10 more days in paradise, part two

[liamsaunt]

Day five—North swell day

We were woken up in the middle of the night by what sounded like a series of giant trucks crashing through the Gallows property! When the sun came up we could see that the water was very agitated—huge waves breaking in that area between Lovongo Cay and whatever that cay is next to it. A quick check on the forum told me that the north swell was up. We changed our plans from visiting Francis Bay to heading to the south shore.

By the time we arrived at Salt Pond (10ish) the lot was completely full and people were parked all along the road. Obviously lots of people had the same idea as we did. Salt Pond Bay (taken from angles to exclude all the people!):

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6911066931/" title="salt pond bay 2 by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7039/6911 ... fefc70.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="salt pond bay 2"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6919079217/" title="salt pond by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7185/6919 ... 2d787a.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="salt pond"></a>

Instead of stopping at the crowded, sandy beach, John and I continued along the Ram Head trail to Blue Cobblestone, where we had the rocky beach to ourselves:


<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6911067155/" title="blue cobblestone by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7036/6911 ... c5bb23.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="blue cobblestone"></a>

Conditions for this snorkel vary from us from trip to trip. Sometimes we see a ton of sea life, and sometimes nothing is around. Luckily, this was an abundant snorkel. Hawksbill turtle:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6911068867/" title="bc baby turtle by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7194/6911 ... 87ff8b.jpg" width="500" height="350" alt="bc baby turtle"></a>


Spotted eagle ray:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6911068189/" title="bc eagle ray best by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7051/6911 ... 070eaa.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="bc eagle ray best"></a>

Wrasse:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6911067331/" title="bc wrasse by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7185/6911 ... f840de.jpg" width="500" height="387" alt="bc wrasse"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6919079733/" title="bc wrasse closeup by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7199/6919 ... 23aaac.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="bc wrasse closeup"></a>

Yellow trumpetfish:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6919079997/" title="bc yellow trumpetfish 2 by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7183/6919 ... 57b8dd.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="bc yellow trumpetfish 2"></a>

Fire coral:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6911067559/" title="bc aquarium by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7054/6911 ... 4088ed.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="bc aquarium"></a>

Porkfish:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6919079447/" title="bc porkfish 4 by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7202/6919 ... c502d4.jpg" width="500" height="346" alt="bc porkfish 4"></a>

We walked over to Drunk Bay as well:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6911068671/" title="drunk bay boat 2 by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7180/6911 ... 32ea26.jpg" width="281" height="500" alt="drunk bay boat 2"></a>


<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6911068485/" title="drunk bay wide view by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7177/6911 ... 4d323a.jpg" width="500" height="275" alt="drunk bay wide view"></a>


And then headed back up the hot trail to the car (Salt Pond itself was just too crowded with snorkelers for me!).

We headed to Miss Lucy’s for lunch—it was crowded! We got the last outdoor table. View from our table to Friis Bay:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6911069715/" title="friis bay view by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7182/6911 ... 98a78c.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="friis bay view"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6772965480/" title="friis bay by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7207/6772 ... 083afa.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="friis bay"></a>

John ordered a local microbrew, Drunk Bay brown ale:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6911069035/" title="miss lucys drunk bay beer by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7062/6911 ... 7d1ecd.jpg" width="281" height="500" alt="miss lucys drunk bay beer"></a>

Then we shared a bowl of conch chowder ($10):

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6911069153/" title="miss lucys conch chowder by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7188/6911 ... 97e277.jpg" width="500" height="393" alt="miss lucys conch chowder"></a>

Very creamy, with lots of conch meat. We should have shared a sandwich at this point, but we wanted different things. I had the grouper reuben ($13):

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6911069315/" title="miss lucys grouper reuben by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7178/6911 ... 870f88.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="miss lucys grouper reuben"></a>

And John had the crunch fish sandwich ($14):

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6911069503/" title="miss lucys crunch fish by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7046/6911 ... 78ca72.jpg" width="500" height="267" alt="miss lucys crunch fish"></a>

We could only eat half and had to skip the fries because of our dinner plans. Everything was tasty, and I love the outdoor setting.

We headed back to Gallows, stopping at some of the obligatory overlooks on the way. Coral Bay:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6911069931/" title="coral harbour closeup by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7202/6911 ... c9c900.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="coral harbour closeup"></a>


Maho:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6911066289/" title="maho overlook 2 by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7179/6911 ... 4b9535.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="maho overlook 2"></a>

And then we stopped by Cinnamon, to check out the waves. You could hear them crashing from the parking lot!

