Pic's Pics & Report 2013 - Vol. 2 (Final)

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Pickle
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Pic's Pics & Report 2013 - Vol. 2 (Final)

Post by Pickle »

Vol. 1: http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/v ... =1&t=25612

I generally have good memories but I had to really rely on my photos to jog my memories to post vol.1. I remember the last half of our vacation more vividly, so I better warn you this installment might get longer than vol. 1 (hmm, did I hear someone sighing?).


----- (Strolled around) Grootpan and (Ended up at) Salt Pond Day -----

We drove down to Grootpan but the water was rougher than we would've liked to snorkel. We only strolled around the deserted beach.

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We figured the condition would be similar at Kiddel (Grootpan's neighbor bay) and decided to go to Salt Pond where we usually find calm water.

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We doubted that the water conditions of Blue Cobblestone would be ideal so didn't even try to hike there. Instead we snorkeled the left side of Salt Pond. The visibility was not great at first but improved the farther out we swam and that is typical for us there. When we went around the point towards Blue Cobblestone the water got rather rough, as we had guessed, so we didn't swim much farther. Along with the usual suspects like Parrotfishes, Wrasses and such, we saw squids, a school of Blue Tang, Cero, Peacock Flounder, etc. I had seen an adult Spotted Drum the previous two years in the same spot so I looked for it there but to no avail.

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You can probably guess by now that I like finding eels, active or idle, seeing their faces or just a part of their bodies. Well, the face would be nicer but...

Chain Moray - never moved

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Even when all we see is scattered corals, it feels good to just float in the blue... for us.

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I confess, Salt Pond is not one of our favorite beaches but we really enjoyed hanging out there. Perhaps the atmosphere of the place was just right for our mood that day. We hung out on the beach until we got really hungry.

We had our late lunch/early evening meal at Skinny Legs. I was starving. I finished my burger quicker than my husband... and I'm not even a big hamburger eater.


----- (Hiking) Yawzi Point and (Back to) Great Lameshur Day -----

It was a breezy day, windy at times, and the hike to Yawzi Point was very pleasant. We didn't even sweat.

The view towards Little Lameshur from Yawzi Point

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The wind is nice for hiking but not so good for snorkeling around Yawzi Point. The water looked choppy so we didn't get in. After Yawzi we walked around the ruins at Little Lameshur and ended up at Great Lameshur again. We snorkeled to Tektite this time but I can't say we saw more than we did in our previous shorter snorkeling there (snorkeling is kind of like that... you never really know). The water around Tektite was pretty rough so we didn't stick around for long.

Hawksbill Turtle

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Caribbean Spiny Lobster

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Porcupinefish in the deep: A pair of African Pompanos was leisurely swimming in the deeper water (we never see them in shallow waters).

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This daring fella was my first squid to try to intimidate my camera.

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It was the longest snorkeling on this trip. By the time we got back to the shore, we just wanted to sit and relax on the beach. It was a nice and breezy day and we never got too hot lounging on the beach.

Eventually, we returned to the view and the sound of Friis Bay. I really think we picked the right villa for this trip. When I was not feeling up to par and we didn't spend much time at the beach, we didn't feel bummed about it and the house is exactly the reason why we didn't.

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----- (Dreary but Nice) Maho Day -----

This was the only dreary day we had on this trip. We got to Maho about 10:30 in the morning, which is pretty late for us, and we were the only souls on the beach. It did feel nice but, at the same time, it kind of made me think "Are we just so dumb to come out to the beach in the rain?" We started snorkeling in the light rain. Soon after more rain came and this time with thunder. The rumbling sound was getting closer and closer so we aborted snorkeling.

Orangespotted Filefish

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Yellowtail Parrotfish and Gray Angelfish, hanging out together

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The heart of the thunderstorm never came through Maho. It actually stopped raining and the rest of the day was just gray. We could've snorkeled again then but opted to just wade around. We stayed in the water since we could feel the love of no-see-ums on the beach!

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As we waded we saw two baby Lemon Sharks, one was larger than the other, swimming around the shallow water. A few folks came out to the beach eventually but, overall, it was a very quiet day at Maho.

