Baobob Tree – Estate Seiban 1/17/2013

The Great Seiban

Special Features
The Great Seiban provides a shorter route than taking the L’Esperance Road for those hikers wishing to visit the Seiban Estate or the Baobob Tree.

There are impressive views of Fish Bay and the Fish Bay Valley along the trail.

Getting There:
Heading east on the Fish Bay Road, take the first left after crossing the bridge over the Fish Bay Gut, which is Cocoloba Trail, at the first intersection bear right, staying on the Cocoloba Trail Road. Take the first left and head up the hill to the first switchback. The trail begins there marked by white paint on the utility pole.

Distance: 0.5 mile

Elevations
The Great seiban has a moderate incline with an elevation of about 360 feet at the Fish Bay trailhead and about 580 feet at the intersection of the L’Esperance Road, a gain of 220 feet over the half mile of trail.

About the Trail
An old Danish Road, the Great Sieban, connects the L’Esperance Road at Estate Seiban to Fish Bay. The trail descends from the Sieban Ruins near the baobob tree, following the contour of the Fish Bay Valley and leads to a residential area of Fish Bay.

The hand-built road constructed in colonial times has weathered the centuries well, as can be seen by the good condition of much of the stone retaining walls supporting the lower side of the road.

The Great Sieban passes through shady moist forest with stands of guavaberry, West Indian Birch, genip and turpentine trees underneath which are bromeliads, anthuriums and love leaf.

Trail Condition January 17, 2013:
The trail leading up to the Seiban ruins from Fish Bay is in very good condition, until you reach the upper elevations where guinea grass has overgrown the trail somewhat. The spur trail between the Seiban ruins and the L’Esperance Road is in poor condition. The Seiban ruins are in fair condition. The Grand Stairway is totally overgrown and the view into Fish Bay from the boulders behind the baobob tree is completely obscured by vegetation.

Estate Seiban – Grand Stairway – previous image

Grand Stairway – Estate Seiban – Present Condition (1/17/2013)

View from Baobob Tree – previous image – presently obscured

St. John Weather
Mostly cloudy with rain showers
High of 82 degrees F.
Breezy: Winds from the North at 10 to 20 mph.
Chance of rain 20%
Water Temperature (Charlotte Amalie Harbor): 82 degrees F
Sunrise: 6:54 AM AST – Sunset: 6:05 PM AST

St. John Live Music Schedule January 18, 2013

Aqua Bistro
Stephan Sloan
5:30 – 8:30
776-5336

Barefoot Cowboy Lounge
Michael Beason
7:00 – 9:00
201-1236

Beach Bar
Sol Driven Train
9:00
777-4220

Castaways
Mikey P 8:00
Dance Party 11:00
777-3316

Cinnamon Bay
Eddie Bruce Drum Circle
6:30 – 8:00

Concordia
Bo & Lauren
6:30 – 9:00

Fatty Crab
Brian Campbell Trio
775-9951

High Tide
Mikey P
9:00
714-6169

Inn at Tamarind Court
Steel Pan
6:00 – 9:00
776 6378

Island Blues
Slammin
776 6800

Morgan’s Mango
Lauren Jones
6:00 – 9:30
693-8141

Ocean Grill
T-Bird
6:30 – 9:00
693-3304

Rhumblines
Erin Hart
7:00 – 10:00

Spyglass
James Milne
5:00 – 8:00
776-1100

Shipwreck Landing
Tropical Sounds
7:00-10:00

Skinny Legs
Chris Carsel & Company
6:30 – 9:30
779 4982

See Weekly Schedule

This entry was posted on Friday, January 18th, 2013 at 8:13 am and is filed under Life on St. John USVI, St. John Virgin Islands Trails. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.