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I always have preconceptions about the destinations I visit, and St. Croix was no different.
I visited the Florida Keys because of Bloodline and Fire Island because of Baby-Sitters Club #76: Stacey’s Lie. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil brought Savannah to life for me. Hell, I went to Budapest to see the white chocolate statue of Michael Jackson.
St. Croix, though? Well, that’s a bit of a different story…
I always knew St. Croix was a Caribbean island, but I didn’t really think about it until 2002. I was 18 years old, sitting in my dorm hallway, painting a doorstop with nail polish. College had started one week ago and this was our floor’s first bonding activity.
A few of the girls were chatting and one mentioned St. Croix. “Oh, you go to St. Croix?” another girl asked. “We go to St. Croix every Christmas.”
“We go every Christmas, too!” another girl chimed in.
“No way!” a third girl said. “My family goes to St. Croix every February. Where do you stay?”
My cheeks burned as I painted my doorstop. How rich are these people? I go camping. In New Hampshire. I imagined the girls sitting on yachts in designer bikinis, sipping champagne and laughing at me.
Looking back, I feel compassion for my 18-year-old self. Of course you were feeling insecure, Kate — it was your first week of college and you were terrified of not fitting in. At the same time, I knew nothing about the Caribbean at age 18 — I just assumed it was a destination for the wealthiest people in the world. I projected my feelings onto the entire region, and St. Croix in particular.
The Caribbean is far more than yachts and the uber-rich; I know that today. Each island has its own personality. Some are more about the jungles than the beaches; some are excellent for diving; some have a music tradition or culinary scene. Some pride themselves on their exclusivity; others are low-key and friendly. And St. Croix is definitely a down-to-earth and welcoming island.
This spring I got invited to visit St. Croix with Spirit Airlines. It’s Spirit’s newest destination. I thought of 18-year-old Kate sitting in the dorm hallway and thought, Yes, let’s do this. It’s time to see it for yourself.
St. Croix is one of the US Virgin Islands, along with St. John and St. Thomas. Visiting from the US is like visiting Puerto Rico: it’s considered a domestic flight, you don’t need your passport, US dollars are the currency, and your US-based phone plan should work. (Though for what it’s worth, we found that those of us with AT&T had better coverage than Verizon.)
At 82 square miles, St. Croix is the largest of the US Virgin Islands. It’s similar to the size of Grand Cayman (76 miles), Antigua (108 miles), or St. Kitts (65 miles), but to put things in perspective, St. Croix is four times the size of St. John, nearly three times the size of St. Thomas, but only 1/41st the size of Puerto Rico!
So what do you do on St. Croix, other than lie on the beach?
Go snorkeling at Buck Island National Monument! This island off the northeast coast of St. Croix is home to clear, bright waters. Our group did a half-day sail off the dock from our hotel.
First up was the island, which is home to white sand beaches…and poisonous trees! Seriously, when it rains, the poison drips down down the trunks. The captain encouraged us to stay on the sand and keep away from the trees, even though someone had inexplicably built picnic tables beneath them…
Next up was our guided snorkel tour. Amazingly, as you snorkel there are signs on the ground of the ocean that tell you about the animals you’re seeing. I’ve never seen that anywhere else.
Frederiksted is where you go for the history. Hamilton fans likely know that this is where Alexander Hamilton spent most of his youth and where his neighbors collected money to send him to Kings College in New York. There are Hamilton-themed tours in Frederiksted, which I would have loved to do, and they also have regular historic tours.
Christiansted is where you go to eat and party. I loved hanging out here — you get much more of a local atmosphere and meet some characters. Check out the boardwalk for some great bars. We spent a lot of our time at a bar called Shupe’s.
(Shupe’s has a drink called the St. Croix Masshole that includes tequila, raspberry liqueur, lime juice, OJ, ginger beer, and a splash of lemon. And it comes served as a shot and chaser. How do I know this? Well, Clint and I are from Massachusetts…)
For dinner, we had an outstanding meal at Zion Modern Kitchen, which I highly recommend. On the more casual end, you can get some creative pizzas at The Mill, right on the boardwalk.
