Winter is, by far, the best time of year in St. Croix. The Christmas winds pick up from mid-December to February, adding a cool breeze and making the climate on island perfect. The winter season also seems to be linked to an increase in honey bee activity. I’ve managed to make it thirtysome years without a bee sting, but I got stung twice in the past few weeks. Ouch!
With the weather being cooler, we decided to check out some of the great hikes St. Croix has to offer. Our first hike, and scene of the first bee crime, was to Hams Bluff Lighthouse on the West end of the island. This was a relatively easy hike. Only 20 minutes to the top, however, it took us about that long just to find the trail head since everything was overgrown post-hurricane. We took the dogs with us and they loved it. We unleashed them and let them find their way to the top. Rosco was the leader, although sometimes he liked to make his own trail rather than follow the clearly marked path. Turns out the dogs love hiking, and we love taking them, because hiking dogs are tired dogs, and tired dogs are good dogs.
The lighthouse was built around 1915 by the Danish government. It was passed over to the US in 1917 when the US acquired the Danish West Indies, and it has been out of commission since the mid ’90s. What was once a beautiful lighthouse is now a rusted out hunk of metal filled with garbage. However, the views of the North shore are still spectacular.
We hung around the lighthouse for a while, taking pictures and enjoying the view. There were a lot of bees buzzing around, but I thought nothing of it until… Ouch! What the…? That bee just stung me! Having not been stung by a bee in 30+ years, and not knowing the reaction I’d have, we raced down the trail back to the car. What took us about 30 minutes on the way up only took us about 10 minutes down. Luckily, I only had a mild reaction. Over the next few days the spot on my arm where I was stung swelled to the size of a silver dollar, and it itched like crazy. It took about a week for the swelling to go down and the itching to stop.
My second bee attack happened two weeks later while I was working on the boat. Bees have been everywhere on the boat lately. I’ve read that after winter solstice, bees become more active because the daylight hours start to get longer, so maybe that’s the reason for all the bees. Or maybe they just really love the rum punch. This time I got stung on the hand, right between my thumb and index finger. My hand swelled to about twice its size over the next several days. All these bee stings are starting to put a damper on my dreams of owning my own hive and making honey, but I digress.
Luckily there were no bees on the next hike. Our second hike was to Goat Hill, on the far East end of the island. It’s about 1 mile to the top, 672 feet above sea level. From the top of Goat Hill, you can see the entire island of St. Croix.
There may not have been any bees, but there are other dangers on this hike, like the casha bush (or “caution” as some people here call it). The casha bush has pretty yellow flowers but thorns as big as 1 inch. Poor little Ginger got one stuck in her paw. They are sharp enough to go through the soles of your shoes, so you have to be careful when hiking around them. Ginger didn’t let it bother her, though. She’s a trouper. I pulled it out and she went happily on her way back down the hill. The pups can’t wait to see what our next hike brings.
February 9, 2018 at 3:26 pm
Exquisite views, oh how I long to live somewhere without snow! Glad to hear your not allergic to the bees.