STJ Fall 2010 Trip Report - Day 6
Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2010 10:05 am
Link to Day 1 - http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... hp?t=18383
Link to Day 2 - http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... hp?t=18387
Link to Day 3 - http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... hp?t=18398
Link to Day 4 - http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... hp?t=18434
Link to Day 5 - http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... hp?t=18446
Tuesday - woke up to a weather report that had a sense of deja vu to it. Looks like we'd be hitting the north shore once again. ( Awww....)
Called our friends at La Papaya and let them know that we'd be at Maho. Was told that they were "feeling" Hawksnest, so we said that perhaps we'd see them there later in the day.
I love driving on St. John in the morning - even driving down Centerline brings a smile to my face when I see something that reminds me to be happy because of where I'm at. This morning it was a mama pig and several piglets rooting around the dumpster. Can you imagine a dumpster scene making you smile just about anywhere else?
I especially like driving downhill on North Shore Road from where you turn on to it by the smoothie stand. it's very lush here, and the glimpses of the water and islands that you see peeking out from behind that lush greenery are exhilarating! Before we knew it, we were making the ninety degree left hand turn onto the section of road that fronts Maho. We had the place to ourselves, and we decided to snorkel the left side first, before the wind picked up too much more.
It was a beautiful Maho morning! The snorkeling conditions were just OK by St. John standards. A little breezy, but not too choppy, and the water clarity was certainly not what I'd call murky, but not crystal clear either. But who could complain? We're in calm, warm waters next to a gorgeous and practically deserted beach on our favorite piece of land on the planet!
Probably the most noteworthy thing we saw on this snorkel was a group of bristleworms. We are used to seeing these fairly frequently, but usually solo - there must have been a half dozen or more within about two feet of one another. Unfortunately, the pictures we took of them didn't come out so well, nor did the one of the huge bristleworm - it looked like the arm of a starfish! - that we saw just afterward. We did manage a few pictures though. Did someone say "barracuda"?
We weren't too worried about him, but these little guys may have been:
We did have one funny experience on this snorkel - as we got about halfway out to the point from shore, I became aware of a little orange fish, no more than an inch or so long, that was "stalking" me. I'd see him out of the corner of my eye swimming alongside of me, then he'd dart in front of my mask for a few seconds, then I'd lose sight of him. Then I noticed that he would do the same to Leslie for a little while. Then, just when I thought he'd left us, he would pop back into sight somewhere. Leslie said that on a couple of occasions she'd see him swim into the legs of my bathing suit! He stayed with us until we got out of the water. Here's a shot of Leslie, and somewhere in the shot, our pest du jour...
After our long, slow snorkel, Leslie needed to warm her core temperature up a bit. The beach at Maho is, of course, a perfect place to just "chill" (maybe in this case it should be "grill"?).
While we had time on, and a camera in, our hands, the requisite Maho beach photo just HAD to be taken!
While Leslie was warming up and playing in the sand I was wading in that wonderful water and noticed something a little offshore that kept bobbing to the surface. It was slowly making its way across the bay, and I was more than just a little curious as to what it was. At first I thought it might be a coconut, but it really looked like something else. I flashed back to a picture I'd seen somewhere of a deer swimming across one of the south shore bays, and had just about convinced myself that that's what this was. I went to shore and grabbed my mask so that I could get a clearer look at it from underwater and cautiously swam out closer to it. It ended up being a very large palm frond that was floating upside down in the water. What I thought was the head of a deer was just the part of the branch that had been connected to the tree at one time. How exciting!
After that "adventure" we were ready to get back in the water so we walked the length of the beach down to the right side. By this time there were a few others enjoying the place and we heard someone excitedly talking about stingrays near the shore. Leslie's heart leapt into her throat - could it be? Just the day before, as she was relaying the details of her long and fruitless search for a spotted eagle ray on St. John, someone had told her that they had seen one, uncharacteristically for them, in the shallows at Maho. Her pace quickened, but as we got near the end of the beach we saw them - three little southern stingrays, swimming back and forth about five feet off of the beach. Don't get me wrong, we have nothing against southerns, as a matter of fact it was an encounter with them that started Leslie's fascination with stingrays, but once again, the search for an eagle ray came up empty.
So...we got in the water and made our way slowly alongside the rocky shoreline, headed in the direction of the point that separates the Big and Little Maho bays. We were surprised that we didn't see the angelfish that we normally see here. Usually there are a good number of french and queen angelfish on display, but even swimming well around the point, we just didn't see any this time. Not to say that there weren't other interesting things to look at, such as these nudibranchs clinging to this fan coral in the current:
After we'd made our way back from the Little Maho side of the point we decided rather than retrace our path back to shore, to go diagonally across the bay, towards where our stuff was, out over the deeper water to look for,...you know...
