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St. John - the first time - again - Day 2 & 3
St. John - the first time - again - Day 2 & 3
Day 2 - Wednesday, July 29th
Day 2 was spent getting settled and waiting for our lost luggage to arrive. Had we know how long it would take, we would have rented snorkel gear (next year that goes in our carry-on)! We were hoping to have luggage by noon and still be able to snorkel in the afternoon, but noon turned into 2:00PM and we finally got the call that it had arrived around 5:00PM. Lot's of confusion about whether they were going to deliver it to the villa or we were going to get it at the dock, but we just went to the ferry dock since we didn't want to take any chances on losing another day of snorkeling. As we watched them bring our luggage to us we checked if our suitcase full of frozen (at least it was frozen when we started 40 hours ago) was oozing anything nasty.
Looked good so we had high hopes. When we got back to the villa and unpacked we were pleasantly surprised to find that everything was still pretty much frozen. Yeah for me - I packed it, and I must have done an amazing job (if I must say so mysel)!
We did quite a few "Firsts" that day (since we had plenty of time on our hands). A couple of us went into town in the morning to get groceries and on the way we picked up a hitchhiker. We usually don't have room in the vehicle to do that, so it was fun to talk with a local.
Also, on the way home from the grocery store, we picked up Joe's BBQ for lunch. First time for that. After lunch a few of us decided to hike a little since we were getting bored waiting on luggage. We weren't far from the Brown Bay trailhead and we'd never been to Brown Bay before, so another "first". We couldn't believe all the little conch shells laying in the shallow water. We waded out in the water for awhile and then headed back to the villa.
Day 3 - We are quite excited to get out and snorkel. After all, that's the whole reason we come to St. John. Yes, it has a lot of other great things to do, but the snorkeling is hard to beat. It’s a little windy today, and it appears the wind is from the North, so we decide to try Pelican Rock. We discovered Pelican Rock last year (thanks to reading the forum) and now it’s a favorite of ours. Nothing too exciting to start with, but the closer we got to Pelican Rock the better the coral and underwater life. This year we discovered that snorkeling to the East of Pelican Rock is also very good. We usually spot several Balloon Fish on this snorkel and this year didn’t disappoint.
In addition, we saw several shrimp, an eel, and lots of varieties of fish.
On the way back from Pelican Rock we stopped at Haulover to see how rough it was. Haulover North became one of our favorites (yes, we have lots of favorites
) last year so we wanted to make sure to get there again. As expected, it was too rough to snorkel. Since we were already there, we decided to give Haulover South a try. Saw a big stingray kicking up a lot of dust while he was feeding, but nothing too out of the ordinary.
We decided to stop at the villa for lunch and then try Lameshur in the afternoon.
We’ve always enjoyed Great Lameshur and this year did not disappoint. I can never decide whether to start along the rocks and hope to find eels and octopus or to go over the grass to spot turtles and rays. Don’t you love it when you’re on vacation and a decision such as that is the biggest decision you have to make all week! Anyway, we started along the rocks and spotted all kinds of fish. Once we got to the bay (is that Donkey Bight?) things picked up. Lots of Conch shells with huge crabs in them walking along the bottom.
A nurse shark was cruising though the bay and I followed it to it's hiding spot under a ledge.
Plus, we saw quite a few sea stars. I’d never seen them at Lameshur before and we even came across a Sea Square!
I’d never heard of (much less seen) such a thing. We hoped that maybe discovering a Sea Square was like finding a four leafed clover and that we’d have good luck the rest of the snorkel. No sooner did we have that discussion than an eagle ray practically swam into my sister! I know everyone has their favorite creature that more/less “makes their day”. Mine is an eagleray. I could swim with them all day.
Once back on shore we are shocked to discover that we have been snorkeling for 2 hours. No wonder we are tired and hungry. We do a little beach-combing (love the tiny shells at Great Lameshur) and then head back to the villa for dinner.
Early to bed tonight since we've spent all day in the water.
