Last day(s) of the women gone wild- SOTB III

Travel discussion for St. John
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sea-nile
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Last day(s) of the women gone wild- SOTB III

Post by sea-nile »

Here is Diana's script from our last day. She got to stay an extra day (I think that I will do that next year). I will post some pictures from our last day(s) and then write a short villa review and post a link to several villa pictures. I hope that the others will chime in with their opinions on the villa.

Days 9 and 10 as told by Wounderwoman (Diana):
Saturday, November 7, 2009
It is amazing how quickly a week on St John rushes by. Today is our sad day as we all have to pack away our summer clothes, prepare to head home to winter weather, and a daily reality filled with work and family obligations. The first of the group left at dawn to head to the ferry and the remainder of us followed after breakfast.

In planning for a future trip, Sea-nile drove to find a villa for Wounderwoman and JimG20. The drive to the villa climbed up above Coral Bay and just kept on climbing. Having a paved drive is not necessarily a plus when the slope is this steep. We never even got to the WaterLemon and ended up turning around on a VERY steep hill in nose bleed area. I cannot imagine that any of us had been at this high an elevation without the use of a plane. In spite of the giant Moray, a trip to the clinic, and the challenge of our driveway to the villa, this was the most afraid Sea-nile was all week!

Leaving is always sad and we finished our week on St John with time in Cruz Bay shopping and enjoying lunch and a few drinks at The Beach Bar. We caught the noon ferry to Red Hook and had the van drop the three of us off at the Emerald Beach-- Best Western where Wounderwoman was going to stay an extra night. We sat at the bar, listened to the gentle surf and gazed at the beach. We watched people, watched people watching iguanas, watched iguanas and let Pain Killers numb our sadness at having to leave the island.

Wounderwoman bid goodbye to her remaining beach sisters and headed into town to shop for camera gear. Prices were not as good as expected since a cruise ship was in port, but still better than at home and a new underwater camera and case was purchased in anticipation of the next trip.

It was a great trip again this year! We can’t wait until next year!

Sunday, November 8, 2009
After a week of living in the beautiful villa, the Best Western Emerald Beach offered fairly basic accommodations. However, the sliding door opened onto the beach and that is pretty much all it takes to be acceptable.

A perfect morning begins with the sun streaming in through the windows and waking up to the realization that there is still time for one last snorkel adventure. After being able to snorkel at some truly premier locations, my expectations for Lindberg Bay were not too high. I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised. The beach itself was hard sand and in spite of the ski boat and skier using the middle of the bay, the visibility was much better than some of the locations on St John. As I snorkeled along the left side of the bay, I encountered the usual Tangs, Squirrel Fish, a smaller lobster tucked into the rocks and a variety of corals. I was treated to a second peacock flounder which was smaller than the one seen at Salt Pond, but equally amazing. Another find was a 4 foot green moray eel that was swimming freely along the rocks. I was so surprised that I missed the photo op, but did regroup and catch him once he was safely under a rock and I had caught my breath. A Goby sitting tall on a coral was another farewell gift but perhaps the best was the cluster of clean, shiny shells outside of the rocky cave of what I thought had to be an octopus. I hovered, repositioned, and hovered some more, but all I could see was what I thought must be the tentacle and then an occasional blink of an eye. The elusive octopus offered me the promise that there is so much more to see….my next trip cannot get here soon enough.


Maggy's last pictures on the morning she left:

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Bye STJ!
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Wounderwoman, JoAnn VA and I got to stay around a little longer and all of the others had a very early ferry. Here are some of JoAnn and Diana's pictures from that day.
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lunch at the beach bar (and a few painkillers) :D

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Our friend in STT
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I made them stop at the overlook. I love it every time!
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Our view from the bar at Best Western Emerald Beach where we had a few rum punches. JoAnn and I were waiting to go to to the airport. Diana got to stay. Smart girl.

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Diana stayed and you can read about her last day above.
It was a great trip! I can't wait until next year! Less than 11 months!


Estate Fortsberg pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sea-nile/s ... 967459528/

The villa was fabulous! 4 equal bedrooms with king beds. The pool was great and the view was to die for. The only complaint I have was the road leading up to it. By the end of the trip it was OK too as I was used to it. Others can chime in. The pictures will tell a lot. I would stay there again. We may want to stay closer to Cruz Bay next year though.
The website has a good description of the villa too.
You can PM me or any other SOTB sister for more specifics.
tipsy
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Joined: Mon Aug 10, 2009 10:07 am
Location: Long Island NY

Post by tipsy »

thank all of you for the wonderful TR's and gorgeous pics. loved them all,even the made up ones.

Now you have a new ticker & plans to look forward to.
No ticker anymore. Next vac will prob. be the Fl Keys.
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jayseadee
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Location: New England

Post by jayseadee »

Totally agree that time goes by much faster on St. John.

Love the sunrise pictures.

I'm also a sucker for the Trunk Bay overlook. I love that the taxi's always stop there.

Thanks for sharing!
janet
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mbw1024
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Post by mbw1024 »

sounds like another successful trip. thanks for sharing!
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Ksea
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Post by Ksea »

Gorgeous Trunk Bay overlook shot. I never get tired of those. Thanks for doing the all the reports, they were very good!
mindehankins
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Post by mindehankins »

Thank you for taking the time for all the trip reports! They really mean alot to those of us who are landlocked and tickerless!
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Bigcheeze
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Post by Bigcheeze »

Great Pics and reports..TY. Emerald Beach is always a nice way to start/end the trip and have some great burgers and Sam makes a good rum punch or a D&D.
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waterguy
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Post by waterguy »

Great reproy sorry to see it come to and end
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linne
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Post by linne »

Thank you for your reports. It seems as if he SOTB vacation has been a succes again. What a lot of fun you have had. Beatiful pics too, I love Maggy's morning pics.

Linne
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Rachelle & Joe
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last day's of women gone wild sotb

Post by Rachelle & Joe »

Your TR's were so entertaining ! :lol: Thanks for taking the time to share, ALL The Beautiful pic's were a joy to view :) LOVE the sunrise pic's ! Happy, Safe Holiday's to u All !
Jo Ann - VA
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Location: Virginia

Post by Jo Ann - VA »

Thank you Terese & Diana for writing the trip reports. Terese you did a great job of posting it along with pictures.

Thanks from one of your SOTB sisters!
Jo Ann
Jo Ann
Always planning the next vacation...
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