We made it back after a fairly uneventful swim, although we did see one of the monster starfish that must have got lost on its way to Leinster Bay.After drying off a bit we headed to Hawksnest to see if we could find the La Papaya posse. After walking the length of the beach with no sign of them we got our cooler out and had lunch in the shade at one of the pavilions there. Then, since we didn't really have any plans, we did something relatively rare for us on St. John - we found a spot under some seagrape trees, spread out the neat sheet, and just laid down and enjoyed the sound of the beach!
After the rising tide had forced us to move further and further from the water we made the command decision that we'd finish the day at pool beach! We'd have to hook up with the gang from La Papaya another time.
[It turns out that they decided our Maho idea was a good one, and had showed up and established "residence" on the right hand side of the beach - shortly after we'd entered the water from that same area. Had we come back in from our snorkel the same way we went out - like we usually do - we would have come ashore right in front of them. But I did get a text update from them telling me they were going to Maho - thirty or so hours after they'd sent it!]
After a couple of hours of limin' in/by pool beach, dinner was on my mind. Whatever it was I had planned to cook that night hadn't thawed out sufficiently (or at least I think that was the excuse I used) so we got cleaned up and headed into town. We scored a free parking space somewhere in the vicinity of the roundabout and we walked, dodging all of the election stumpers and celebrants, until we happened upon the stairs leading to Quiet Mon. We'd only peeked inside here once before, when we were (what else?) looking for someone, but we decided to head upstairs and have a drink before dinner.
Who should we see at the bar, but Amy (mrsb)! Her mom and aunt were doing some in town shopping and she had strategically picked out a good place for them to find her once they were finished. I was then able to add two more items to my "never have done until now" list - having a drink (or two) at Quiet Mon, and having a Dark & Stormy. We enjoyed catching up with Amy - we hadn't seen her except briefly at the Beach Bar during the madness of the Halloween party, so it was good to be able to talk in an atmosphere much better suited for that.
We got to meet her mom and aunt, and to see some of the treasures they'd found, then we remembered why we had come to town - dinner! I had the itch to scratch another item off of my list, so we walked over to Sogo's and went in. Other than the couple working there the place was deserted. They did have someone place a to go order while we were eating, but I hope they got a later dinner crowd, or else it was one slow night for them. We enjoyed the meal, and talking with the folks that waited on us. Personally I could have done without the ambiance provided by a radio blaring out a call in talk show where the subject was mostly the local election results, but I suppose that little bit of local flavor is an indulgence I could grant them, once every two years anyway!
Then it was back to the villa, a soak in the hot tub under the stars and...I don't remember much after that!
Link to Day 2 - http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... hp?t=18387
Link to Day 3 - http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... hp?t=18398
Link to Day 4 - http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... hp?t=18434
Link to Day 5 - http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... hp?t=18446
Tuesday - woke up to a weather report that had a sense of deja vu to it. Looks like we'd be hitting the north shore once again. ( Awww....)
Called our friends at La Papaya and let them know that we'd be at Maho. Was told that they were "feeling" Hawksnest, so we said that perhaps we'd see them there later in the day.
I love driving on St. John in the morning - even driving down Centerline brings a smile to my face when I see something that reminds me to be happy because of where I'm at. This morning it was a mama pig and several piglets rooting around the dumpster. Can you imagine a dumpster scene making you smile just about anywhere else?
I especially like driving downhill on North Shore Road from where you turn on to it by the smoothie stand. it's very lush here, and the glimpses of the water and islands that you see peeking out from behind that lush greenery are exhilarating! Before we knew it, we were making the ninety degree left hand turn onto the section of road that fronts Maho. We had the place to ourselves, and we decided to snorkel the left side first, before the wind picked up too much more.
It was a beautiful Maho morning! The snorkeling conditions were just OK by St. John standards. A little breezy, but not too choppy, and the water clarity was certainly not what I'd call murky, but not crystal clear either. But who could complain? We're in calm, warm waters next to a gorgeous and practically deserted beach on our favorite piece of land on the planet!
Probably the most noteworthy thing we saw on this snorkel was a group of bristleworms. We are used to seeing these fairly frequently, but usually solo - there must have been a half dozen or more within about two feet of one another. Unfortunately, the pictures we took of them didn't come out so well, nor did the one of the huge bristleworm - it looked like the arm of a starfish! - that we saw just afterward. We did manage a few pictures though. Did someone say "barracuda"?
We weren't too worried about him, but these little guys may have been:
We did have one funny experience on this snorkel - as we got about halfway out to the point from shore, I became aware of a little orange fish, no more than an inch or so long, that was "stalking" me. I'd see him out of the corner of my eye swimming alongside of me, then he'd dart in front of my mask for a few seconds, then I'd lose sight of him. Then I noticed that he would do the same to Leslie for a little while. Then, just when I thought he'd left us, he would pop back into sight somewhere. Leslie said that on a couple of occasions she'd see him swim into the legs of my bathing suit! He stayed with us until we got out of the water. Here's a shot of Leslie, and somewhere in the shot, our pest du jour...
