USVI-On-Line

part one
part two
part three
part four

June 5, 2010

Since our plan to go to Waterlemon fell apart the day before, we decided to try again today. Got up nice and early and just went straight to the beach. Well first we stopped at Big Ben's again for some breakfast sandwiches and coffee. But then we went.

I swear every place that serves coffee has these cups
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmhouse/4730217923/" title="Morning Coffee by matt house, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1136/473 ... a1cbf2.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Morning Coffee"></a>

Got to the Annaberg parking lot and started the walk on the Leinster Bay Trail.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmhouse/4730861490/" title="Starting the Walk by matt house, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1083/473 ... 45869e.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Starting the Walk"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmhouse/4730218583/" title="Leinster Bay Trail by matt house, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1086/473 ... 65c852.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Leinster Bay Trail"></a>

View looking back towards the start of the trail:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmhouse/4730219159/" title="Leinster Bay by matt house, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1152/473 ... c8be_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" alt="Leinster Bay"></a>

The walk along the shore is very pleasant, especially in the morning. It's shady and flat so the 0.8 miles seems to fly by. We only saw one other person on the trail, a guy running with his dog.

This sign is close to Waterlemon Beach
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmhouse/4732242884/" title="Sea Turtle Nesting by matt house, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1105/473 ... 2185_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" alt="Sea Turtle Nesting"></a>

An empty Waterlemon
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmhouse/4731599871/" title="Waterlemon Bay by matt house, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1144/473 ... baff_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" alt="Waterlemon Bay"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmhouse/4732243008/" title="Waterlemon Bay by matt house, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1383/473 ... 5b89_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" alt="Waterlemon Bay"></a>

A little path behind our spot that meets the Leinster Bay/Johnny Horn Trail. There are also a bunch of ruins just behind the beach and paths to the salt pond. Definitely worth checking out.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmhouse/4732243078/" title="Beach Shade by matt house, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1205/473 ... 3a8a61.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Beach Shade"></a>

Now on to the snorkeling. We started from the beach and slowly made our way out to the cay. We didn't really take many photos until we got out to the cay. We swam out there and took a break on the sandy beach. Then went clockwise around the cay. So here are the photos.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmhouse/4745705731/" title="Waterlemon Fishes by matt house, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4122/474 ... c89e1a.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Waterlemon Fishes"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmhouse/4745706315/" title="Corals and Fish by matt house, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4081/474 ... 9ee58f.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Corals and Fish"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmhouse/4745707135/" title="Sea Fan by matt house, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4094/474 ... 4b9c8b.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Sea Fan"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmhouse/4745707673/" title="Little Fishes, Slightly Bigger Fishes by matt house, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4075/474 ... 1e7023.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Little Fishes, Slightly Bigger Fishes"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmhouse/4746593520/" title="Corals by matt house, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4118/474 ... 7fec3f.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Corals"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmhouse/4745954307/" title="Blue Tang by matt house, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4097/474 ... 57aa80.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Blue Tang"></a>

We saw a Hawksbill feeding around the coral on the far side of the cay. It was probably about 12 feet of water so we hovered and watched him for a while. Then after a couple minutes it decided to come up for some air, right next to us. It was missing one front fin which was pretty interesting.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmhouse/4745954615/" title="Hawksbill Turtle by matt house, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4116/474 ... ed1b34.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Hawksbill Turtle"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmhouse/4746593798/" title="Hawksbill Turtle by matt house, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4143/474 ... a371dc.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Hawksbill Turtle"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmhouse/4745954507/" title="Hawksbill Turtle by matt house, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4078/474 ... 4a8003.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Hawksbill Turtle"></a>

Hey fish, get out of the way! You're messin with my coral photos.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmhouse/4748292821/" title="Get out of the way, fish! by matt house, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4078/474 ... 7001ab.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Get out of the way, fish!"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmhouse/4748292891/" title="Corals by matt house, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4095/474 ... 7e8816.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Corals"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmhouse/4748292995/" title="Elkhorn Coral by matt house, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4095/474 ... a20b11.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Elkhorn Coral"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmhouse/4748293067/" title="Parrotfish by matt house, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4101/474 ... baa02e.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Parrotfish"></a>

After making it all the way around, it was time to go back to the beach. We were both getting pretty tired and hungry. I also tend to get a little seasick on long snorkels so that helped me move a little quicker towards land. On the way back we came across a couple Stingrays and a Green Turtle in deep water. So the photos didn't turn out that great.

Tip: Wear a t-shirt or some other type of covering while doing this snorkel. I didn't on this day and my back got toasted. Actually both of our backs got toasted and that forced us to spend the next couple days away from beaches.

After getting back on land, I wanted to walk up the Johnny Horn Trail to the ruins. The GF wasn't feeling like walking so she stayed and relaxed on the beach and explored the ruins right behind the beach.

The ruins and views are really worth the little effort it takes to get to them.

The Guard House
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmhouse/4732447163/" title="Waterlemon Ruins by matt house, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1310/473 ... 9af5_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" alt="Waterlemon Ruins"></a>

Panorama from the old Estate House on top of the hill.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmhouse/4748300231/" title="Waterlemon Bay, St. John, USVI by matt house, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4140/474 ... 5b26_b.jpg" width="1024" height="331" alt="Waterlemon Bay, St. John, USVI"></a>
Click through to flickr for a larger size of this.

After getting back to the beach it was time to head out and get some lunch. I don't have any photos from the rest of the day online yet, but I'll post them here once I do get them up.

