Pic's Pics & Report 2013 - Vol. 1

[StJohnbum]

Thanks for a great trip report. We have stayed at Casa Tua twice and really enjoy it. The location is just outstanding. In fact we have it rented for 10 days in January. Friends come with us and we rent both the main house and the guest house and it is an ideal layout for two couples. Glad you had a good trip.

[islandjo2010]

Thanks Pickle!
Love the octopus...out and about shots!
And wow, all those eels!

[Pickle]

I thank each and every one of you for your kind comments.

Adp1110 - for beaches and underwater I used my Canon D10 that I got over 4 years ago. It's still going strong without leaking. I also have the Canon G15 but don't have an underwater housing for it so didn’t take it out to the beach. The shots around the villa (including some Friis Bay shots), food, etc. were taken with the G15.

Maggy - I think we share a lot of the same interests underwater. I wish I were a diver like you.

Minde – if this had been a one-week vacation, I would've been disappointed. Despite my effort to be somewhat active, I wasn't able to really enjoy and absorb the moments when I wasn't well. I really know now that "when we can go to St. John we better stay as long as we possibly can".

StJohnbum – Marc (the property manager) told us that a lot of people who stayed at Casa Tua return to Casa Tua and we understand why. I think we will become one of those folks.

[PA Girl]

Once again, you pictures are spectacular! Thanks.

[StJohnForever]

Stunning pictures. The clarity of the water and images are amazing. Keep posting more - especially the underwater ones. Well done!

[toes in the sand]

Thank you for the trip report and the marvelous pictures.
How do you deal with the hot rocks at Great Lamshur? We have tried to get to the water there but the dark rocks get so hot in the sun that even walking on them with shoes leaves us with hot feet.

[tochin]

Really great photos and thanks for sharing. Learning where to look to see these amazing animals in the water of St John is quite a skill. Still trying to master that one.

[Myheart'sinSTJ]

Pics are just amazing and trip report is great, glad your illness passed

[sabalpom]

Your pics are fantastic!! Sorry to hear you were not feeling well when you arrived. Thank you so much for sharing your trip report. Looks like you had a wonderful time! 13 days & counting for me!!

[Pickle]

How do you deal with the hot rocks at Great Lamshur? We have tried to get to the water there but the dark rocks get so hot in the sun that even walking on them with shoes leaves us with hot feet.

We wear booties with fins so have no issues with hot or slippery rocks, sea urchins, etc. We've never felt hot rocks with booties on. One downside (for me) of wearing them is that they leave very distinctive (since we snorkel a lot) tan lines around my ankles. It's easily explainable on St. John - I can just say, "Oh, I wear booties when snorkeling". When we come home it's a little different and it's slightly embarrassing looking like I'm wearing white socks with sandals in the hot summer.

[Bigcheeze]

Amaaaazing pics...wow wow wow

[jmq]

Nice shots! Thanks for posting. Looking forward to a less hazy Vol. 2

[Pia]

Sor sorry we didn't run into each other on your trip and so sorry you were sick

Your photos are AMAZING (as always)

I do have a question for you as you are so knowledgable on the different varieties of fish/eel etc - I was swimming Maho last week and saw my first ever snake !!! Now, I know there are not supposed to be snakes in the ocean on STJ but this was unlike anything I had ever seen before - about 2' to 3' long, about the same "thickness" as a "regular" snake you might see on land in the midwest, white with an orange stripe along each side of it's body. It was in the sand (so maybe not white but sand colored) and at first I thought 1) I was dreaming 2) maybe it was dead but then it just started to slither away. I was in fairly shallow water - maybe 5' deep and fairly close to the shore as I was heading back in after swimming for around 45 minutes. It definitely looked like a "regular" land snake - any idea's ??

Pia

ps: can't wait for part 2

[cptnkirk]

Awesome report, awesome underwaters, isn't the underwater world awesome. I believe you would make a great marine biologist. I pretend I'm one while on island,would be my dream job LOL

[Pickle]

Pia - I see someone might have identified your mystery creature on FB. If the orange stripes were actually more like dots, Goldspotted Eel is the closest to what you described - and you find them in the sand (or the reef).

I was going to ask if you even vaguely recall seeing a dorsal fin (it's long and skinny so easily missed if you are not looking for it) - that's how you can be sure it's a fish and not a snake.

cptn - I wanted to be a marine biologist when I was a little girl. We might've made a good pair.