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6772965642/" title="cinnamon wide view by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7176/6772 ... cc3a28.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="cinnamon wide view"></a>

There were some brave (??) folks in the water jumping the waves as they came in to shore. No thank you!

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6772965828/" title="cinnamon wave jumpers 2 by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7041/6772 ... fd15fa.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="cinnamon wave jumpers 2"></a>

Back to Gallows:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6911071123/" title="gallows by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7182/6911 ... 10c369.jpg" width="500" height="367" alt="gallows"></a>


Where we found a valentine’s note from the staff:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6911070245/" title="valentine by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7048/6911 ... 7b2757.jpg" width="288" height="500" alt="valentine"></a>

And had a valentine’s toast on our deck:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6911070785/" title="valentines toast by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7059/6911 ... cd9d31.jpg" width="293" height="500" alt="valentines toast"></a>

While watching a sunset sail:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6911071429/" title="tuesday sailboat 2 by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7038/6911 ... a53abe.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="tuesday sailboat 2"></a>

After the sun went down, we headed in to town for dinner at La Tapa. I didn’t think their valentine’s menu was as interesting this year as it was last year, to be honest. Their Valentine’s prix fixe is $69/pp, which includes three courses and a glass of champagne. John started with a langoustine with shellfish veloute:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6911070335/" title="ls tapa langoustine by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7039/6911 ... 2f4ef7.jpg" width="500" height="421" alt="ls tapa langoustine"></a>


I had wild mushrooms with polenta:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6911070399/" title="la tapa mushroom app by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7052/6911 ... fa6a7d.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="la tapa mushroom app"></a>

At this point, we were informed that they had run out of the snapper special (darn!), so I just ordered the vegetarian plate, which was a mash up of basically everything they have for side dishes on the menu. There were too many mashed potatoes, and the inclusion of a guacamole sauce on the side was just weird, but the polenta with roasted tomatoes and peppers was good. Of course if I had known when I ordered my appetizer that they were out of the fish, I would not have gotten polenta as my appetizer, but oh well.

John had a tuna dish with slaw, squid ink orzo and the guacamole, which worked fine with the fish:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6911070541/" title="la tapa tuna by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7200/6911 ... 872dd0.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="la tapa tuna"></a>

For dessert we just shared some cheeses (no picture, the light was completely gone at this point).

Day six

The swell was still up, so we headed south again, this time to Miss Vie’s beach on Hansen Bay:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6911071599/" title="hansen bay 2 by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7046/6911 ... 1f39c5.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="hansen bay 2"></a>


<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6772966046/" title="hansen bay by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7043/6772 ... e5dca7.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="hansen bay"></a>

We hadn’t made it over here in a couple of years. It’s a nice little beach with beat up lounge chairs and of course the snack shack nearby. Our goal for today was to snorkel over to Pelican Rock. Before heading over there, I decided to see what I could find out by the rocks right off her beach while John finished up his book.

There were lots of sea stars along the way:


<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6911072065/" title="vies cushion star by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7053/6911 ... cfe8b3.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="vies cushion star"></a>

Once to the rocks, I found a decent amount of corals. A barred hamlet:


<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6911072891/" title="vies barred hamlet by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7068/6911 ... 283602.jpg" width="500" height="444" alt="vies barred hamlet"></a>

A giant lobster shell—about three feet long—I dove down and measured it against my arm:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6911072343/" title="vies lobster 3 by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7050/6911 ... 7a1bcd.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="vies lobster 3"></a>

When I got back, we headed over to Pelican Rock. We snorkeled along the coastline, poking around in the beaches that were along the way. Once there, I was extremely impressed with the healthiness of the reef and the variety of fish that we found. Blue tang:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6911073171/" title="privateer blue tang by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7202/6911 ... 25d548.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="privateer blue tang"></a>

Squid:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6911074101/" title="privateer squid by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7064/6911 ... 353cff.jpg" width="500" height="426" alt="privateer squid"></a>

Strange underwater creature:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6919081163/" title="vies becky by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7053/6919 ... 9962d3.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="vies becky"></a>

Scrawled filefish:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6911074305/" title="privateer filefish closeup by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7177/6911 ... 71a7cf.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="privateer filefish closeup"></a>

Hermit crab:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6911074801/" title="vies hermit crab by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7059/6911 ... bcd68a.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="vies hermit crab"></a>