Our trip took place in the last days of June, which is shoulder season in the Caribbean. Shoulder season is a gamble — you could have all blue skies, all stormy skies, or a mix. For us, it was a mix. We only had one brief cloudless period — the rest of the time was either partly cloudy, mostly cloudy, or completely overcast.
Unfortunately our beach and snorkeling trip to Buck Island took place under the heaviest gray sky — it looked like you could pierce it with an arrow. And our historic trip to Frederikstad was gorgeous and sunny. I wish it had been the other way around, but that’s life! Sometimes you get the opposite weather you want.
That said, this time of year can often be a cheap time to visit the Caribbean, both in terms of flights and accommodation. And you’re not in the heart of hurricane season yet, so you don’t have to be as vigilant.
My opinion? If gorgeous photos are your priority, complete with perfect blue skies and clear turquoise water, pony up the cash to travel during high season (December to March). You might still be okay in April or May (I had perfect weather in Belize in May a few years ago), but June starts to be rainier and cloudier, and then it goes into hurricane season until November.
If you can deal with some less-than-ideal weather, visiting St. Croix in the shoulder season might be better for you. If you’re coming to the Caribbean to relax and chill out without much of an agenda, this might actually be the best time for you.
Would I travel to St. Croix in the shoulder season again? Maybe if I were there for longer, like a week or more, and I were likely to have at least a few good weather days.
Truth? I had never flown Spirit Airlines in my life until this trip. I was familiar with them, though, because most people on my Central America tours flew in on Spirit. They were by far the cheapest option.
Spirit is an ultra low-cost carrier (ULCC) focusing on the United States, the Caribbean, and Latin America. You can get flights as far away as Lima, Peru, and Guayaquil, Ecuador; their main hub is Fort Lauderdale. I flew in from LaGuardia.
I’ll be honest: I didn’t expect much from an ultra low-cost airline, but Spirit impressed the hell out of me.
If you see Spirit pop up on a flight search engine, they very well may be the cheapest option. This is because Spirit does à la carte pricing (they call it à la smart) and only charge you for a bare-bones flight. For everything else, you only pay for what you want — whether it’s food or drink, a carry-on or checked bag, or roomier seats. If you don’t need much, you can fly for dirt cheap and spend your money on something more fun.
And this has paid off. Not only are Spirit’s prices so cheap, but they actually brought down the prices of OTHER airlines just so they could compete!
A lot of people have a bad experience on an airline and say, “I’m never flying that airline again.” Frankly, I can’t stand when people say that. In the vast majority of cases, they’re complaining about something that happens on literally every airline: delays, lost luggage, flight attendants in a bad mood. And people on ultra low-cost carriers are often shocked to learn that food and entertainment are not included.
But Spirit has improved its product exponentially. If you last flew Spirit in, like, 2006, and have been holding a grudge since, give them another try.
Here’s what I liked the most about flying with Spirit:
Charging for carry-on luggage is actually smart. Case in point: when we were getting ready to fly back to the mainland, a different airline made an announcement: they needed 20 volunteers to check their carry-on bags. TWENTY VOLUNTEERS. What’s the point of even offering carry-on if you’re going to force 20 passengers to check it?
Compare that to Spirit: because checked bags are cheaper than carry-on bags, more people check their bags and there was ample space for those of us who did pay for carry-on.
They’re on time more often than the major airlines. That’s something that Spirit has massively improved in the past year. It’s especially notable when you consider that Spirit operates so many flights in the Caribbean, which can be stormy.
Their big seats are cheap. The big seats up front are an add-on, but it only cost $38 for each leg. Most major airlines charge more than that for a premium economy seat, and Spirit’s seats are much bigger and wider.
They’re getting internet and it’s SO cheap. Spirit will be adding wifi to their flights starting this fall, completed by mid-summer 2019. Regular internet is going to cost around $6 per flight and streaming internet is going to cost around $9 per flight. That is REALLY cheap — and most airlines don’t allow you to stream at all. And because it’s satellite wifi, there won’t be dead areas! I’m excited for this to be implemented.
They invest in a woman-owned booze company. On the way back Cailin and I ordered some Buzzballz, little balls filled with cocktails. They were fun and tasty, and I so appreciate when a big company invests in a woman-owned company in a male-dominated field.