After our long, slow snorkel, Leslie needed to warm her core temperature up a bit. The beach at Maho is, of course, a perfect place to just "chill" (maybe in this case it should be "grill"?).
While we had time on, and a camera in, our hands, the requisite Maho beach photo just HAD to be taken!
While Leslie was warming up and playing in the sand I was wading in that wonderful water and noticed something a little offshore that kept bobbing to the surface. It was slowly making its way across the bay, and I was more than just a little curious as to what it was. At first I thought it might be a coconut, but it really looked like something else. I flashed back to a picture I'd seen somewhere of a deer swimming across one of the south shore bays, and had just about convinced myself that that's what this was. I went to shore and grabbed my mask so that I could get a clearer look at it from underwater and cautiously swam out closer to it. It ended up being a very large palm frond that was floating upside down in the water. What I thought was the head of a deer was just the part of the branch that had been connected to the tree at one time. How exciting!
After that "adventure" we were ready to get back in the water so we walked the length of the beach down to the right side. By this time there were a few others enjoying the place and we heard someone excitedly talking about stingrays near the shore. Leslie's heart leapt into her throat - could it be? Just the day before, as she was relaying the details of her long and fruitless search for a spotted eagle ray on St. John, someone had told her that they had seen one, uncharacteristically for them, in the shallows at Maho. Her pace quickened, but as we got near the end of the beach we saw them - three little southern stingrays, swimming back and forth about five feet off of the beach. Don't get me wrong, we have nothing against southerns, as a matter of fact it was an encounter with them that started Leslie's fascination with stingrays, but once again, the search for an eagle ray came up empty.
So...we got in the water and made our way slowly alongside the rocky shoreline, headed in the direction of the point that separates the Big and Little Maho bays. We were surprised that we didn't see the angelfish that we normally see here. Usually there are a good number of french and queen angelfish on display, but even swimming well around the point, we just didn't see any this time. Not to say that there weren't other interesting things to look at, such as these nudibranchs clinging to this fan coral in the current:
After we'd made our way back from the Little Maho side of the point we decided rather than retrace our path back to shore, to go diagonally across the bay, towards where our stuff was, out over the deeper water to look for,...you know...
We made it back after a fairly uneventful swim, although we did see one of the monster starfish that must have got lost on its way to Leinster Bay.After drying off a bit we headed to Hawksnest to see if we could find the La Papaya posse. After walking the length of the beach with no sign of them we got our cooler out and had lunch in the shade at one of the pavilions there. Then, since we didn't really have any plans, we did something relatively rare for us on St. John - we found a spot under some seagrape trees, spread out the neat sheet, and just laid down and enjoyed the sound of the beach!
After the rising tide had forced us to move further and further from the water we made the command decision that we'd finish the day at pool beach! We'd have to hook up with the gang from La Papaya another time.
[It turns out that they decided our Maho idea was a good one, and had showed up and established "residence" on the right hand side of the beach - shortly after we'd entered the water from that same area. Had we come back in from our snorkel the same way we went out - like we usually do - we would have come ashore right in front of them. But I did get a text update from them telling me they were going to Maho - thirty or so hours after they'd sent it!]
After a couple of hours of limin' in/by pool beach, dinner was on my mind. Whatever it was I had planned to cook that night hadn't thawed out sufficiently (or at least I think that was the excuse I used) so we got cleaned up and headed into town. We scored a free parking space somewhere in the vicinity of the roundabout and we walked, dodging all of the election stumpers and celebrants, until we happened upon the stairs leading to Quiet Mon. We'd only peeked inside here once before, when we were (what else?) looking for someone, but we decided to head upstairs and have a drink before dinner.
Who should we see at the bar, but Amy (mrsb)! Her mom and aunt were doing some in town shopping and she had strategically picked out a good place for them to find her once they were finished. I was then able to add two more items to my "never have done until now" list - having a drink (or two) at Quiet Mon, and having a Dark & Stormy. We enjoyed catching up with Amy - we hadn't seen her except briefly at the Beach Bar during the madness of the Halloween party, so it was good to be able to talk in an atmosphere much better suited for that.
We got to meet her mom and aunt, and to see some of the treasures they'd found, then we remembered why we had come to town - dinner! I had the itch to scratch another item off of my list, so we walked over to Sogo's and went in. Other than the couple working there the place was deserted. They did have someone place a to go order while we were eating, but I hope they got a later dinner crowd, or else it was one slow night for them. We enjoyed the meal, and talking with the folks that waited on us. Personally I could have done without the ambiance provided by a radio blaring out a call in talk show where the subject was mostly the local election results, but I suppose that little bit of local flavor is an indulgence I could grant them, once every two years anyway!
Then it was back to the villa, a soak in the hot tub under the stars and...I don't remember much after that!
It is alway's so Great to run into forum friends ! Thanks for sharing !! Happy Holidaze 
Rachelle & Joe
