East St. Croix

Landmarks you'll pass on your way out of town will include Gallows Point and:

1. The Buccaneer--You might want to return to this hotel for one of the nightly musical performances, which are among the island's best.

As you leave town, the landscape will open onto verdant countryside. Cows graze peacefully on a rolling landscape. Accompanying the cows are tickbirds, which feed on ticks buried in the cows' skin. An occasional small traffic jam might form as herds of goats cross the road.

Continue driving, and you'll pass:

2. Green Cay Marina--You might want to visit this marina to admire the yachts bobbing at anchor or perhaps to have a swim at Chenay Bay. Nearby monuments include the Southgate Baptist Church and a handful of stone towers that once housed the gear mechanisms of windmills that crushed the juice from sugar cane.

As you drive on, you'll pass by scatterings of bougainvillea-covered private villas. About 7 miles along the route from Christiansted, you'll see the:

3. Mountaintop Eyrie--Mountaintop Eyrie is owned by the island's most prominent socialite, the Contessa Nadia Farbo Navarro, the Romanian-born heiress to a great fortune. This opulent castle is the most outrageously unusual, most prominent, and most talked-about villa on St. Croix. Understandably, its privacy is rigidly maintained.

A couple of miles farther along East End Road, you'll reach one of the most popular windsurfing beaches in St. Croix, Teague Bay. This is a good spot to:

Take a Break--Duggan's Reef, East End Road, Teague Bay (tel. 340/773-9800), offers good lunches, more formal dinners, fruit daiquiris, and a bar only 10 feet from the waves. Many guests claim this is the best way to experience windsurfing without getting on a sailboard.

After your stop, continue driving east along Route 82 to the area that most residents consider the most peaceful and dramatic on the island. It's especially memorable at sunset, when the vistas are highlighted and the sun is against your back. At Knight Bay, near the eastern tip of the island, turn right onto Route 60 (South Shore Road), and head west. One of the several lakes you'll pass is:

4. Hartmann's Great Pond--Also known just as Great Pond, this is a favorite of nesting seabirds. The views of the sea and the rolling grasslands are excellent.

Route 60 merges with Route 624 a short distance north of Great Pond. Fork left onto Route 624, and, a short distance later, right onto Route 62 (Lowry Hill Road). You will travel the mountainous spine of the island through districts named after former farms, such as Sally's Fancy, Marienhøj, and Boetzberg.

Within 2 miles, Lowry Hill Road merges with Route 82 again. Fork left, and follow it as it turns into Hospital Gade and leads to the center of Christiansted. To your right will appear:

5. Fort Christiansvaern--You'll see it as you pull into the parking lot in front of Christiansted's tourist office (Old Scalehouse).