The staff were excellent when we had an emergency. On the LGA-FLL flight, not one but two passengers had medical emergencies and the staff handled everything calmly and professionally. If that’s a reflection of Spirit, I feel safe in their hands.
Now — here’s what I didn’t like. I don’t think that Spirit should be charging for both carry-on and checked luggage; while technically you could pack a few pieces of clothing into your “small item” beneath the seat, I think they should cover at least one. And I don’t love that their hub is Fort Lauderdale — it’s my least favorite airport in the US, devoid of decent food options except one Chili’s that’s usually full, and there are no lounges in the terminals where Spirit flights depart.
Would I fly Spirit again? Absolutely — especially once their cheap wifi kicks in. But if I were on a longer flight (5+ hours), I would pay extra for one of the big seats up front.
If you’re a fan of The Bachelor, you might recognize The Buccaneer — Sean Lowe’s season took place here! There was a rose ceremony in the sugar mill near the front.
I loved our water-view rooms. There were three beaches. Breakfast was pretty good (I ate their Caribbean spiced oatmeal every day). I also appreciated that we were so close to Christiansted for going out at night — a taxi from the hotel cost $5 per person. And most importantly, the staff were wonderful.
That said, it’s not a top-tier luxury property, and the suites could stand to be renovated (especially the bathrooms). Our group was disappointed that the pool bar closed at 5:00 PM and the hotel bar closed at 11:00 PM, both of which seemed incredibly early.
Would I stay there again? Under most circumstances, sure. I had a great time! But it’s a very family-friendly resort and kids are everywhere, so I wouldn’t stay there if I wanted to have more of an adult-oriented trip…or drink after 11:00 PM.
I had a great time on St. Croix! And I would absolutely go back. Anywhere the water is that blue against your new favorite underboob bikini is fine with me! But in all seriousness, I found St. Croix to be an excellent spot for a chilled out Caribbean trip, especially if you base yourself at a hotel with nice beaches near Christiansted.
And yes — I was very impressed with what I learned about Spirit and I look forward to my next flight with them. I won’t lie, I’m looking at countries they fly to that I haven’t visited yet — Jamaica, Ecuador, Peru, Panama…where do you think I should go next?
And one other thing…if you followed along on social media in real time, you probably could tell that there was a lot of JOY on this trip. I laughed harder and more often in St. Croix than I have in a long time. Part of that was that the Spirit team assembled a fantastic group of people for this trip. That’s actually rare, and it really makes a difference. I’m going to be looking back at this trip and smiling for a long time.
Essential Info: On this trip we stayed at the Buccaneer Resort. Rates from $299. Check out rates on hotels in St. Croix here.
Our snorkeling trip to Buck Island National Monument was with Big Beards Adventure Tours. Half day sails from $75, full day sails from $105.
Please bring reef safe sunscreen to St. Croix. Even if you’re not planning to snorkel, St. Croix is surrounded by reefs, and this keeps them protected from harmful chemicals. Before this trip I only used reef safe sunscreen when snorkeling, but now I’m going to use it whenever I’m close to a reef.
I use travel insurance for all of my trips to protect myself (and my finances) from ruin. For this trip and all my US trips, I use World Nomads, which I recommend.
This campaign is brought to you by Spirit Airlines and Visit USVI, who paid for all expenses and incidentals, excluding my transport to and from the airport. All opinions, as always, are my own.
The post A Weekend Getaway to St. Croix with Spirit Airlines appeared first on Adventurous Kate.
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I’m very fortunate to love my work, and one particularly enjoyable aspect is the opportunity to direct piano courses and workshops. I’m writing this post whilst relaxing in my accommodation in Shropshire (just a few miles from the Welsh border), where I’m working for two weeks at PIANO WEEK, an international piano festival and Summer school (more about this wonderful venture in another post). It’s a demanding and packed schedule working with pianists of all ages, but already I have made some firm friends and we have had a lot of fun.
This work is most rewarding and I was delighted to be invited to direct several piano courses at Finchcocks. For those who have yet to discover this innovative selection of courses, you can find out much more about them by clicking here.
