usvi-on-line
Capn Dan and Ruby's StJ/Lovango - Final - Finally
-
Capn Dan and Ruby
- Posts: 1006
- Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2009 10:08 pm
- Location: PC Florida
Capn Dan and Ruby's StJ/Lovango - Final - Finally
I hope the 4th time is the charm with this post. I have had it all done and something happened to cause it to go away… three times! I am so exhausted with this… no embellishments this time, just the report and some pictures. I have also worked and worked to try to convert video to include with this last post, no luck there either. 
So this is it, finally… our last few days in one post. Maybe I will figure out to convert my video and post it later. Also, I have to deal with our underwater camera. I bought the Wal-mart disposable type, waited to get them developed and the pictures are terrible! Never again! 
So here we
go...
Day 14
Waking up to a morning shower is the best way to wake up. You lay there half awake half asleep and luxuriate in the sound of the rain outside your window, knowing that it is not cold miserable rain, knowing it will blow over soon and leave behind a freshly washed tropical vista. Morning rains here are great, of course if you know that is probably all it is. The nasty weather system that came through here several days ago seems to be behind us, now it is just the typical occasional showers that make STJ and Lovango lush and beautiful.
We had a breakfast of bacon, Lovango eggs, and toast this morning. We are doing everything we can to be creative and use up our left-over’s and using up our perishable food without settling on warmed up stuff. I must say we have been fairly creative, now we need to continue that tradition at home.
Today would turn out to be another restful day enjoying what Lovango has to offer. I have to admit I am a little sore after a full day on the boat yesterday. The high points of the day were, a morning walk, a nice long relaxing snorkel, lunch (BLT’s and Pasta Salad), a nice long read in the hammock by the beach (ahhhh!), Dan having to pick up Marcie because her engine conked out as she was coming home from STJ, dinner (left over pork chop that we sliced and browned) warm potato salad (a Capn Dan specialty) and left over cabbage, relaxation and rum before bed.
Tomorrow is our last day before travel day. I am so sad to leave here, but I do have things I WANT to do when we get back so leaving will be bitter sweet. We do constantly think of how we could come for an extended stay though, like Sue who is saying here for 3 months to write a book. One day we will get it figured out.
Oh and I almost forgot…
We went down on the dock to watch what Capn Dan called Lovango fireworks. At night the light on the dock entices the silversides dock side. This in turn rings the dinner bell for the large fish. We saw a storm of tarpon and even a couple of big barracuda feeding and jumping out of the water. It was totally cool!!!
Day 15
Another beautiful day in paradise…correction, our last full day in paradise. We had coffee and breakfast as usual and then decided to take a morning snorkel. We headed to the right, remembering how beautiful the corals and fish were as you head to the rocky point. As we swam, it was evident that we were not going to see anything unless we were fairly close to it. The water was churned up and the current was pretty strong. We did manage to see a flounder and a large hermit crab in a conch shell before getting to the rocks. The current got stronger and we kicked harder. By the time we passed the first rock outcropping I was exhausted. I found a deep sandy patch and stood up to rest. I signaled to Capn Dan that I was tired and needed to go back. Upon re-entry we cleaned up and you guessed it… rested for a while. Lovongo is such a beautiful little island, but it is very hard to get around seeing the entire island unless you are very fit and are used to the hills and the heat. Marcie took pity on us and loaded us up into the dingy and motored us around the island. She is such a great tour guide), and pointed out things like the rare birds that inhabit the area, caves and rock formations, her yurt (Which because it is on the top of the mountain can be seen on both sides. You know she has a fab view!), the place where she and Dan got married, the various plots of land that are privately owned (and not by the original Smith family), a portion of the wall that was used to divide (originally the two members of the Smith family who owned the island divided had a little feud going and divided the island with a stone wall.), and all the great snorkel and dive spots between Lovango and Mingo Keys.
