Author: Jenn Manes

Hello everyone, and happy Friday! I have an incredible story to share with you all today.

Andy Peter has lived here on St. John since 2013. He moved to the island straight from Iraq where he worked as a private contractor with the State Department. He was a paramedic for years, but opted for a different career once he moved to the island. For those of you who’ve been visiting us for quite some time, you may recognize him from his early days when he bartended over at The Beach Bar.

Enter September 6th, 2017 – the day Hurricane Irma ravaged the island.

The storm hit us on a Wednesday. For the first couple of days, no relief workers arrived on island. We saw helicopters swirling above, but it wasn’t until Sunday, to my recollection, that the relief workers actually arrived on the ground.

I remember walking in Cruz Bay right near Connections when I first saw a couple of men with D.I.R.T emblazoned across their backs. The Dirt team, as we came to know them, was part of Help.NGO, an international team that specializes in emergency response among other things. They became a crucial part of our early relief efforts, helping with search and rescue, and telecommunications. They were the reason, according to Andy, why we were able to get those all important text messages out during the early days post-storm.

Recognizing the importance of this team coupled with his background, Andy decided to join Dirt. He worked with them on St. John for the next year-and-a-half.

Since then, Help.NGO has called on Andy to assist with efforts in other countries that need needed help. He’s gone to Ethiopia, Madagascar, Bolivia, Mozambique, Haiti, El Salvador, Guatemala and Colombia over the years. He deployed to the Bahamas in 2019 to help with the Hurricane Dorian relief efforts.

Andy received a pretty casual text message last week asking him what he’s up to. He’s a pretty busy guy being an owner of both The Windmill Bar and The Upstairs in Cruz Bay. However, Help.NGO needed his assistance in Turkey, and Andy immediately said yes.

Andy started his 30-hour journey this past Wednesday and has since arrived safely in Adana, Turkey. He is currently assisting with high-resolution drone mapping, which will be used in the earthquake search and recovery operations. Andy plans to return to St. John in early March.

I met Andy at The Upstairs earlier this week to chat about his upcoming trip. A few hours later, he sent me this text:

“Been thinking about our talk,” Andy wrote. “I’m not lost on the fact of the places I’ve gone and the things I’ve done. It comes down to a very simple thing for me. It’s just what I do. This stuff is normal. It’s not for many, and it shouldn’t be. But it is for me.”

I’m not sure how to end this post other than to say thank you. And kudos to you Andy for being a good human being who thrives off of helping others. We appreciate you.

Hello everyone and happy Sunday! I am so sorry that I’ve been absent for a bit, but we’ve been dealing with some stuff over here at the Explore STJ household. I’ve always been brutally honest with you all, so here’s what’s been happening.

On December 22nd, I flew up to Connecticut to spend the holidays with my family. My son and his father were already up in Connecticut. (We have a small house there.) Less than 36 hours after landing, I learned that the woman who was babysitting Dalton was exposed to Covid and tested positive. (I tested negative upon landing that Tuesday.) She never told us she was exposed, and she never told us she felt the need to get tested. She watched Dalton for three more days while awaiting her test results. Pretty infuriating.

About six hours after she notified us that she was positive, Dalton started showing signs of Covid. Within hours, he struggled to breathe. When we should have been eagerly awaiting Santa’s arrival, we watched Dalton gasp for air. He tested positive the next day.

Dalton’s father and I started showing symptoms that weekend as well. Covid is a strange thing, I’ve learned, because the symptoms can vary so drastically. Dalton and his father both had coughs and had issues breathing at times. Dalton had a high fever as well. I’ve been lucky in that my breathing has remained fine. Instead, I’ve had some pretty intense stomach pain and zero appetite.

Dalton’s father tested positive the same day Dalton did. I tested positive a few days later. Since then, both Dalton’s father and I have lost our sense of smell and our taste has been affected too. As of today, Sunday, January 3rd, all three of us feel great.

So we’ve essentially been living the quarantine life up here in Connecticut since Christmas. Instacart is a pretty amazing thing, I’ve learned! 🙂 We were supposed to fly home yesterday, but had to postpone that until we are cleared to travel by the CT Department of Health. Dalton’s last day of quarantine is today; Mike and I have two more days to go. The bright side: Connecticut is expecting a few inches of snow today, so that should be fun to see.

I am so excited to return to the island with my family, and I am excited to resume my island tours. I am also excited to announce that Mike and I, along with our good friend Dan, are launching a new restaurant delivery service upon our return called STJ To Go. It will be very similar to Uber Eats in that you can order your meal and beverages online through STJToGo.com and we will deliver it right to your doorstep. I am super, super excited about this! We launched a Facebook page, so please go over and give us a like. You can find it at www.Facebook.com/STJToGo

Well, that’s all I have to share today. If you feel safe coming to the island in the near future, I would love to show you around! And if you are waiting for the vaccine to travel or simply waiting for things to feel a little more normal, I totally get it. We will be waiting for you when you decide the time is right for you. Happy New Year everyone. xoxo