Finchcocks is a stately manor house (pictured above) in Kent (UK) offering regular piano weekends for pianists of all levels, ages and abilities. The manor house, which has been recently renovated, has been hosting weekend courses throughout the past year (featuring popular tutors such as Graham Fitch, David Hall, and Dr. Mark Polishook). Designed as bespoke weekends, they feature luxurious accommodation, superb cuisine, plenty of friendly, encouraging piano tuition, and excellent practice facilities; in short, a marvellous ‘first piano course’ for those slightly intrepid pianists who fancy taking the plunge but are perhaps a little apprehensive.
My course will be held from December 7th – 9th 2018. It is intended for Intermediate pianists, or those of around Grade 4 – 7 level (ABRSM level). The course commences on Friday evening at 7.00pm, with some helpful tips for improving piano technique. Simple exercises for honing flexibility will be implemented and each course member will have the chance to try them out both at and away from the piano! This class will be followed by dinner.
Saturday will begin with a sight-reading workshop, offering some useful practice ideas, with lots of hands on participation. A master class will provide the opportunity to play your pieces and receive beneficial practice suggestions, and after lunch there will be time for private practice with some individual tuition with me. Before dinner, the group will reconvene for a listening seminar, which might provide food for thought and, hopefully, some interesting dinner conversation!
On Sunday, we will begin with a memorisation workshop, followed by a duet session (a highlight, for sure). The weekend will close with casual duet, trio and solo performances from course members. This could be the perfect course for those who want a gentle nudge back into the world of piano playing, but it may also be a useful, instructive performance platform for the more serious student preparing for a piano exam.
You can find out more about the course and book your place, here. Three further courses have been planned for 2019, for those unable to attend in December.
My Publications:
For much more information about how to practice piano repertoire, take a look at my two-book piano course, Play it again: PIANO (Schott). Covering a huge array of styles and genres, 49 progressive pieces from approximately Grade 1 – 8 level are featured, with at least two pages of practice tips for every piece. A convenient and beneficial course for students of any age, with or without a teacher, and it can also be used alongside piano examination syllabuses too.
You can find out more about my other piano publications and compositions here.
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Why Sustainable Coffee Really Matters
This post is sponsored by Chameleon Cold Brew – thank you for supporting the brands that help make this blog possible
If you’ve read my blog or followed along on Instagram for a hot second, you know I love coffee. As a coffee lover and former barista, my expertise is definitely more in creating drinks with the finished roasted coffee bean. However, there’s so much that goes into coffee before it gets to the store. I want to share part of that story today. I find that the more we know about what we consume, the more respect, appreciation, and mindfulness we can bring into our consumption and impact.
Today I’ve partnered with Chameleon Cold Cold-Brew to talk about the vital importance of sustainable coffee. Chameleon Cold-Brew has just launched a micro-lot of Whiskey Barrel Aged Myanmar Coffee Beans, where 100% of the proceeds benefit their Myanmar Organic Initiative to help farmers in Myanmar become Certified Organic.
The more I learn about our food system, the more humbled I am. We roll up at the grocery store expecting everything to be fresh, ripe, perfect, and cheap. I know I do. And so often that’s what it is. We get the privilege of buying exactly what we want and need, leaving the store and never seeing the impact or story of how the food was created or delivered right to us.
When we lift up the hood just for a second, we realize that to get a tomato on your salad outside of the summer is an Olympic feat that often has a negative impact on our planet and the people growing it. Every item in the store has a story a journey and an impact.
Coffee is the same. It’s easy to freak out when you realize a morning cup is almost $5. Or to wonder why a bag of sustainably sourced coffee could cost $18 per lb. However, when you peek under the hood again and see just how complex of a system had to work to get that hot delicious cup of caffeinated goodness in your hands, you’ll wonder how it got so cheap.
Sustainability feels like an ambiguous buzzword. Like “eco,” “green,” “environmentally friendly,” “fair trade” and more. They sound like nice-to-haves, but when the entire process feels so far away it’s hard to know how or why to care.
Before I share the WHY let’s get into the WHAT. Generally, sustainable coffee refers to coffee that is grown, processed and sold in a way that supports the environment it’s grown in and supports the livelihood of the people who produce it.
