakes and best of all spent some time socializing with our Coral Bay neighbors.

Parade Soon Come

Princesses

 

 

Hugo & Josephine Roller of “Josephine’s Organic Greens”

 

 

Tourist Trap Cheryl and her “Buster Mobile” (yes that is Buster riding shotgun)

 

Time for Lunch!

 

 Common Sentiment in Coral Bay