Exploring the West Side

Sometime between my dog violently rolling around in horse manure and jumping off rocky cliffs into crystal clear water, I realized how much I love Saturdays here.

Well, I love Saturdays during the summer here. Can be relaxing and lazy days -- if you want them to be.

When the sports scene heats up again this fall, I'm sure my Saturday afternoons will be consumed with covering Anti-Violence marches, tug-of-war competitions and wing eating contests.

But this past Saturday was spent in Bordeaux, which is on the west side of St. Thomas, a place rarely visited by humans. I heard Voodoo is practiced there and it was the first setting selection for the second season of Jersey Shore but they passed and ended up in Miami.

From some random V.I. tourist web site: "Located west of the airport, this area doesn't get many visitors. Residents are a rarity too; just around 5% of the population lives out West. One main road weaves north then south through this off-the-beaten-track area, a smattering of houses here and there. A few side roads lead to beaches that deliver a jackpot of solitude; natural, remote, the perfect setting for daydreams of shipwrecks and castaway fantasies."

Plain and simple, the trails and beaches on the West side are amazing. My friend and fellow thrill-seeker, Thomas, is an expert of the area and knows the ins and outs of many of the dirt trails. A 4-wheel truck is needed along with a sense of adventure.

Some aqua socks and a flask full of whiskey doesn't hurt, either.

This is the group that went out for some rock scrambling and cliff jumping last week. My boy Jerry and his Julie were involved. Thomas is the red-headed fellow holding Fatty, the small dog. Del is a cool cat I met the other week over a few cocktails at Betsys in Frenchtown and he brought two more friends. My girl Brianna is the sexy lady all the way to the right.

Where am I? I took the picture. Stop asking so many questions.

As you can see, the terrain is filled with rocks and there are plenty of little cliffs off to the right. We got to this particular spot after driving down a dirt trail for about a mile and half.

We've brought an underwater camera to past excursions and once my lazy friends put the photos on facebook, I'll be able to share them with you.

Nothing like seeing the expression on someone's face as they're jumping off a cliff into an uncertain depth of water with crazy swells crashing all around you.

Until then, I'll just leave you with another scenic shot I took after trying to clean the horse poop off my dogs back.