Umbrellas? We don't need no stinkin' umbrellas!(Pt. VII)
Posted: Tue Aug 10, 2010 2:18 pm
Link to Pt. I - http://virgin-islands-on-line.com/forum ... hp?t=17481
Link to Pt. II - http://virgin-islands-on-line.com/forum ... hp?t=17483
Link to Pt. III - http://virgin-islands-on-line.com/forum ... hp?t=17487
Link to Pt. IV - http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... hp?t=17493
Link to Pt. V -http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... hp?t=17586
Link to Pt. VI - http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... hp?t=17587
Monday 7/19 - Our last full day on island dawned gray, rainy, and windy (where have I heard that before?). The night before, at the Beach Bar, we had heard from liamsaunt that despite the steady wind that had blowing out of the east all week, the conditions at Waterlemon weren't too bad. And that she had seen an eagle ray there. If that first piece of information wouldn't have sealed our snorkel destination for this morning (which it would have) the second one set it solidly in stone.
As we pulled into the Annaberg parking lot we noted that ours was the second vehicle in the lot. We also saw a couple heading toward the Leinster Bay trail, and they looked awfully familiar - it was sea-nile and her husband! After a shout out to them, they stopped and waited for us, and we made our way, together, along the trail, past the little beach, and around to the rocks that provide the entry point that's closest to Waterlemon Cay.
As we were getting into the water and started to make the slow swim in the direction of the cay, I heard a cry of frustration/anguish coming from Leslie. Her camera wouldn't turn on! She had turned it on earlier that morning to show me some of the pictures from the night before, but now, nothing. It didn't appear to be flooded, but it certainly wasn't working either. I felt so bad for her, because she had REALLY been enjoying taking pictures with it all week, and now she was not only sad because she couldn't, but worried about what was wrong with it. So we started out in a kind of crappy mood, which seemed to befit the weather, which possibly befit the fact that our trip was coming to and end...
But it wasn't over just yet! We were at one of our favorite snorkeling spots in the world, so in the big picture, how bad could things really be?
Seeing this guy just a couple of minutes after entering the water certainly helped:
And this, though not the elusive eagle, was something that Leslie liked to see:
As we approached the cay we heard a loud sound, like the motor of a boat, sort of, but there were no moving boats in sight. Then, coming from around the corner of the cay and heading in our direction, was a yellow inner tube with a dive flag on top of a gas powered generator, from which several hoses hung into the water. SNUBA - at Waterlemon! That was certainly a first for me. I can see how that would be a good place to be able to stay under the water longer, but those doing so were moving at a fast pace that seemed to indicate that they were probably pretty new to all of this. And as sea-nile's husband said later, "I'd like to visit that site without a constant lawn mower sound in my ears".
The way the wind was blowing meant that the far side of the cay was the sheltered/calm side, and it looked great!
Since we were on a mission, and we figured our best bet to find an eagle ray was out over deeper water, the three of us made the swim from the sandy point of the cay directly across the bay towards the Leinster Bay Trail. That was a longer swim, particularly with the conditions the way they were, than it had looked like it would be, but alas, no eagle rays to be seen.
We slowly made our way along the shallows, working back towards the rocks where our stuff was. While I was drifting over the sand I spotted this guy, so I called Leslie and Jason over and we watched him pop in and out of his burrow for a little while.
Even in the shallows, Leinster has a lot to see if you take your time and look around.
We all got out, got our stuff together, and made the hike back to the parking lot. Since we weren't likely to see the sea-nile's again this trip we said good-bye and wished them luck on their upcoming dives (his first open water dives!) and for the rest of their trip.
Lunch was a no-brainer - we had copious leftovers from Cafe Roma at the condo.
After lunch I knew that we wanted to snorkel somewhere, but I had a little bit of a dilemma. The gas tank showed just at or below a quarter tank left. I felt that I could *probably* go wherever we wanted, and still have enough left to get to a gas station on St. Thomas tomorrow before returning to Dependable. But in order to feel comfortable with that I probably wouldn't want to venture very far. I decided to go ahead and drive into town and get enough gas so that I wouldn't have to worry about running out or having to refuel before getting on the car barge. Then we headed back via North Shore Rd. and we made the spur of the moment decision to go to Hawksnest. We'd never been there before, and if it hadn't been raining I don't know if we'd have found a place to park this time.
There were still quite a few people on the beach and in the water, but we decided to go ahead and try this place out anyway. The dominating feature underwater here is the elkhorn coral. It looks as though it was spectacular at one time, suffered some extensive damage, and is making a comeback in spots. I don't suppose being so close to the beach helps, since that leaves it within easy reach of hordes of snorkelers, including the inexperienced ones who through ignorance, carelessness, or just by accident, may do things to hurt it.
The combination of clouds, murky water, and a camera battery running out of charge limited the number of pictures we were able to take (not to mention that we were back to being a one camera family), but there were still some interesting things to see.
After a while we started to get bored and/or cold, so we got out, put the gear in the bag, and headed "home".
After rinsing the gear and getting cleaned up we did the lion's share of packing and getting our stuff ready for leaving. We had discussed the possibility of doing one more snorkel early on departure day, but at this point just bagged the idea and packed up the gear for travel once it had dried off.
The only decision left was where to have dinner. Between the weather and fuel situations we thought staying close by would be the best bet. We'd already been to Shipwreck a couple of times so we opted to just walk down the driveway and check out Aqua Bistro. There was one table available, but it was the one most vulnerable to the elements, so we passed and walked a little down the road to try Island Blues instead. We'd never been to either one, so I was glad to be able to check another one off of my "list".
Leslie and Jason liked their burgers, and the crab bisque and seafood salad I had were very good too, not to mention the Presidentes!
