usvi-on-line
STJ Fall 2010 Trip Report - Day 7
STJ Fall 2010 Trip Report - Day 7
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
Link to Day 6 - http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... hp?t=18454
We actually woke up Wednesday morning with a plan, and that plan also included some of our other on island friends - the gang at La Papaya - shopper3 and Larry, nascarfan59 and Becky, Barb and Jorge, their friend Billy. Also Amy, and her mom and aunt - a real old fashioned forum beach day!
From where we were staying in the Fish Bay area, it might be faster to hike to Little Lameshure than it is to drive there - I think the route to get there is likely just about as long of a continuous drive as you can do on St. John - but we were ready.
Driving from our villa to anywhere other then town afforded us the opportunity to traverse Gifft Hill Rd. We stayed at a villa on that road on our very first visit, so we have a special place in our hearts for some of the landmarks along that stretch of road. Now that it has a new coat of pavement and the speedbumps that used to be so bad in front of the school (I always thought that it was kind of ironic or redundant that, on a patch of road that was so poor that you had to drive slow anyway, there were large speedbumps that instead of having an incline on their leading and trailing edges, went almost straight up and down) are much more reasonable, it makes for not too bad of a drive.
We made it to the Coral Bay triangle and headed south. First stop was at Cocoloba Plaza for some ice, and to get sandwiches at Big Ben's Deli. The couple that owns and runs Big Ben's said that they thought we looked familiar (we stayed just above the plaza in a condo for a week in July) and the woman told Leslie that if we moved down there, she'd hire her. OK - that's one item on the checklist taken care of!
Lesson learned from said July trip - this time I placed our sandwiches in a waterproof bag before I put them in the cooler with the ice. Back on the road, past the goats, chickens, and donkeys, and up and down, around and around, on our merry way towards Lameshure we went. As we passed The Tourist Trap I silently wished I had forgotten to get the sandwiches - I guess stopping there for lunch will have to wait.
We were both encouraged and surprised to see no cars in the parking lot at Salt Pond Bay - we usually try and predict how crowded it will be at Lameshure by counting the cars in and around the lot here. We both revised our prediction to us being the first car in. After navigating around the puddles and rocks, as we neared Great Lameshure we closed in on a red jeep ahead of us. It continued on to Little Lameshure and there was already another jeep parked there. Third? Man, this place is getting too crowded!
We parked under a tree at the far end of the parking lot and unloaded all of our stuff and put it on the nearby picnic table. When we were here in July, our time at Lameshure was the only day that seemed like a "normal", i.e., not windy and rainy, St. John day. Despite the wind out of the southeast and the remnants of the south swells from Tomas, it looked as though this place might come through again!
None of the rest of our group had arrived yet, so Leslie and I geared up and got in the water. We were down towards the right side of the beach, so the first place we headed for was the rocks that protrude above the waterline, off towards the right side of the bay. Here, trying to hide between two rock walls we spied this little guy:
As we made our way past the grass beds and approached the rocky shoreline, we saw this;
During one of the times we surfaced to talk about something we'd seen, we saw some of the gang arriving at the beach, and gave them a loud whistle and a wave.
We continued along, slowly making our way out to the point. Along the way we were rewarded with some pretty cool sights...
Once we reached the point, where the effects of the swells and wind were much more apparent, we decided to turn back and retrace the route we had taken to get there. That gave us a chance to see some of the creatures that had come out to play since we passed by the first time.
We happened upon a small family of squid, with one in particular that was only too willing to stay in camera range:
They hung around so long, enabling Leslie to take so many pictures of them that I made a "movie motion" (think "charades") and she changed her camera to movie mode and took this (our first time taking underwater video I believe);
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Before we encountered the squid family we had been heading back to shore, in part because Leslie was beginning to get cold. She had completely put that out of her mind once she started taking pictures and video of them, but as soon as she stopped doing that, it was definitely time to get out, dry off, and warm up!
The La Papaya gang had set up camp at the opposite end of the beach from where we had, mainly because there was more room there for anyone that might want to hang out in the shade. Amy and her crew had staked out a spot at the water's edge more or less in the middle of the beach. It was nice hanging out with everyone - it was our first real chance to talk to most of them since the madness that was the Beach Bar Halloween party. Once we'd dried off and warmed up (and maybe had a beer, too!) we got our sandwiches out and had lunch. Apparently we were the only ones that had either planned to do this and/or remembered to do so. This little guy was glad that there was some bread left over:
After a bit, most of the others were feeling the need for lunch, so just as they were packing up to leave, we went back in the water to snorkel the other side of the bay. By this time the wind had the water stirred up a little more, but not too badly. We still managed to see some gorgeous scenery;
Honestly, at this point, after a half hour or so in the water, we were trying to decide if we'd had enough or not. We weren't seeing anything all that special, and before long we expected that Leslie would be getting cold again, but we said we'd ease along for just a few more minutes. We saw a pile of empty clam shells, which is often a tip off that there's an octopus nearby. The hole closest to the shells was empty, so we assumed he'd moved on. On a hunch I checked out the other side of the rock formation, and sure enough, what did we see?
