My first thought upon meeting Lumumba was that he wasn’t quite like anyone I’d ever seen before. Rangy, spry, and vaguely Rastafarian, he seemed ageless—but I can tell he looks a lot younger than however old he is, I thought, as we embarked on a long ramble through a gorgeous landscape of forests, hills, fields, and colonial ruins.

Lumumba was constantly stopping us along the way to point out the interesting qualities of various innocuous-looking plants and trees. He showed a commanding knowledge of biology, botany, ecology, and, most fascinating of all, Caribbean bush medicine—which seems to have its own cure for everything short of cancer. This plant made remarkably strong rope; that one cured yeast infections. This grass would single-handedly keep you alive if you got lost in the wild; that tree produced natural air-conditioning that would keep you cool if you sat under its boughs.

"Now this," he said, pulling some anonymous plant out of the ground to expose its white roots, "is congo root. You make an elixir out of it by soaking it in rum. This is a master root. It’s good for all sorts of things, but people call it ‘Mama Juana’ because after a man drinks it, he says, ‘Mama, I wanna.’" Lumumba grinned. "It’s good for back spasms because it thins the blood and improves circulation… but it also helps put some lead in your pencil!"

Lumumba also invited us to sample all sorts of edibles we encountered along the way, ranging from the familiar (mango, passionfruit) to the downright bizarre (an enormous seed filled with a powder that smelled disgusting but tasted delicious). And then there were the many colonial ruins we passed, with Lumumba displaying an equally endless knowledge of local history as he told us about each of them.

And so it went, as we struggled up hill and down dale, kept going only by the gorgeous scenery and Lumumba’s running commentary of intriguing trivia. Ambling effortlessly along ahead of us, he kept us riveted the entire time, showing a love of St. Croix and its native flora and fauna that we couldn’t help but share by the end. An unfamiliar sense of wonder stole over me as I thought of the bounty of nature, and all of a sudden my cushy life back in New York seemed artificial, unreal—even ridiculous. I don’t know if I’m going to pick up stakes and move to St. Croix, but I know I’ll be back—and when I am, you can bet I’ll be calling up Ay-Ay Ecotours for another go.

Our group spent the morning with Lumumba walking around the Estate Annaly, one of the largest and most productive sugar plantations of the 18th century, before heading off to Mt. Victory and the nearby Creque Dam hidden within the island's rain forest. In between were wide open spaces and vistas covering fertile farmlands across hilltops and valleys, which indicates there's some physical effort needed for making this particular hike of around four hours. Unfortunately, time WAS our only constraint.

Lumumba had a playful, yet matter-of-fact description for all but everything historical and natural we passed using the Latin, common, and island terms for the various botanical specimens, as well as describing what they could be used for. While our group pressed onward, I made sure to stay at the front; shoulder to shoulder with this intriguing individual just to pick his brain and be marveled at whatever else was shared. And as if to further qualify his vast worldly knowledge, he's even lived a stint on NYC's Greenwich Village's Bleeker Street!

Other organized hikes include Mt. Washington, the Caledonia Rain forest, historical Salt River Bay, Estate Punch and Estate Williams sugar plantation ruins, and Annaly Bay, which would be first on my 'To Do' list with this strenuous four hour expedition which includes scaling cliffs down to saltwater tide pools along the northwestern coast. Caledonia is the only other hike listed as strenuous; the other four are moderate ranging from two to four hours.

To book any of these tours, contact Lumumba at 340/772-4079 or check out his website. Costs for any of these hikes are $30 for adults and $15 for children. You'll need to bring your own water and dress accordingly. I managed in a pair of beach flops, but I would highly recommend sneakers or appropriate hiking shoes. Lumumba would, too!