Aka don’t destroy the planet and make sure to pay the people who produce the coffee… fair right?!
The coffee supply chain is incredibly complex and I couldn’t do it justice if I tried. However, I do want to share a (very) simplified version of what goes into turning the coffee crop into the drink we love.
Again, this basic supply chain can look different for different farms, distributors and coffee brands.
Sustainability matters because with each step of the process, there is an impact on our planet and the people who are part of it. Farmers and mill workers deserve to be fairly compensated for their work. So often the people who work to produce valuable crops cannot afford the very thing that they grow. How tragic to work around coffee all day, every day and not be able to afford it yourself.
Because coffee is so valuable, it’s not accessible to the people whose land makes the coffee crop possible. Sustainable practices are important because it ensures workers are fairly compensated. Coffee is a commodity crop and is traded by people with power. Usually, the farmers are the first to suffer when the market drops.
It’s also vital to pay attention to HOW the coffee is grown, both for coffee quality and for taking care of the land that makes it all possible. The higher the demand for coffee, the greater in size farms will grow. With more demand comes more deforestation, which in turn has more negative ripple effects on the environment (and, of course, everyone who lives in it).
Without caring about sustainability, more and more precious rainforests and species will be destroyed forever.
Long story short, sustainable coffee matters if you care about coffee, people or the planet. I have a hunch you care about all three…. a lot.
So glad you asked. Chameleon Cold-Brew has a robust sustainability program that helps encourage sustainable practices throughout the coffee supply chain in different coffee growing regions around the world.
Chameleon is working directly with farming communities in Peru, Myanmar, Guatemala, and Colombia to develop long-term economic, environmental, and social sustainability throughout the coffee supply chain. sAll of these projects will positively impact the quality of coffee, the people who produce it, the environment it’s grown in and ultimately you, drinking your coffee. That’s what we call a “quad win” folks.
It’s such a powerful reminder that every decision we make has ripple effects. Your choice to support the companies who care and value the long-term impact they make matters. It seems little at first, but everything does, doesn’t it?
What if no one started anything because we were afraid of how little an impact we’d make?
But what if we took the opposite approach? What if we all valued the impact our choices make? I know it’s dramatic, but I start to choke up a little when I think of how powerful the ripple effect can be.
1.) Support coffee brands, like Chameleon Cold-Brew, who care about their impact – this can actually apply in the coffee world and beyond. Your dollar is a really powerful way to show what you care about.
When you’re buying coffee, look for things like Certified USDA and check out the brand’s website to see where they source their coffee. Brands who practice sustainability will definitely be talking about it, so look in the About section for more information.
2.) Try Chameleon Cold-Brew’s limited-edition coffee beans from Myanmar, aged in FEW Whiskey barrels. 100% of proceeds go to their Myanmar Organic Initiative …. aka buy coffee and make the coffee industry better… ummm if you love coffee this one is kind of a no-brainer, right?
Link to purchase here: https://www.chameleoncoldbrew.com/product/myanmar-whole-bean-coffee/
I know this topic can get heavy but THANK YOU for caring. It’s so powerful. It’s so important. And simply buying good coffee makes a huge difference.
Learn about all of Chameleon Cold Brew’s initiatives here: https://www.chameleoncoldbrew.com/sustainability/
The post Why Sustainable Coffee Really Matters appeared first on In it for the Long Run.
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The following branded content post is brought to you by Global Basecamps. After learning about Global Basecamps and their mission to make a positive impact on the communities they visit, I knew they would be a great partner.
I first arrived in Thailand in October 2010 — one month after quitting my job to travel the world. After years of traveling in Europe, it felt like Thailand was a good challenge — very different, and far less developed, but easy enough for a first-timer in Asia.
It went well. Eight years later, Thailand is one of my favorite countries, a place to which I’m always excited to return. Hourlong foot massages for $7, pad gra prow gai on the street, fun and cheap fashion, coconut ice cream topped with peanuts, kind and welcoming people. Thailand is as good for me as an experienced traveler as it was for me as a newbie back in 2010.
Things have changed over the years, though. The Thailand that I first discovered in 2010 no longer exists — so many areas have gone from being quiet and low-key to becoming tourism juggernauts. Thailand was once seen as a destination for adventure travelers wanting a challenge; these days, many trips are catered to newer, less experienced travelers.
