The US and BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
The images in this collection were photographed on St. John, St. Thomas, and St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands; and on Virgin Gorda in the British Virgins. St. John, the smallest of the three U.S. islands, is basically non-commercial. Air travel is via St. Thomas, and then a 20 minute boat ride to reach St. John. Laurence Rockefeller bought large portions of the island and in 1956 deeded them to the National Park Service. Most of the images below pertain to St. John.
Early inhabitants of the Virgin Islands were Arawak Indians, although when the Danes settled on St. John in 1718 the island was uninhabited. Later history involved the French, the British, and once again the Danes. Sugar cane production was the business of these islands from the beginning; however a slave revolt on St. John in 1733, and then emancipation of the slaves in 1848 severely curtailed this activity. The United States acquired these islands in 1917.
Columbus discovered the islands (now known as the British Virgin Islands) in 1493, and they remained in Spanish hands until the arrival of Sir Francis Drake in 1595. After conflicts with the Spanish and the Dutch, Britain annexed the largest island, Tortola, in 1672. Virgin Gorda is a smaller island, located at the eastern extremity of the Sir Francis Drake Channel. Air travel to Virgin Gorda is by very small airplane from San Juan, Puerto Rico. There is no commercial activity on this island other than a few resort hotels and a yacht harbor.
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| Caneel Bay Plantation - St. John | Sugar Mill (Dining
Room) at Caneel Bay Plantation
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| Trunk Bay with Underwater Snorkeling Trail | Some of the Vast
Display of Flowers at Caneel Bay
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| Windward Passage View from Turtle Bay Estate House at Caneel Bay Plantation | Yacht in the Windward Passage |
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View of Sir Francis Drake Passage from Turtle Bay at the Caneel Bay Plantation Your Photographer Stands Deep in the Warm Waters of the Bay |
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| Looking for Turtles in Turtle Bay | There's One!
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| There Once Were Wild Donkeys on St. John | Hibiscus at Caneel Bay
Plantation
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| U.S. Customs Office in Cruz Bay, St. John | Stitches Boutique in
Cruz Bay, St. John
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| Sparky's in Cruz Bay | Floral Bouquet at
Caneel Bay Plantation
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| Zamphir and Lunch | Pillsbury Sound at
Sunset
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| Beach at Little Dix Cottage - Virgin Gorda | The Baths at Virgin
Gorda
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| Government Buildings in Christiansted - St. Croix | Emeralds for Sale in Christiansted |
