Trip report 5/20-5/26 Day 1
Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 9:05 am
This morning we slept in until 7:30 after the LONG day yesterday getting here. I wish that it were easier to arrive in paradise but I suppose that it wouldn’t be as worthwhile. We took the time to fully explore our surroundings and marveled at the great variety of plants, bushes, trees, flowers and of course, critters. I felt really bad for the folks that had to put up with the torrential rains but they sure did make the island look good. The greens were bright and the blooming flowers are incredible!
There were 2 kestrels that hung around. They must’ve had a nest nearby because they were definitely ‘together’. I watched one feed on a lizard on a nearby tree branch. I can see why they stayed close by since there were no shortages of lizards.
The hummingbird that was a fixture at our villa had a nest with a young’un in it, right over our parking space so she freaked out every time we went somewhere. She was tricky though. Every time we tried to get pics of her she’d stay in the shade or move as soon as we focused. Of course there were the banaquits which we unabashedly fed sugar to. They were pretty elusive to begin with but they got used to us.
Anyhow, we had pancakes and bacon for breakfast. Then we got our gear together and drove out to our very favorite snorkeling spot (so far) on STJ—Waterlemon Cay. We parked where we were supposed to at Leinster Bay and hiked into the snorkel spots. We waded in, got our new mask, snorkel and fins situated and snorkeled clockwise around the Cay. As usual, it did not disappoint. We first saw the starfish (not as abundant as 3 yrs. Ago) and then the familiar underwater gardens with their fish of all sizes, shapes, and colors.
Hubby seemed to be fascinated with the underwater landscapes of coral, rocks, anemones, polyps,sponges, fans, urchins, seaweed, etc., etc., so he took a lot of photos of those.
Our cameras are pretty simple. Jhud has a Sealife Ecoshot and I have Sony Cybershot with an underwater case. I bought a slave strobe to add light to the sometimes murky shots but it didn’t work all the time and overexposed some shots. A few of our days were overcast here with the sun shining through only occasionally so the murk was even more pronounced in places. After we had had our share of underwater peeping we swam back to shore and had a picnic lunch. A none to shy mongoose was very curious about our lunch and when we put a frito bag down he ran in and snatched it and dragged it back into the bushes. All we saw for 5 minutes was a quivering frito bag and then it was gone. It was hilarious! We also saw a huge hermit crab tooling toward the water. Jhud must’ve scared him because he did an about face and headed back to whence he came.
We hiked back to our jeep and changed into dry clothes before driving to Cinnamon Bay for supper at T’ree Lizard.It was quite deserted there and we put our order into the campground front desk. We were the only patrons there and we had a delicious meal of salad, steak, fried chicken, brown rice and veggies. The mosquitoes were out but they had a smoldering trash can that kept them at bay for awhile. By the time the smoke got to us we had finished eating and after touring the cottages briefly, we headed back to our villa.
Pa Girl- Our villa, Blue Heaven Rendezvous sits above Monte Bay on a hillside like most other villas.
There are a few villas close by but because of the thick foliage, you can’t really see them or hear much. (The peepers take care of drowning out any nighttime noise) . The kitchen, dining area and living room are in one area, while the bedrooms(3) are accessed by a patio in the back and underneath. There are connecting decks off of the dining area and living room as well as off of the 3 bedrooms.
The villa has a nice airy feel and mornings and evenings were comfy with the screens open to let in the breezes along with the ceiling fans. (The bedrooms have A/C which came in handy to sleep and de-sweat). As you saw in the pic, the view was awesome! The villa is owned by an artist out of Texas (as is Jhud) and her art is throughout the house. The color scheme is turquoise, light blue, coral, and white and the price was right. It would be great for a few couples or a family.
There were 2 kestrels that hung around. They must’ve had a nest nearby because they were definitely ‘together’. I watched one feed on a lizard on a nearby tree branch. I can see why they stayed close by since there were no shortages of lizards.
The hummingbird that was a fixture at our villa had a nest with a young’un in it, right over our parking space so she freaked out every time we went somewhere. She was tricky though. Every time we tried to get pics of her she’d stay in the shade or move as soon as we focused. Of course there were the banaquits which we unabashedly fed sugar to. They were pretty elusive to begin with but they got used to us.
Anyhow, we had pancakes and bacon for breakfast. Then we got our gear together and drove out to our very favorite snorkeling spot (so far) on STJ—Waterlemon Cay. We parked where we were supposed to at Leinster Bay and hiked into the snorkel spots. We waded in, got our new mask, snorkel and fins situated and snorkeled clockwise around the Cay. As usual, it did not disappoint. We first saw the starfish (not as abundant as 3 yrs. Ago) and then the familiar underwater gardens with their fish of all sizes, shapes, and colors.
Hubby seemed to be fascinated with the underwater landscapes of coral, rocks, anemones, polyps,sponges, fans, urchins, seaweed, etc., etc., so he took a lot of photos of those.
Our cameras are pretty simple. Jhud has a Sealife Ecoshot and I have Sony Cybershot with an underwater case. I bought a slave strobe to add light to the sometimes murky shots but it didn’t work all the time and overexposed some shots. A few of our days were overcast here with the sun shining through only occasionally so the murk was even more pronounced in places. After we had had our share of underwater peeping we swam back to shore and had a picnic lunch. A none to shy mongoose was very curious about our lunch and when we put a frito bag down he ran in and snatched it and dragged it back into the bushes. All we saw for 5 minutes was a quivering frito bag and then it was gone. It was hilarious! We also saw a huge hermit crab tooling toward the water. Jhud must’ve scared him because he did an about face and headed back to whence he came.
We hiked back to our jeep and changed into dry clothes before driving to Cinnamon Bay for supper at T’ree Lizard.It was quite deserted there and we put our order into the campground front desk. We were the only patrons there and we had a delicious meal of salad, steak, fried chicken, brown rice and veggies. The mosquitoes were out but they had a smoldering trash can that kept them at bay for awhile. By the time the smoke got to us we had finished eating and after touring the cottages briefly, we headed back to our villa.
Pa Girl- Our villa, Blue Heaven Rendezvous sits above Monte Bay on a hillside like most other villas.
There are a few villas close by but because of the thick foliage, you can’t really see them or hear much. (The peepers take care of drowning out any nighttime noise) . The kitchen, dining area and living room are in one area, while the bedrooms(3) are accessed by a patio in the back and underneath. There are connecting decks off of the dining area and living room as well as off of the 3 bedrooms.
The villa has a nice airy feel and mornings and evenings were comfy with the screens open to let in the breezes along with the ceiling fans. (The bedrooms have A/C which came in handy to sleep and de-sweat). As you saw in the pic, the view was awesome! The villa is owned by an artist out of Texas (as is Jhud) and her art is throughout the house. The color scheme is turquoise, light blue, coral, and white and the price was right. It would be great for a few couples or a family.