Half way up the mountain, overlooking downtown Charlotte Amalie to the South, along the highway that takes you to Magens Beach on the North side of St. Thomas, rests a cozy hotel with a marvelous view. Mafolie Hotel.
I landed in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands on a Saturday afternoon, after a long, three-leg, red-eye trip from San Francisco. Friday afternoon, I was trying to come up with a place to sleep in San Francisco when I just got the urge to jettison myself to some island somewhere. My friend Chrystall had said I could crash at her place in the British Virgin Islands any time. Out of the blue, I send her a direct message via Twitter to the effect of, “Hey, mind if I crash on your couch? Like, soon?” She said yes, so I double-checked flights.
“Okay, I’ll be there tomorrow!”
Sunday worked better for her, so I ended up having a day to kill in St. Thomas. I booked my flight with a half dozen hours of notice and decided that was enough planning for one day.
Fortunately, I got adequate cell phone coverage in St. Thomas. Upon landing, I asked myself, “What now?” I searched online for a hotel. Something cheap. Near downtown. But not too ghetto, so I opted for something that was $20 above the cheapest.
Book it. “Taxi!”
Couch surfing is tough, especially considering I only stay with friends and I hate feeling like I’m intruding. I’ve been wasting too much time and energy figuring out where to sleep each night, and decided I should just get away from it all so I can focus on me and my work.
While at the hotel bar, I asked the bartender if she knew of any cheap weekly or monthly rentals in the area. I was in luck, because the peak travel season hadn’t picked up yet and the hotel was still offering long term leases for a few more weeks. Instead of $125 per night, which is way too expensive for a month, they offered me $350 per week ($50 per night) if I stayed for at least 3-4 weeks.
Book it. “Ferry!”
A few nights couch surfing, with Chrystall in the BVIs, a short ferry ride away, and then I’d be back in St. Thomas for 3 weeks.
I thought it would be nice to lock myself away for a while and work full-time on my own thing. A bunch of people have told me this is a common desire. I was living their dream.
Honestly, it wasn’t that great. Good, but not great.
Despite becoming more reclusive during the last couple years, the biggest thing I was missing was socializing with fellow technologists, and all the excitement, motivation, and inspiration that comes with it.
I struggled to put in fully productive days, but luckily forced myself to take breaks and get some sun. I hardly left the hotel, pool, or hotel bar, mostly because going into town was an expensive hassle and almost nothing down there interests me.
The food at the hotel was way too expensive for my budget, so I made use of the mini-fridge and microwave. I drank a lot of fruit juice and ate a lot of microwavable ‘healthy choice’ type crap. (#startuplife)
The view from the hotel really was spectacular. The list of applicable adjectives could go on and on. Being able to work with such a magnificent backdrop is amazing and very fulfilling, especially when the seaplanes were taking off and landing. But ultimately, the isolation was rough, draining, challenging, and I realized I need to come up with a better way to work. I definitely need more balance and a better atmosphere.