Trunkfish:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6772966256/" title="vies spotted trunkfish by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7049/6772 ... 2e6cd4.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="vies spotted trunkfish"></a>

On the way back I found this sunken boat:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6772966928/" title="vies sunken boat by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7197/6772 ... 896705.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="vies sunken boat"></a>

We spent about four hours snorkeling around Pelican Rock. By the time we made it back to shore it was 4 PM, so we headed back to Gallows for the sunset. Unfortunately, there wasn’t one this evening—too cloudy.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6911075057/" title="gallows palms by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7196/6911 ... 8201ce.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="gallows palms"></a>

Dinner was at Cactus on the Blue. We really, really disliked this place. Worst meal of the trip. Not only was the food terrible, we had a family next to us that was absolutely miserable, and doing the mother was doing her best to make sure everyone around them was miserable too. By the time we left (which couldn’t happen soon enough), the mother had both of her sons in tears. It was extremely uncomfortable. Ugh. Enough about Cactus on the Blue! We hightailed it out of there and headed back to Gallows for some stargazing and a much needed relaxing glass of wine on the deck to salvage the evening.

I can’t end this installment on such a sad note, so here is a preview picture of where we went the next day!

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6911075355/" title="leinster flats by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7042/6911 ... 68022e.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="leinster flats"></a>

[augie]

Love, love, LOVE the picture of the hermit crab! How long did you have to wait for him to be calm enough to let you take his picture like that?

[GraysonDave]

I am unfamiliar with the Drunk Bay microbrews.

Excellent, another excuse to return!

[SuefromMA]

Fantasic Part Two, as expected. I have been checking the forum all day, anxiously awaiting this post.

You rock!! A spotted eagle ray PLUS a school of wrasse. I LOVE blue-headed wrasse. I think the ones you saw were clowns. In any event, I have never seen a school of any type of them. How cool.

Don't know if it has to do with the cantaloupe that I am eating right now - but, man that grouper reuben looked good (and I don't even eat grouper). Needless to say, your food porn is the best.

Cute about that Valentine's day flower. How adorable is that?

Did you get to see Vie when you were over there? She is such a sweet and beautiful lady.

Keep 'em coming....

Thanks, again!
Sue

[Lovermont]

I am unfamiliar with the Drunk Bay microbrews.

If I'm not mistaken, you can also get Drunk Bay at Concordia Cafe, and possibly Tourist Trap. As the name suggests, it's from that part of the island.
Liamsaunt - your TR are the best. Thank you!

[ellena]

Beautiful pics! I have never been to Pelican Rock and really want to try it.. How long a swim is it? Did you rest anywhere during those 4 hours? Do you need to dive to enjoy it? Thanks for all your info. Can't wait to be there in 3 weeks and will be ending with a few days at Caneel. Which beaches do you like best to snorkel from there? Not doing Gallows this year, staying in a villa, but love Gallows. Sounds like you had a great trip and love all your reports.

[bdkane]

Thanks for sharing- awesome pics, looking forward to your next installment as your "preview" pic is probably my favorite spot...

[ruffmom]

Yea for part 2!! Now I have to walk right by Salt Pond, one of my favorite snorkel spots and go on to Blue Cobblestone...I have never thought to snorkel there before and when at Vie's, I have never made the swim to Pelican Rock. How much farther a swim is it than circling Waterlemon Cay from the beach? I love coming up with new plans despite 10 visits to St John!

[designbyroe]

love love love your reports every little bit
silly q how many books do you all bring? I never even finish one on island......

[CBama]

really enjoying your trip report....thanks for sharing....

[cocosmom]

Your reports and pics and food descriptions are always amazing..love that you take so many trips to STJ...also jealous!

[jmq]

Nice! Man that Grouper reuben looks good.

Pelican Rock viewed from land:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmq/142807864/" title="SJ7 villa view prockF by jmq, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm1.staticflickr.com/53/142807 ... 9036_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="SJ7 villa view prockF"></a>

[EagleRayLover]

Yeah for great snorkel days! You guys are hitting the jackpot this trip! Beautiful pictures of underwater beauties! Thanks for sharing Becky! As always- your TR is exciting and fun to read!

[paulandtracie]

I loved your trip report and your pictures are fantastic! What camera are you using underwater?

[paulandtracie]

Oops, just read part 1 of your trip report and got the information about your camera! Loved reading that part as well and the food pics are making me very hungry!