(Here is where the video I wanted to post should go, when I figure it out I will post it, but I did want to finally finish this up)
Upon our return Marcie said that Dan needed something, so we quickly grabbed lunch as Marcie went up to get her things and buzzed over to STJ. We were out of wine so we braved the hill to Dolphin Market to get the necessary elixir and a couple of last min necessities. I stopped at Jakes to get cold glasses of iced tea to cool us down for the trip back to the dingy. There I met Jacob, the restaurant’s name sake, who is a friendly four year old who entertained me by showing me how he could run around the restaurant with his eyes closed. He was so cute and reminded me of how much I missed my grandson. Capn Dan arrived shortly and sucked down two cups of the refreshing beverage, and we were back on our journey down the hill to the dingy where Marcie and Dan were waiting and back to our beloved Lovango where the rope hammock on the beach was calling. Armed with my book, glasses, and a bottle of water I headed to the beach for three hrs. of bliss. I think I will miss this the most. Upon my return we fixed dinner with left-over’s as we were attempting to use up the food that we have. Spaghetti sauce pizzas are really good, and really quick. Now for the task of packing, I hate packing , and we have to make sure we can get everything back into our carry-on luggage and the bag of things like left over sunscreen and condiments for Greyhoundmom and crew (their box has still not arrived 
). The bags are mostly packed and just one more task for the day remains, to drink up as much of the rum, and that bottle of wine as possible. It is the night before the full moon, but it looked like a full moon to me. Just beautiful… I am so glad that I am not teaching school tomorrow!!! It is a hard job, but someone has to do it!
ODrift wood bench on the beach at night
Captain phills jeep
Re-entry
Re-entry has not been the norm this trip. Of course nothing has been the norm this trip. It started with an exciting ride to Red Hook in Marcy’s dingy. The waves were pretty high and we hung on for dear life! It was fun!!! Rachel was, as usual waiting for us with her smiling face. Our flight was over a hr. late leaving STT. Normally this would be a bad thing waiting around in the airport totally board, but Greyhoundmom and crew were coming in and a late departure meant that we got to hang out with Rachel waiting for them to come in and surprise them before we went to check in. As we waited there was this really cool blind guy playing the accordion and singing reggae.
Rachael knew him and his mother and we all chatted as we waited. Surprising the folks coming in was super cool! They were totally surprised and when I told Greyhoundmom that we decided to stay an extra week and bunk with them… she was totally agreeable. Of course we only wished we could stay an extra week…
The trip to Miami was uneventful and Capn Dan met a nice person that had a job connection with him, so they chatted as I read. As we arrived at the Miami Air port all seemed smooth, but I was in for a long frustrating evening, and I was tired. (My daughter’s in-laws are from Venezuela. My son-in-law’s mother speaks broken English and his father speaks very little English. We speak almost no Spanish. They are meeting us in the Miami Airport. Do you smell the disaster that is to come? We carefully gave them our flight number and arrival time when we boarded the plane, so they could know where to pick us up.) As we arrive we are doing carry-on only, so we skip the luggage-go-round. Big mistake, that is where the in-laws are waiting (first floor… we did not know that there was more than one floor, we had never been on more than one floor). Two hrs. later, exhausted, tearful, and agitated, they found us. We quit traveling and stayed in one spot so we would not miss each other. It was almost 10 pm; we left STT at 4:30 on the nonstop to Miami. Wheeeeew! It was midnight when we finally crashed in the in-laws guest room in a dead sleep, and we slept in until 8 am (late for us). We spent a day and extra night with the in-laws. That evening we went to a Columbian Restaurant. Wow after coming off of STJ prices, we got enough food for eight people for less than of a moderate dinner for two (no drinks) at the STJ price! Of course not everything was imported, but some of it was. It was very delicious!
The next morning we set off at 6 am for the 10 hr. trip to Panama City with Mother and Brother-in-law relaxing in the back of the Matrix. A new adventure begins!
done! Wheeeew!
So this is it, finally… our last few days in one post. Maybe I will figure out to convert my video and post it later. Also, I have to deal with our underwater camera. I bought the Wal-mart disposable type, waited to get them developed and the pictures are terrible! Never again! So here wego...
