Zane and I have stayed on the West of St. Croix for most of our time, but we realized it was time to venture past Frederiksted. The other side of the island was calling our name. After some deliberation, we chose our first destination: the Christiansted Boardwalk.
The venture to Christiansted was interesting from start to finish. Our taxi driver, Iron, made the entire 30-minute journey across the island entertaining. Instead of trying to get us to Christiansted as fast as possible, he showed us the scenic route and explained each area of the island we passed and its history. The diversity as we drove through different parts of the island was unbelievable. Some areas were flat and beachy; others were mountainous and covered with vegetation.
When Iron turned onto the road for Christiansted, we were shocked at how quickly we lost track of time by sightseeing the island from the window. The road to Christiansted might have been our favorite view of the drive. With mountains to our left and the bright sea to our right, we were in awe at the natural beauty. We will never take that view for granted, especially when our hometown’s biggest “mountain” is the landfill.
After some quick goodbyes, Iron dropped us off near Fort Christiansvaern. Instead of having a blood-red color like Fort Frederik, Fort Christiansvaern was mustard yellow. We knew we had to tour the fort when we saw the cannons facing the water. With Iron’s promise to be back by five, we started our stroll to the boardwalk to explore.
Our stomachs rumbled at the sight of all the restaurants. I am the most indecisive person I know, so it was a blessing when someone on the boardwalk pointed us to “the best pizza you’ll ever have”. That made our decision on where to eat so much easier. Plus, eating at a restaurant made out of an old sugar mill just had to be a bucket list item to cross off.
The pizzeria, The Mill Boardwalk Bar Brick Oven Pizza, had chickens walking around and, thank goodness, a Bushwacker on the drink menu. How could it get any better? It did. The Margherita pizza had me going for thirds, fourths, and even fifths. Unfortunately, after that, my stomach couldn’t muster any more food. With only one slice left, we felt defeated. However, our waiter told us not to fret because we could take our scraps to the boardwalk and feed tarpon! We left with a to-go box, a fresh cup of ice-cold water, and an exciting new idea for our day.
Apparently, we weren’t the only ones who were told to feed the fish. Those tarpons would eat anything (except, as we learned, a lemon… We were shocked). We took turns throwing bits of crust at the fish and watched them race across the water to fight for it. Some other person on the boardwalk told us about their favorite tarpon, George, who stood out because of his speckled face. They would call out to him and throw him chips and guac, which made me giggle. Who knew that watching a tarpon race to eat chips and guac would be a highlight of my day? We were captivated by the fish, but the crowd ran out of food, so we ventured on.
Compared to Frederiksted, the boardwalk was much more touristy. Little shops flooded the streets, each containing their own tchotchkes or island gear. Zane and I walked through as many as possible (which seemed to be almost all of them). We met locals, such as a shop owner who makes delicious homemade rum cakes, and tried to find the best souvenir to take home from this trip (other than our memories, of course!).
We felt a little hot because of all our walking, but it was easily solved by hopping to another bar and grabbing a “Cruzan Confusion”. Zane and I took a chance on the drink, made of four to five different rums mixed with a fruit punch, and definitely succeeded. Now we know another drink that we can order around here! Once we sufficiently cooled down, we decided to keep browsing the boardwalk.
Zane and I saw so many fun souvenirs, but we ended up getting some Virgin Island-themed sun protection shirts and a Moko Jumbie keychain! The sun protection shirts were neat because the designs on the shirts were originals from local artists. Now we have a piece of the island to take back home with us.
On our way out, we found the most adorable part of our day: Stanley the cat. Stanley loves to roam the boardwalk and is definitely a regular. If you go to the boardwalk, you can play a fun game of Where’s Stanley? While Stanley may be a small part of the boardwalk, he certainly made our day a whole lot cuter.
Our day ended with a quick tour of Fort Christiansvaern. We took pictures overlooking the water and distant mountains, read up on some of the history, and pretended to shoot the cannons (of course).
The Christiansted Boardwalk had so much to do for people who love to explore new shops and restaurants. We had hours of fun without even doing the boat excursions the boardwalk offers! Zane and I will definitely be traveling to the East side of the island more often. We have to try more restaurants and maybe pick up a rum cake or two!
Headed there in February 2024, enjoying all the lovely info, thanks