Rather than swim back along the rocky shoreline, we opted to go out into deeper water, over the sand and the grass beds to keep an eye out for any creatures that we may have missed. Back on shore Leslie asked me, "do you think I'll EVER see an eagle ray down here?". I replied that the odds were that if we logged enough time in the water that we would sooner or later, but admitted that maybe we would always be in the wrong place at the wrong time, or be looking the wrong way when one swam by us. She said that she wasn't convinced that she'd get to see one, but that she had come to terms with that, and it would be OK if she didn't - but it would always give her something to look forward to.
I was curious as to just how long of a drive it was from Little Lameshure back to our villa, and since we had no planned stops decided to clock it. It took us fifty one minutes from the time we put the jeep into gear in the parking lot until we turned it off in the villa's driveway! I don't think I would have thought that there were any two points on that little island that could take you that long to drive!
After we got the gear rinsed and ourselves cleaned up, we headed back out. Amy had graciously invited us to come and have happy hour with them at Allesandra, and in addition to enjoying the company and the libations, that view from the Upper Chocolate Hole area is one I always enjoy - especially at sunset!
Happy hour kind of turned into dinner, and before we knew it, it was starting to get late (OK - island late). And we had a dinghy day tomorrow, so we bid our hostesses farewell, drove back to Fish Bay, and called it a day!
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
Link to Day 6 - http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... hp?t=18454
We actually woke up Wednesday morning with a plan, and that plan also included some of our other on island friends - the gang at La Papaya - shopper3 and Larry, nascarfan59 and Becky, Barb and Jorge, their friend Billy. Also Amy, and her mom and aunt - a real old fashioned forum beach day!
From where we were staying in the Fish Bay area, it might be faster to hike to Little Lameshure than it is to drive there - I think the route to get there is likely just about as long of a continuous drive as you can do on St. John - but we were ready.
Driving from our villa to anywhere other then town afforded us the opportunity to traverse Gifft Hill Rd. We stayed at a villa on that road on our very first visit, so we have a special place in our hearts for some of the landmarks along that stretch of road. Now that it has a new coat of pavement and the speedbumps that used to be so bad in front of the school (I always thought that it was kind of ironic or redundant that, on a patch of road that was so poor that you had to drive slow anyway, there were large speedbumps that instead of having an incline on their leading and trailing edges, went almost straight up and down) are much more reasonable, it makes for not too bad of a drive.
We made it to the Coral Bay triangle and headed south. First stop was at Cocoloba Plaza for some ice, and to get sandwiches at Big Ben's Deli. The couple that owns and runs Big Ben's said that they thought we looked familiar (we stayed just above the plaza in a condo for a week in July) and the woman told Leslie that if we moved down there, she'd hire her. OK - that's one item on the checklist taken care of!
Lesson learned from said July trip - this time I placed our sandwiches in a waterproof bag before I put them in the cooler with the ice. Back on the road, past the goats, chickens, and donkeys, and up and down, around and around, on our merry way towards Lameshure we went. As we passed The Tourist Trap I silently wished I had forgotten to get the sandwiches - I guess stopping there for lunch will have to wait.
We were both encouraged and surprised to see no cars in the parking lot at Salt Pond Bay - we usually try and predict how crowded it will be at Lameshure by counting the cars in and around the lot here. We both revised our prediction to us being the first car in. After navigating around the puddles and rocks, as we neared Great Lameshure we closed in on a red jeep ahead of us. It continued on to Little Lameshure and there was already another jeep parked there. Third? Man, this place is getting too crowded!
We parked under a tree at the far end of the parking lot and unloaded all of our stuff and put it on the nearby picnic table. When we were here in July, our time at Lameshure was the only day that seemed like a "normal", i.e., not windy and rainy, St. John day. Despite the wind out of the southeast and the remnants of the south swells from Tomas, it looked as though this place might come through again!
None of the rest of our group had arrived yet, so Leslie and I geared up and got in the water. We were down towards the right side of the beach, so the first place we headed for was the rocks that protrude above the waterline, off towards the right side of the bay. Here, trying to hide between two rock walls we spied this little guy:
As we made our way past the grass beds and approached the rocky shoreline, we saw this;
During one of the times we surfaced to talk about something we'd seen, we saw some of the gang arriving at the beach, and gave them a loud whistle and a wave.
We continued along, slowly making our way out to the point. Along the way we were rewarded with some pretty cool sights...
Once we reached the point, where the effects of the swells and wind were much more apparent, we decided to turn back and retrace the route we had taken to get there. That gave us a chance to see some of the creatures that had come out to play since we passed by the first time.
We happened upon a small family of squid, with one in particular that was only too willing to stay in camera range:
They hung around so long, enabling Leslie to take so many pictures of them that I made a "movie motion" (think "charades") and she changed her camera to movie mode and took this (our first time taking underwater video I believe);
<embed width="600" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullscreen="true" allowNetworking="all" wmode="transparent" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf" flashvars="file=http%3A%2F%2Fvid161.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Ft216%2Faugiegator%2FPix%2520from%2520STJ%2520Fall%25202010%2FMVI_1803.mp4">
Before we encountered the squid family we had been heading back to shore, in part because Leslie was beginning to get cold. She had completely put that out of her mind once she started taking pictures and video of them, but as soon as she stopped doing that, it was definitely time to get out, dry off, and warm up!