Day 14
Waking up to a morning shower is the best way to wake up. You lay there half awake half asleep and luxuriate in the sound of the rain outside your window, knowing that it is not cold miserable rain, knowing it will blow over soon and leave behind a freshly washed tropical vista. Morning rains here are great, of course if you know that is probably all it is. The nasty weather system that came through here several days ago seems to be behind us, now it is just the typical occasional showers that make STJ and Lovango lush and beautiful.
We had a breakfast of bacon, Lovango eggs, and toast this morning. We are doing everything we can to be creative and use up our left-over’s and using up our perishable food without settling on warmed up stuff. I must say we have been fairly creative, now we need to continue that tradition at home.
Today would turn out to be another restful day enjoying what Lovango has to offer. I have to admit I am a little sore after a full day on the boat yesterday. The high points of the day were, a morning walk, a nice long relaxing snorkel, lunch (BLT’s and Pasta Salad), a nice long read in the hammock by the beach (ahhhh!), Dan having to pick up Marcie because her engine conked out as she was coming home from STJ, dinner (left over pork chop that we sliced and browned) warm potato salad (a Capn Dan specialty) and left over cabbage, relaxation and rum before bed.
Tomorrow is our last day before travel day. I am so sad to leave here, but I do have things I WANT to do when we get back so leaving will be bitter sweet. We do constantly think of how we could come for an extended stay though, like Sue who is saying here for 3 months to write a book. One day we will get it figured out.
Oh and I almost forgot…
We went down on the dock to watch what Capn Dan called Lovango fireworks. At night the light on the dock entices the silversides dock side. This in turn rings the dinner bell for the large fish. We saw a storm of tarpon and even a couple of big barracuda feeding and jumping out of the water. It was totally cool!!! Day 15
Another beautiful day in paradise…correction, our last full day in paradise. We had coffee and breakfast as usual and then decided to take a morning snorkel. We headed to the right, remembering how beautiful the corals and fish were as you head to the rocky point. As we swam, it was evident that we were not going to see anything unless we were fairly close to it. The water was churned up and the current was pretty strong. We did manage to see a flounder and a large hermit crab in a conch shell before getting to the rocks. The current got stronger and we kicked harder. By the time we passed the first rock outcropping I was exhausted. I found a deep sandy patch and stood up to rest. I signaled to Capn Dan that I was tired and needed to go back. Upon re-entry we cleaned up and you guessed it… rested for a while. Lovongo is such a beautiful little island, but it is very hard to get around seeing the entire island unless you are very fit and are used to the hills and the heat. Marcie took pity on us and loaded us up into the dingy and motored us around the island. She is such a great tour guide), and pointed out things like the rare birds that inhabit the area, caves and rock formations, her yurt (Which because it is on the top of the mountain can be seen on both sides. You know she has a fab view!), the place where she and Dan got married, the various plots of land that are privately owned (and not by the original Smith family), a portion of the wall that was used to divide (originally the two members of the Smith family who owned the island divided had a little feud going and divided the island with a stone wall.), and all the great snorkel and dive spots between Lovango and Mingo Keys.
(Here is where the video I wanted to post should go, when I figure it out I will post it, but I did want to finally finish this up)
Upon our return Marcie said that Dan needed something, so we quickly grabbed lunch as Marcie went up to get her things and buzzed over to STJ. We were out of wine so we braved the hill to Dolphin Market to get the necessary elixir and a couple of last min necessities. I stopped at Jakes to get cold glasses of iced tea to cool us down for the trip back to the dingy. There I met Jacob, the restaurant’s name sake, who is a friendly four year old who entertained me by showing me how he could run around the restaurant with his eyes closed. He was so cute and reminded me of how much I missed my grandson.