That’s good in some ways — like for Thai entrepreneurs making money and being able to take care of their families. But at the same time, it’s becoming hard to find those pockets of quiet Thai life, apart from the tourists, within popular travel destinations.
Global Basecamps is a travel company that seeks to make a positive impact on its destinations. They arrange trips customized to your personal tastes, in local establishments and with local guides.
They work personally with locals so that your money goes toward the locals — not the CEO of an international chain who skims money off your visit to afford his third vacation home.
Working on this local level allows them to get you to places you wouldn’t ordinarily see with larger travel companies. Guesthouses that aren’t dominating on TripAdvisor. Restaurants that haven’t been spotlighted by Lonely Planet. Tours and establishments that your traveler friends have never heard of.
Every trip is customizable. Would you rather cut out the beach time and spend more days in the mountains? Go for it. Do you want to go to primarily offbeat places, but include one or two major tourism spots? That’s fine, too. Do you hate cities and want to spend the whole time in the countryside? They’d love to work with you on that.
While they lead tours all over the world, they’re especially looking to promote their trips in Thailand.
On a personal level, I enjoyed getting off the beaten path in Thailand — like when I was the lone tourist on the overnight train to Ubon Ratchathani, answering the question, “Why you no have boyfriend?” over and over and getting to know locals — but it was HARD. The language barrier was real; the infrastructure wasn’t as extensive. But it was a lot of fun.
Traveling off the beaten path in Thailand is something I would be eager to do again if I had the support of a local guide behind me. He or she could help me through the hard parts so I could spend my time enjoying myself.
In the past decade, people have changed enormously how they travel. At first they prioritized getting the best deal (thanks to price-saving websites), next was prioritizing having a local experience (local homestays and street food tours).
But in 2018, people have been prioritizing social consciousness more than ever before. It’s not enough to have a nice trip; it’s important to have a trip that makes a positive impact on locals. It’s about spending your money where it makes an impact on the local community. It’s about protecting the environment.
And honestly, if you’re doing this for the bragging rights on Instagram, go for it. This is something worth bragging about.
If you want to go to Thailand, and you want to have a good time, but you also want to make sure your money is going to places that could use it, Global Basecamps is an excellent choice for you. Their priority is to make their communities better.
Also worth mentioning is that Global Basecamps does NOT promote elephant rides, which are harmful to the animals. Instead, some of their tours visit animal sanctuaries like the Kanta Elephant Sanctuary outside Chiang Mai.
I feel like Thailand caters well to every kind of traveler. If you’re looking for urban or rural, beach or mountains, popular or off-the-beaten-path, you have plenty of options. Here are some of the itineraries you can take with Global Basecamps:
If it’s your first trip to Thailand and you want to cover the most popular spots: Classic Thailand Heritage Explorer. In two weeks you visit Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Koh Phangan and Koh Samui, with a great mix of city, temples, countryside, and beaches.
If you want to go to the secret beaches no one else knows about: Cultural Adventures to Trat Region & Unspoiled Beaches. Most beach travelers visit Krabi or the southern Gulf islands — instead, this trip takes you to Trat, including the quiet island of Koh Kood, where you have perfect clear waters and far fewer tourists.
If you want to see as much as possible in three weeks: Complete Authentic Thailand Explorer. This trip includes lots of popular spots, like Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and Krabi, but it also adds in a lot of treasures that most travelers miss, like Sukhothai, Phitsanulok, and Lampang.
If you’re planning the honeymoon of a lifetime: Thailand Anniversary Escape. This trip includes the popular destinations of Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket, but with a more relaxing, romantic twist. I have several friends who chose Thailand for their honeymoon and this is a fantastic way to do it.
But these trips don’t have to be adhered to as is — you can customize them to your personal taste.
See more Thailand itinerary ideas here.
If you want to explore Thailand but do so in a responsible way, a way that takes you to offbeat destinations, Global Basecamps is a terrific option. If you’re ready to finally take the plunge and book a trip to Thailand, why not plan for something in the next year? No matter what you’re looking for, Thailand is waiting for you.
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