The La Papaya gang had set up camp at the opposite end of the beach from where we had, mainly because there was more room there for anyone that might want to hang out in the shade. Amy and her crew had staked out a spot at the water's edge more or less in the middle of the beach. It was nice hanging out with everyone - it was our first real chance to talk to most of them since the madness that was the Beach Bar Halloween party. Once we'd dried off and warmed up (and maybe had a beer, too!) we got our sandwiches out and had lunch. Apparently we were the only ones that had either planned to do this and/or remembered to do so. This little guy was glad that there was some bread left over:
After a bit, most of the others were feeling the need for lunch, so just as they were packing up to leave, we went back in the water to snorkel the other side of the bay. By this time the wind had the water stirred up a little more, but not too badly. We still managed to see some gorgeous scenery;
Honestly, at this point, after a half hour or so in the water, we were trying to decide if we'd had enough or not. We weren't seeing anything all that special, and before long we expected that Leslie would be getting cold again, but we said we'd ease along for just a few more minutes. We saw a pile of empty clam shells, which is often a tip off that there's an octopus nearby. The hole closest to the shells was empty, so we assumed he'd moved on. On a hunch I checked out the other side of the rock formation, and sure enough, what did we see?
Rather than swim back along the rocky shoreline, we opted to go out into deeper water, over the sand and the grass beds to keep an eye out for any creatures that we may have missed. Back on shore Leslie asked me, "do you think I'll EVER see an eagle ray down here?". I replied that the odds were that if we logged enough time in the water that we would sooner or later, but admitted that maybe we would always be in the wrong place at the wrong time, or be looking the wrong way when one swam by us. She said that she wasn't convinced that she'd get to see one, but that she had come to terms with that, and it would be OK if she didn't - but it would always give her something to look forward to.
I was curious as to just how long of a drive it was from Little Lameshure back to our villa, and since we had no planned stops decided to clock it. It took us fifty one minutes from the time we put the jeep into gear in the parking lot until we turned it off in the villa's driveway! I don't think I would have thought that there were any two points on that little island that could take you that long to drive!
After we got the gear rinsed and ourselves cleaned up, we headed back out. Amy had graciously invited us to come and have happy hour with them at Allesandra, and in addition to enjoying the company and the libations, that view from the Upper Chocolate Hole area is one I always enjoy - especially at sunset!
Happy hour kind of turned into dinner, and before we knew it, it was starting to get late (OK - island late). And we had a dinghy day tomorrow, so we bid our hostesses farewell, drove back to Fish Bay, and called it a day!
Come see us!
-
cool breeze
- Posts: 275
- Joined: Wed Feb 11, 2009 12:34 pm
- Location: N.H
What a great day! I love your snorkel pics and I'm enjoying living vicariously through you during your reports!
PS. Tell Leslie that we've only seen the Spotted Eagle Ray once and it was right after Omar came through during our trip. We figure it was our reward for all the crummy stuff that trip. It was a breath taking experience!
PS. Tell Leslie that we've only seen the Spotted Eagle Ray once and it was right after Omar came through during our trip. We figure it was our reward for all the crummy stuff that trip. It was a breath taking experience!
-
Tracy in WI
- Posts: 1624
- Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 8:39 am
- Location: Wisconsin
Point taken, and I agree. I could cop out and say that we didn't intentionally feed them, and they just beat the birds to the bread pieces, but the responsible thing to do is to not feed them at all, even if it means walking "all the way" to the bins to throw away uneaten food.hugo wrote:Just a friendly reminder to PLEASE not feed mongooses (Or deer, or donkeys, or goats, but especially not mongooses).
Would you feed lion fish? Think about it, please.
Mea culpa
Come see us!
Thanks, John - but Leslie's new camera, the Canon D10, makes it so simple even a caveman could do it (and my shots are proof of that!).cool breeze wrote:Fantastic shots Steve, love the Octo & Mongoose shots. You will have share with me some tips with the experience you have with your underwater camera. What kind, film speeds etc.
There are different modes such as underwater, landscape, portrait, etc. as well as the capability to manually set aperture size, shutter speed, etc., but to this point the only "adjustments" I've made to the default settings are for the flash mode.
Come see us!
If you mean those yellow corals that look like flowers, I can't recall what that family is called right now. If Maggy sees this thread, or Pickle, or Liamsaunt (or one of a few other select posters) they'll surely let us know. If not, I'll look it up in my reef creature ID book and get back to you.sandollar wrote:This is my first time seeing an underwater specimen that appears to have ? floral growth! Do you happen to know what this is called?
Come see us!
There was one requirement for the dinghy trip - guarantee a spotted eagle ray. I got lucky...RickG wrote:Thanks for writing the report! I just read the first 7 days and it sounds like a classic trip.
Where did Leslie buy the pics of the Eagle Rays?
Cheers, RickG
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.
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