By: Marcia Abrahmson
As directed by the airline, I arrived two hours before my flight and had 13/4 hours to read the New York Times from cover to cover.
St. Croix has the palm trees, the white sand beaches, the turquoise waters, pina coladas and duty-free shopping, ubiquitous for tropical islands as well as a heritage that dates back to around 300 B.C., a Jewish presence in Christopher Columbus' crew.
Sweeney Touissaint, the owner of St. Croix Safari Tours, filled me in about the first known history of the Islands. He told me that the first settlers came around 300 B.C. However, little is known about these early people. More is known about the Arawak Indians who came in 100 A.D, only to be succeeded by the Caribs by the 13th century. I also learned from him that the words cannibal, Caribbean and hurricane can be traced back to the Amerindians as well as the use of hammocks and canoes. Barbecue, yucca and cassava bread are just some of the culinary remnants of the Amerindian culture still enjoyed today.
Luana Wheatley of the Martin Agency shared with me her vast knowledge about the discovery in 1969 by the Jewish Community of St. Croix. She informed me that they found evidence of a Jewish cemetery with grave sites and head stones dating to 1801. They have restored the cemetery and have raised funds to maintain the burial grounds of their ancestors in addition to building the B'Nai or Synagogue where services are held on Friday evenings.
Wheatley also noted that the Jewish presence in the Caribbean dates back to the Jew, Luis de Torres, an escapee from the Spanish Inquisition. He was an invaluable asset to Christopher Columbus as his official translator for Christopher Columbus because of his fluency in Arabic, Aramaic, Greek, Hebrew and Latin. In fact, Columbus assigned de Torres to lead a scouting mission and then to serve as ad hoc governor at their first landing at San Salvador. It was Columbus who named St. Croix, Santa Cruz meaning Holy Cross. The French then translated it to French, St. Croix.
During the American Revolution, Jewish merchants on the minuscule Dutch island of St. Eustatius (Statia) were the major suppliers of armaments for the American colonists. I learned that England did declare war on Holland to try to stop the Jewish arms trade to the American revolutionists. Some historians feel that the British Admiral George Bridges Rodney was so involved with pillaging and looting the Statian merchants that he was asleep at the switch. He allowed the French fleet to sail to Chesapeake Bay and did not send reinforcements from New York. This caused General Charles Cornwallis to become trapped between Washington's and Lafayette's forces and the sea at the momentous Battle of Yorktown.
After the Revolution, the Jewish settlers left St. Eustatius and Curacao for St. Thomas where they built the first synagogue under the American flag called B'racha V'shalom V'gimilut Hasadim (Blessing, Peace and Loving Deeds) in 1796. Actually the oldest Synagogue in the New World is on the Dutch island of Curacao.
St. Croix has become one of the best Ecotourism destinations in the Caribbean. I believe its Coral Reefs at Buck Island ranks just below the coral reefs in Australia and Cozamel, Mexico. In fact, President John F. Kennedy visited St. Croix many times before and during his presidency in the early 1960's. He was so impressed with Buck Island's coral reefs that he declared the 880 acres covering 176 of pristine land and 704 of crystal-clear water and coral reef a national monument. Imagine hiking through a tropical forest on this island, sunbathing on white-sand beach or snorkeling in the third largest coral barrier reef that covers two-thirds of the island. Snorkeling is one of the major attractions of Buck Island with its irregular arc of reef creating an extensive lagoon between the shore and the reef. The elkhorn corals, brain corals, schools of blue tang, colorful parrot fish, yellowtail, damselfish, red hind, barracuda and a stray hawksbill turtle may make an appearance.
There are many tour operators around St. Croix who can plan appropriate tours, snorkeling indoctrination, equipment and a guide to lead you through the underwater trail. The Buck Island Reef National Monument Park is just one mile from St. Croix's northeastern shore and well worth the sail by a motorized glass bottom boat, sloops and fast trimarans. John Macy of Bigbeard's Adventure Tours was the host for my delightful tour. You can reach him at (340) 773-4482.
I thoroughly enjoyed my stay at the Divi Carina Bay Resort & Casino. The rooms are well equipped with microwave ovens, refrigerators, irons and boards, hair dryers and anything you may need to make your stay wonderful. I looked in at the Casino located within walking distance of the resort. The Savant Cafe, Rumrunners, Kendricks's and the Southshore Cafe were a few of the fine restaurants that I can recommend for some delicious dining.
For further information you can call the United States Virgin Islands at (800) 372 USVI (8784)
Copyright by Marcia Abramson
E-mail: mascribe@aol.com
