 ESCAPE
TO A GARDEN OF EDEN
HIDDEN AT MT. VICTORY CAMP
by NINA YORK
• St.
Croix This Week - June 2003
As you approach your
remote destination in the northwest corner of St. Croix, you may feel
you are reaching the end of a long journey. But as we all know, no distance
on this 84 square mile island is really long. Once you arrive at Mount
Victory Camp, on the Creque Dam Road, you realize that the distance was
not in miles, but in consciousness, and once you are there, any minor
rigors of the trek are, like pain in childbirth, immediately forgotten.
A handsome wooden fence and a small sign point you to
the entrance, and a short drive through a grove of trees takes you to
the office which is also the home of owner and camp operator Bruce Wilson
and his lovely Haitian-born wife Mathilde. They greet you warmly, serene
in their contentment with a place of natural beauty and bursting with
innovative, yet practical ideas in its accommodations. This is about as
far as you can get from a glitzy resort, not only in size but in concept.
 Bruce
Wilson shows an example of the accommodations at Mt. Victory Camp: sturdy,
yet far from massive wooden platforms with a waterproof canvas covering
that brings shade, yet allows the breezes to cool the interior.
Four tent-covered wooden platforms, some in two stories,
and a fifth soon to be completed, are each located in a private spot protected
by overhead and adjacent foliage of the varied tree growth, yet open to
the cool breezes of the hills in this area. Bothersome insects are almost
non-existent, mainly due to the breezes and the elevation.
 Locally
grown mahogany, almond, teak, and saman are used for the camp’s
impressive woodwork.
Impressive finished woodwork of native hardwoods from
the site, seen in railings, staircases and counters, convey a message
of the dedication that has gone into the design and execution of the entire
operation. Simplicity is predominant as a statement rather than lack of
investment, and befits the scenic location. Real bedsteads, again using
local wood beautifully finished, and futons provide a modicum of luxury,
and each unit has table and chairs as well as its own cookplace and mini-kitchen
with sink.
Typical beds at the camp are carved from local hardwoods. Bedrooms are
provided with fold-down canvas walls for privacy as well as mosquito nets,
although these are normally superfluous.
Thanks to the creative energies of Mathilde, who holds a Master’s
Degree in Agronomy from the University of Havana, Cuba, a veritable garden
of Eden has sprung up on the site. With fertile soil, adequate rainfall,
and wells on the property, in a fairly short time the campground has become
more than self-sufficient in vegetables, herbs and fruit, all organically
grown and glowing with healthful beauty.
 Mathilde
Aurelien-Wilson, agronomist extraordinaire, indulges in a favorite pursuit
of garden maintenance: picking the fresh yields of her labors.
In the Mount Victory garden grows
a spectacular assortment of the healthiest herbs, for seasoning as well
as medicinal use, plus arugula, lettuce, achiote and lemongrass, the latter
for a wonderful, health-bringing bush tea. Wander around and find banana,
papaya and passion fruit trees, others bearing lemon and lime, coconut,
breadfruit and carambola, truly a harvest of nature’s bounty. Or
find patches with pumpkin, string beans and pigeon peas, spinach, cucumber,
cassava and cabbage. Here you will even observe rare (for St. Croix at
least) looking leaves, which Bruce plans to cure and eventually use to
create a St. Croix counterpart to Cuban cigars! Even coffee is grown here
on an experimental basis, which is not surprising, when we learn that
MathildeÁs family in southwestern Haiti owns a large coffee plantation
with which the entire family, including herself, has been deeply involved.
No wonder this gentle woman has such a magic touch with plants!
An impressive structure on the premises is the bathhouse,
which houses men’s and women’s nicely equipped tiled restrooms
as well as men’s and women’s showers, open to the skies. Like
everywhere else on the premises, solar panels provide a near constant
supply of hot water. The whole resort is a model of energy efficiency,
although still connected to the public power grid.
One unique feature of the site is the picturesque ruin
of one of the 19th century schoolhouses constructed under the Danish Governor
General Peter von ScholtenÁs initiative to bring education to the children
of the slaves. It is one of eight architecturally identical schools on
St. Croix, designed by Danish architect Albert Lovmand, all built in 1841,
seven years before Emancipation took place here in the then Danish West
Indies. Today, a fairly intact specimen is seen at Estate Diamond on a
corner of Queen Mary Highway between the St. George Botanical Garden and
the Cruzan Rum factory. Restored examples are the St. Croix Majorettes
headquarters at Estate Peter’s Rest and the Theodora Dunbavin School,
still serving its original educational mission, on Northside Road in Estate
La Grande Princesse. The Mt. Victory School, alas, was torched in the
great Fireburn uprising in 1878.
The
old Danish school ruin, home to the tortoises.
Today, the evocative ruins have become home to a large
and healthy contingent of red-footed land tortoises, which Bruce has been
happily raising for many years. He claims that one of them is around 100
years old, and all in varying sizes are amusing to watch cheerfully chewing
away at cabbage heads and bananas. But turtles are not the only animals
here. Friendly Daisy the camp dog, horses and cats, as well as chickens,
complete the feeling of being on a farm. Some of the chickens are even
headed for slaughter, but most are generous providers of eggs for the
Wilson household. While no pig is finding its home yet on the premises,
I am told that a pig roast is a festive occasion frequently taking place
at the open pit in the center of the campground. With picnic tables scattered
throughout the shady areas, the campground has been used by local groups
of over a hundred people who pitched a big tent up on one of the hills
of the property.
What kind of visitor would enjoy this site, where a
tent cottage with room for four rents for $60 and up a night? Anyone with
a sense of adventure, a love of nature, and a need for peace and tranquility.
A number of trails to nearby hills makes it popular with hikers, and other
ways to explore the very special natural area of the Creque Dam forest
area are on horseback or mountain bike.
But there is much more to enjoy in this part of the
island. The delightful Sprat Hall beach is only five minutes by bike,
less by car, where Sunset Grill Restaurant offers great meals and entertainment,
as does the not very distant town of Frederiksted, where fine eateries
and night spots with great jazz like Blue Moon, Cafe du Soleil/Turtles
Deli Caffe and Le St. Tropez French restaurant plus Beachside Cafe at
SandCastle On the Beach provide diversion for those who need entertainment
beyond the chirping of the tree frogs and want a night off from cooking.
Actually, just conversing with the hosts at Mt. Victory
Camp will provide sufficient stimulation for just about anyone. Knowledgeable
and friendly, yet with a hint of the 70Ás radical hanging on, Bruce Wilson
has a bit of the entertainer in him and a world view that contributes
to the visitor’s transformation as a result of an encounter with
this site. The pride of place and feeling of contentment apparent in Bruce
and Mathilde is inspiring.
For information about this unique spot, call the Wilsons
at (340)772-1651, toll free (866)772-1651, e-mail: [email protected],
or find out more when you visit their website: www.mtvictorycamp.com.
|
VI
Daily News - 
Outside
Magazine - 
Ernest Toqruck dishes up roast pork to hungry campers in the Mount Victory
Camp pavilion. 
Kingshill
School student Ferdinand DeCambra, 12, hoists a mattress on a recent trip
to Mount Victory Camp.