Coming up -Day 4 - Waterlemon
Day 2 was spent getting settled and waiting for our lost luggage to arrive. Had we know how long it would take, we would have rented snorkel gear (next year that goes in our carry-on)! We were hoping to have luggage by noon and still be able to snorkel in the afternoon, but noon turned into 2:00PM and we finally got the call that it had arrived around 5:00PM. Lot's of confusion about whether they were going to deliver it to the villa or we were going to get it at the dock, but we just went to the ferry dock since we didn't want to take any chances on losing another day of snorkeling. As we watched them bring our luggage to us we checked if our suitcase full of frozen (at least it was frozen when we started 40 hours ago) was oozing anything nasty.
Looked good so we had high hopes. When we got back to the villa and unpacked we were pleasantly surprised to find that everything was still pretty much frozen. Yeah for me - I packed it, and I must have done an amazing job (if I must say so mysel)!We did quite a few "Firsts" that day (since we had plenty of time on our hands). A couple of us went into town in the morning to get groceries and on the way we picked up a hitchhiker. We usually don't have room in the vehicle to do that, so it was fun to talk with a local.
Also, on the way home from the grocery store, we picked up Joe's BBQ for lunch. First time for that. After lunch a few of us decided to hike a little since we were getting bored waiting on luggage. We weren't far from the Brown Bay trailhead and we'd never been to Brown Bay before, so another "first". We couldn't believe all the little conch shells laying in the shallow water. We waded out in the water for awhile and then headed back to the villa.
Day 3 - We are quite excited to get out and snorkel. After all, that's the whole reason we come to St. John. Yes, it has a lot of other great things to do, but the snorkeling is hard to beat. It’s a little windy today, and it appears the wind is from the North, so we decide to try Pelican Rock. We discovered Pelican Rock last year (thanks to reading the forum) and now it’s a favorite of ours. Nothing too exciting to start with, but the closer we got to Pelican Rock the better the coral and underwater life. This year we discovered that snorkeling to the East of Pelican Rock is also very good. We usually spot several Balloon Fish on this snorkel and this year didn’t disappoint.
In addition, we saw several shrimp, an eel, and lots of varieties of fish.
On the way back from Pelican Rock we stopped at Haulover to see how rough it was. Haulover North became one of our favorites (yes, we have lots of favorites
) last year so we wanted to make sure to get there again. As expected, it was too rough to snorkel. Since we were already there, we decided to give Haulover South a try. Saw a big stingray kicking up a lot of dust while he was feeding, but nothing too out of the ordinary. We decided to stop at the villa for lunch and then try Lameshur in the afternoon.
We’ve always enjoyed Great Lameshur and this year did not disappoint. I can never decide whether to start along the rocks and hope to find eels and octopus or to go over the grass to spot turtles and rays. Don’t you love it when you’re on vacation and a decision such as that is the biggest decision you have to make all week! Anyway, we started along the rocks and spotted all kinds of fish. Once we got to the bay (is that Donkey Bight?) things picked up. Lots of Conch shells with huge crabs in them walking along the bottom.
A nurse shark was cruising though the bay and I followed it to it's hiding spot under a ledge.
Plus, we saw quite a few sea stars. I’d never seen them at Lameshur before and we even came across a Sea Square!
I’d never heard of (much less seen) such a thing. We hoped that maybe discovering a Sea Square was like finding a four leafed clover and that we’d have good luck the rest of the snorkel. No sooner did we have that discussion than an eagle ray practically swam into my sister! I know everyone has their favorite creature that more/less “makes their day”. Mine is an eagleray. I could swim with them all day.
Once back on shore we are shocked to discover that we have been snorkeling for 2 hours. No wonder we are tired and hungry. We do a little beach-combing (love the tiny shells at Great Lameshur) and then head back to the villa for dinner.
Early to bed tonight since we've spent all day in the water.
Coming up -Day 4 - Waterlemon
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islandjo2010
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piscesgirl0314
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