Capn Dan arrived shortly and sucked down two cups of the refreshing beverage, and we were back on our journey down the hill to the dingy where Marcie and Dan were waiting and back to our beloved Lovango where the rope hammock on the beach was calling. Armed with my book, glasses, and a bottle of water I headed to the beach for three hrs. of bliss. I think I will miss this the most. Upon my return we fixed dinner with left-over’s as we were attempting to use up the food that we have. Spaghetti sauce pizzas are really good, and really quick. Now for the task of packing, I hate packing , and we have to make sure we can get everything back into our carry-on luggage and the bag of things like left over sunscreen and condiments for Greyhoundmom and crew (their box has still not arrived ). The bags are mostly packed and just one more task for the day remains, to drink up as much of the rum, and that bottle of wine as possible. It is the night before the full moon, but it looked like a full moon to me. Just beautiful… I am so glad that I am not teaching school tomorrow!!! It is a hard job, but someone has to do it!ODrift wood bench on the beach at night
Captain phills jeep
Re-entry
Re-entry has not been the norm this trip. Of course nothing has been the norm this trip. It started with an exciting ride to Red Hook in Marcy’s dingy. The waves were pretty high and we hung on for dear life! It was fun!!!
Rachel was, as usual waiting for us with her smiling face. Our flight was over a hr. late leaving STT. Normally this would be a bad thing waiting around in the airport totally board, but Greyhoundmom and crew were coming in and a late departure meant that we got to hang out with Rachel waiting for them to come in and surprise them before we went to check in. As we waited there was this really cool blind guy playing the accordion and singing reggae. Rachael knew him and his mother and we all chatted as we waited. Surprising the folks coming in was super cool! They were totally surprised and when I told Greyhoundmom that we decided to stay an extra week and bunk with them… she was totally agreeable. Of course we only wished we could stay an extra week…
The trip to Miami was uneventful and Capn Dan met a nice person that had a job connection with him, so they chatted as I read. As we arrived at the Miami Air port all seemed smooth, but I was in for a long frustrating evening, and I was tired. (My daughter’s in-laws are from Venezuela. My son-in-law’s mother speaks broken English and his father speaks very little English. We speak almost no Spanish. They are meeting us in the Miami Airport. Do you smell the disaster that is to come?
We carefully gave them our flight number and arrival time when we boarded the plane, so they could know where to pick us up.) As we arrive we are doing carry-on only, so we skip the luggage-go-round. Big mistake, that is where the in-laws are waiting (first floor… we did not know that there was more than one floor, we had never been on more than one floor). Two hrs. later, exhausted, tearful, and agitated, they found us. We quit traveling and stayed in one spot so we would not miss each other. It was almost 10 pm; we left STT at 4:30 on the nonstop to Miami. Wheeeeew! It was midnight when we finally crashed in the in-laws guest room in a dead sleep, and we slept in until 8 am (late for us). We spent a day and extra night with the in-laws. That evening we went to a Columbian Restaurant. Wow after coming off of STJ prices, we got enough food for eight people for less than of a moderate dinner for two (no drinks) at the STJ price! Of course not everything was imported, but some of it was. It was very delicious! The next morning we set off at 6 am for the 10 hr. trip to Panama City with Mother and Brother-in-law relaxing in the back of the Matrix. A new adventure begins!
done! Wheeeew!
-
SOonthebeach
- Posts: 1707
- Joined: Tue Jan 19, 2010 10:01 am
- Location: Texas
-
Capn Dan and Ruby
- Posts: 1006
- Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2009 10:08 pm
- Location: PC Florida
It was so nice meeting yall as well!JJShaw wrote:It sounds like you all had a great time..It was so nice meeting you all..hopefully we will see you again on Island...thanks for the trip reports !!!
And all of the other forum friends on the island. It is so nice having a connection with people who also have a love for STJ! Just looking for a place to book for next year! Taking the adult kids... should be fun! That sounds fun...I hope we can make it next yr...We have airmiles..already...but gotta a cpl other things to consider before we can decide...keep us posted when you will be there..I want to try and go for Carnival...Capn Dan and Ruby wrote:It was so nice meeting yall as well!JJShaw wrote:It sounds like you all had a great time..It was so nice meeting you all..hopefully we will see you again on Island...thanks for the trip reports !!!
-
Capn Dan and Ruby
- Posts: 1006
- Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2009 10:08 pm
- Location: PC Florida