Ok and honestly, I can't remember what happened the rest of the day unless I look at the photos. I'll have to update this post once I get home (writing this during my lunch break at work). So stay tuned! Hopefully these photos will hold everyone over until then

UPDATE!
I uploaded a few more pics and remembered what happened the ret of the day.

So we walked back to our car from Waterlemon just as it started to get a bit crowded (10 people?).

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmhouse/4754993914/" title="Leinster Bay Walk by matt house, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4076/475 ... 2fe287.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Leinster Bay Walk"></a>

This walk really is nice. We passed even more people on their way to the beach so we picked a good time to leave. Plus we were feeling pretty sunburnt by then.

Took our usual stop at the smoothie truck:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmhouse/4754352857/" title="Smoothie Truck by matt house, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4081/475 ... d398cb.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Smoothie Truck"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmhouse/4754352939/" title="Smoothies by matt house, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4100/475 ... 5a4531.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Smoothies"></a>

Sat there for a little bit and enjoyed their deliciousness. You really can't go wrong there with their suggesstionsThen we headed back towards Concordia and stopped at the Tourist Trap again for lunch.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmhouse/4754352993/" title="The Tourist Trap by matt house, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4101/475 ... fc394c.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="The Tourist Trap"></a>

After that we went to our tent and relaxed some more. Realized how badly we got sunburnt. Took some showers. Slept for a bit. Then went to Aqua Bistro for dinner. The food there is just OK. Having Sweet Plantains a previous night sort of set the bar high for dinners the rest of the trip. Aqua Bistro is still really nice though.

After stuffing ourselves we then headed back to our tent, played some board games, and fell asleep.

Wow- awesome shots! Adding Waterlemon to our must do list. How did you get that panorama? Did you stitch? That is an amazing picture. Thanks for sharing them all!

And the photo-geek in me wants to know what kind of camera you used - especially for the underwater stuff.

Met the flipper missing turtle on the last trip, but don't have anywhere near as good a set of pix of him!

Nice job!

Keep Smiling!!!

Very nice report. I just got caught up on it. Nice photos!

We saw the same turtle last year. Thanks for the trip report.

Lovely underwater photos! I am really enjoying reading about your adventures.

SOonthebeach wrote:Wow- awesome shots! Adding Waterlemon to our must do list. How did you get that panorama? Did you stitch? That is an amazing picture. Thanks for sharing them all!

Thanks! Yeah I stitched 4 photos together to create that. I've gotten pretty decent at taking panoramas without a tripod. A wide angle lens really helps hide any mistakes I make when I pan and take the photos.

Timethief wrote:And the photo-geek in me wants to know what kind of camera you used - especially for the underwater stuff.

Met the flipper missing turtle on the last trip, but don't have anywhere near as good a set of pix of him!

Nice job!

Keep Smiling!!!

The underwater photos are taken with a Canon Powershot SD1100 IS in a Canon WP-DC22 Underwater Case. Technically the camera is my girlfriend's but I bought the case to use for these trips. This is our second trip using that combo (last year in St. Croix) and it's worked great every time. The case does have a bit of glare when the sun is shining so it's hard to see the photos I'm taking sometimes.

The other photos here are taken with a Canon 5D with a Canon 17-40mm f4 lens. I also brought a Canon 30D and a 70-200mm f4 lens that I used on other days. I had the 5D with me the most though since I took a lot of wide angle landscapes.

Thanks for all the other comments as well. Now that I'm at home I know what I did the rest of this day so I'll finish the report a little later. I just have to get a couple more photos posted online first.

Nice Hawksbill shots, Matt. I've seen a Hawksbill without a rear flipper at Long Bay. A shark and a motorboat came to my mind and I was hoping to see neither.

Love the panorama shot, too... Beautiful. Thank you for sharing.

The turtle coming up for air is as far as I'm concerned the MONEY shot.

wow- panoramas with no tripod- that's awesome! You are obviously a very talented photographer. wish I could be half as good. I shoot with Nikon- maybe that the problem kidding. Thanks for sharing your talent!

wow- panoramas with no tripod- that's awesome! You are obviously a very talented photographer. wish I could be half as good. I shoot with Nikon- maybe that the problem kidding. Thanks for sharing your talent!

Thanks for sharing your trip report and pics. We stayed at Concordia a few years ago and really enjoyed it. Can you say exactly where they are building the new units? I would not want to stay near construction. One thing we enjoyed there was the peace and quiet, interspersed with the sounds of birds and frogs.
thanks

I updated the first post with a couple more pictures and activity from the rest of the day (not much, mostly food).

SOonthebeach wrote:wow- panoramas with no tripod- that's awesome! You are obviously a very talented photographer. wish I could be half as good. I shoot with Nikon- maybe that the problem kidding. Thanks for sharing your talent!

haha, thanks! St. John really makes it easy to take good photos. I don't think it's possible to take a bad photo down there.

B&J in VA wrote:Thanks for sharing your trip report and pics. We stayed at Concordia a few years ago and really enjoyed it. Can you say exactly where they are building the new units? I would not want to stay near construction. One thing we enjoyed there was the peace and quiet, interspersed with the sounds of birds and frogs.
thanks

The new studios they were building are alllll the way on the right side (if you're looking out at Ram Head) of the property, and down the hill a bit from the eco-tents. You get to them by driving down the road that goes down to the restaurant. We never actually heard any construction noise, even when we were down by the pool or walking in that area. Although they may pick up a bit now that it's off season. We were over in E6 and didn't hear anything except the birds and frogs.

Loving your reports!

I just remembered I shot a video of a Green Turtle in the bay. I just put it online so I wanted to post it here too.

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