Pic's Pics & Report - Beaches & Snorkeling Final

[Pickle]

Vol.1: http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... hp?t=16907
Vol.2: http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... hp?t=16963

Featured beaches/bays:

Salt Pond (via Blue Cobblestone)
Brown Bay
Honeymoon & Salomon
Gibney
Francis


----- Salt Pond (via Blue Cobblestone) -----

Blue Cobblestone is one of my favorite snorkel spots. Disappointingly, no snorkeling there that day. The surf was up and the water looked choppier than we would've liked. Darn. We hiked back to Salt Pond to snorkel there.



Plants, along the trail




Yet another overcast day. It wasn't the hottest day for hiking but we were sweating (ah, the humidity...), so we got in the water immediately. The visibility was just okay.



Found a baby Peacock Flounder on the left side. We usually find flounders here in the shallows.



Christmas Tree Worms & Spanish Hogfish


Saw turtles in the middle of the bay in deeper water.



Salt Pond is a popular spot for snorkeling but it's not really my favorite. Not sure why. I've seen Queen Triggerfish and Spotted Drum (one of my favorite fish to find) there, and the rock sticking out in the middle of the bay is worth exploring. It's also one of the sure spots to find turtles and rays. Still, the overall impression that I get has never been that appealing to me. It must be karma or something.


----- Brown Bay -----

It was actually sunny that day, all day! The bright sky made us perky - we decided to do some hiking.

Brown Bay Hike in the morning


At Brown Bay, the water was seriously calm. A lady with her dog passing by on the beach said, "It

[lprof]

No words can tell you how much I have enjoyed your photos, identifications, and descriptions of this trip.
Thank you... all volumes a wonderful treat!

[liamsaunt]

I loved your report!

The flounder photo from Francis is especially beautiful. You should enter it in the CT+L photo contest! Deadline is August 9th, I think.

[mbw1024]

thank you Pickle! said it before will say it again, I love that ending photo! perfect!
Until next time.....

[Pianogrl]

Amazing reports...beautiful pics! Thank you so much for sharing your trip with us.

[jmhouse]

such awesome underwater photos! and your IDs helped me with some of mine. We snorkeled at Francis twice but apparently we're too impatient to find any octopus. We did see a few turtles and a spotted eagle ray there though. again, great photos!

[cmw5682]

I have been trying to name the fish I found and took a pic of... Thanks to you I now know it's a spotted scorpionfish! Great job and thanks!

[BillVT]

Great photos. Thank you very much. It is nice to see a post with an appreciation for Brown's.

[Diana2]

Wow. I've never found a scorpion fish on STJ. We found lots of them on Bonaire but never on STJ. Next time I'm out at Frances I'll have to look closer. How far along on toward Mary Point did you find them?

[toni]

Thank you so much for you reports and pictures!!! They've been a joy to read/see and great to pass on to the newbies we'll bring down next month. I second Liam's aunt on submitting your pictures somewhere-it crossed my mind when I saw the conch one. Thanks for all the time you spent on the reports and sharing!

[islandjo2010]

Thank you for sharing your snorkeling trips with us! I have looked forward to your beautiful pics and can't wait to see some of these fish myself!

First trip to STJ in 2 days!!!!
Jo

[Pickle]

liamsaunt, I appreciate that you think my photo is worth submitting. I remember your beautiful octopus shot - one of the winners of the CT+L photo contest last year!

Toni, the conch is one of my favorite shots. The best thing about conchs is, since they are not fast movers, if I wait, they will peek out to see what I'm doing.

jmhouse, we didn't see Spotted Eagle Rays this year. They are just so beautiful. I have a thing for "spotted" creatures... big or tiny.

Diana, the Scorpionfish I found were all in the shallows about one third of the way out to the point, I think. Despite the fact they are venomous, they are adorable (to me, anyway).

Jo, have a wonderful trip!

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Last but not least, I appreciate everyone's kind words. Thank you very much.

[Maggy]

Thanks again for sharing your photos. They are just fantastic. Agree with Liamsaunt, you could easily submit some of these in a photo contest. Why not the conch shot? It's really good and one of my favorites also. Or the blennie shot.

[JT]

Unbelievable shots! All I can say is,"Wow!"

[seaera]

Such amazing photos! I'm so impressed that you know the names of everything too.