A short walk home, some last night rum consumption, and we were ready for our last on island sleep for this visit...
Link to Pt. II - http://virgin-islands-on-line.com/forum ... hp?t=17483
Link to Pt. III - http://virgin-islands-on-line.com/forum ... hp?t=17487
Link to Pt. IV - http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... hp?t=17493
Link to Pt. V -http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... hp?t=17586
Link to Pt. VI - http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... hp?t=17587
Monday 7/19 - Our last full day on island dawned gray, rainy, and windy (where have I heard that before?). The night before, at the Beach Bar, we had heard from liamsaunt that despite the steady wind that had blowing out of the east all week, the conditions at Waterlemon weren't too bad. And that she had seen an eagle ray there. If that first piece of information wouldn't have sealed our snorkel destination for this morning (which it would have) the second one set it solidly in stone.
As we pulled into the Annaberg parking lot we noted that ours was the second vehicle in the lot. We also saw a couple heading toward the Leinster Bay trail, and they looked awfully familiar - it was sea-nile and her husband! After a shout out to them, they stopped and waited for us, and we made our way, together, along the trail, past the little beach, and around to the rocks that provide the entry point that's closest to Waterlemon Cay.
As we were getting into the water and started to make the slow swim in the direction of the cay, I heard a cry of frustration/anguish coming from Leslie. Her camera wouldn't turn on! She had turned it on earlier that morning to show me some of the pictures from the night before, but now, nothing. It didn't appear to be flooded, but it certainly wasn't working either. I felt so bad for her, because she had REALLY been enjoying taking pictures with it all week, and now she was not only sad because she couldn't, but worried about what was wrong with it. So we started out in a kind of crappy mood, which seemed to befit the weather, which possibly befit the fact that our trip was coming to and end...
But it wasn't over just yet! We were at one of our favorite snorkeling spots in the world, so in the big picture, how bad could things really be?
Seeing this guy just a couple of minutes after entering the water certainly helped:
And this, though not the elusive eagle, was something that Leslie liked to see:
As we approached the cay we heard a loud sound, like the motor of a boat, sort of, but there were no moving boats in sight. Then, coming from around the corner of the cay and heading in our direction, was a yellow inner tube with a dive flag on top of a gas powered generator, from which several hoses hung into the water. SNUBA - at Waterlemon! That was certainly a first for me. I can see how that would be a good place to be able to stay under the water longer, but those doing so were moving at a fast pace that seemed to indicate that they were probably pretty new to all of this. And as sea-nile's husband said later, "I'd like to visit that site without a constant lawn mower sound in my ears".
The way the wind was blowing meant that the far side of the cay was the sheltered/calm side, and it looked great!
Since we were on a mission, and we figured our best bet to find an eagle ray was out over deeper water, the three of us made the swim from the sandy point of the cay directly across the bay towards the Leinster Bay Trail. That was a longer swim, particularly with the conditions the way they were, than it had looked like it would be, but alas, no eagle rays to be seen.
We slowly made our way along the shallows, working back towards the rocks where our stuff was. While I was drifting over the sand I spotted this guy, so I called Leslie and Jason over and we watched him pop in and out of his burrow for a little while.
Even in the shallows, Leinster has a lot to see if you take your time and look around.
We all got out, got our stuff together, and made the hike back to the parking lot. Since we weren't likely to see the sea-nile's again this trip we said good-bye and wished them luck on their upcoming dives (his first open water dives!) and for the rest of their trip.
Lunch was a no-brainer - we had copious leftovers from Cafe Roma at the condo.
After lunch I knew that we wanted to snorkel somewhere, but I had a little bit of a dilemma. The gas tank showed just at or below a quarter tank left. I felt that I could *probably* go wherever we wanted, and still have enough left to get to a gas station on St. Thomas tomorrow before returning to Dependable. But in order to feel comfortable with that I probably wouldn't want to venture very far. I decided to go ahead and drive into town and get enough gas so that I wouldn't have to worry about running out or having to refuel before getting on the car barge. Then we headed back via North Shore Rd. and we made the spur of the moment decision to go to Hawksnest. We'd never been there before, and if it hadn't been raining I don't know if we'd have found a place to park this time.
There were still quite a few people on the beach and in the water, but we decided to go ahead and try this place out anyway. The dominating feature underwater here is the elkhorn coral. It looks as though it was spectacular at one time, suffered some extensive damage, and is making a comeback in spots. I don't suppose being so close to the beach helps, since that leaves it within easy reach of hordes of snorkelers, including the inexperienced ones who through ignorance, carelessness, or just by accident, may do things to hurt it.
The combination of clouds, murky water, and a camera battery running out of charge limited the number of pictures we were able to take (not to mention that we were back to being a one camera family), but there were still some interesting things to see.
After a while we started to get bored and/or cold, so we got out, put the gear in the bag, and headed "home".
After rinsing the gear and getting cleaned up we did the lion's share of packing and getting our stuff ready for leaving. We had discussed the possibility of doing one more snorkel early on departure day, but at this point just bagged the idea and packed up the gear for travel once it had dried off.
The only decision left was where to have dinner. Between the weather and fuel situations we thought staying close by would be the best bet. We'd already been to Shipwreck a couple of times so we opted to just walk down the driveway and check out Aqua Bistro. There was one table available, but it was the one most vulnerable to the elements, so we passed and walked a little down the road to try Island Blues instead. We'd never been to either one, so I was glad to be able to check another one off of my "list".
Leslie and Jason liked their burgers, and the crab bisque and seafood salad I had were very good too, not to mention the Presidentes!
A short walk home, some last night rum consumption, and we were ready for our last on island sleep for this visit...
