Sunday, October 14, 2012

Stumpy Bay Beach, Legendary in St. Thomas


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Since arriving in St. Thomas, I have infrequently heard people my age either ask about property near Stumpy Bay or refer to wonderful times they had while growing up going to Stumpy Bay. There was never a lot of details, just whimsical looks and soft knowing smiles.

I have shown property in Estate Hope only once before, a raw piece of land. Estate Hope is located on the Western side of the island before you get to Estate Fortuna, people hold on to the property in this area. I had an appointment to show a home listed for only $249,000, hard to find on St. Thomas. The listing touted the home to be within walking distance to Stumpy Bay. I met a friend I have been showing homes for a while and we ventured down an unpaved road that was pretty rugged (not unusual in St. Thomas). Turns out, this is probably not the home for her and her husband but I could not resist the opportunity to go to Stumpy Bay. My friend had never heard of Stumpy Bay (she is quite young, at least by my standards) We could hear and see the water clearly from the house but there didn't seem to be any beach in sight, just a rocky coastline. When we got down to the road we could not see the water so we decided to drive. We finally reached an area too rugged for either of our four wheel drive vehicles. We parked in the middle of the road, no one was going to be able to drive any further any way; so walked the rest of the way. 

As we came through the trees, a beach began to appear, as we walked across the sand littered with bleached coral (most of this has been removed by visitors on the other beaches even though it is prohibited), there was a serenity and sense of peace that settled around us on this isolated beach. No wonder it is such a treasure to those who know it. I only had the time to take these pictures but I will return with a bathing suite and some snorkel gear, when I can steel an afternoon. Soon, I too will be able to smile whimsically when Stumpy Bay Beach is mentioned. I may not have the wealth of memories but I will know the privilege.

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