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After quiet Maho we visited Sloop Jones. He was working but kindly let us stay and chat. We always have a good time with him.

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Bamboo Talk, as usual

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For me... this image captures his essence the most of all the photos I took that day.

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----- Moving from Friis Bay to Cruz Bay Day -----

Our 10 nights at Casa Tua had passed and we were moving to one of the suites in Grande Bay for the last 4 nights of our vacation. We tidied the house, finished packing and then absorbed the Friis Bay view until time to go.

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We stayed at "Seaside at Grande Bay", a one bedroom. The owner is a member of this forum and I can only say great things about her. We had stayed at this suite before so check-in was a breeze. We didn't even need a greeter service. St. John Villa Co. let us drop off our luggage early at the suite, which was very helpful. The friendly cleaning crew was tidying up the suite so we quickly got out of their way and walked to Sun Dog Café for a light lunch and drinks.

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After walking and shopping around Cruz Bay we returned to the suite to get ready for our meet-up with EagleRayLover (Leslie). She knocked on our door at 4:30 p.m. - just on time (I like that!). It was our pleasure to have finally met her. We hung out at the suite for a while and then went to High Tide. We had so much fun that I was surprised when I realized how long we had kept her. After we parted I felt a little bad about it because she was leaving for Florida early the following morning. We thank you again, Leslie, for generously hanging out with us.

I don't usually post photos of myself because I rarely have one (on St. John I'm the one with the camera and not my husband) and I am a little on the shy side. But in honor of meeting EagleRayLover, here is Leslie & me. I admit that I made it kinda small...

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----- Gibney Day -----

It was a bright, bright day. Unfortunately, snorkeling was the least exciting we ever had at GIbney. We usually see a lot more but just not that day. Nevertheless, this is still one of our favorite beaches to hang out so that's exactly what we did until mid afternoon. There were only a few others at Gibney while Hawksnest looked pretty crowded.

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Ciliated False Squilla

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We had a nice early dinner at Rhumblines. There was some light after we left the restaurant and we walked around the waterfront for a while.

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We knew in a couple of days we would be sitting on this bench. Felt sad to think like that. But then, we had made more St. John memories and were happy, too. We always have mixed feelings when we sit here on our departure day. It is always emotional.

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----- Hansen Day -----

Woke up to another nice and clear day. We enjoyed the bright Cruz Bay view from the balcony and then were off to the beach.

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We kept driving since we were not sure where we wanted to go. All the beaches along the North Shore Rd. were pretty deserted at the time and any of them could've been our destination. In the end, we passed them all and drove all the way to Haulover North. The snorkeling on the previous day was somewhat disappointing, so we decided to go to one of our favorite snorkeling spots around St. John. We hiked to the bay only to find rough water. Darn.

Haulover Moth

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"Well then... let's try Vie's", though we weren't sure she was open. When we got there, Vie's daughter was just about to open the shack so she unlocked the gate for us.

We snorkeled the left side towards the next beach and then out to deeper water. Eventually we swam the deeper water across Vie’s to the next beach on the other/right side. The snorkeling was more exciting than usual for us at Hansen that day. Saw squids, Tarpon, Nurse Shark and Spotted Eagle Ray. The shark and the ray were swimming near the bottom of the deeper water (the photos didn't come out well). We tried to follow the beautiful ray but she quickly turned and started swimming against the current and at that point we were NO match for her. We saw her off disappearing into the deep.

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Spotted Trunkfish

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Christmas Tree Worms: Pillar Corals

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Rock Beauty

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These two were frisky!

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It was a beautiful day for the beach and we waded and lounged at Vie's until mid afternoon. We didn't have our usual Garlic Chicken or Conch Fritters at Vie's. We thought we had more cash with us but, embarrassingly, it was barely enough to pay the entry fee.

We ended up having our early dinner at Banana Deck. We had Conch Fritters there (sorry Vie's...).

Cruz Bay Sunset

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----- Hawksnest Day -----

We actually went to Gibney first and settled in front of the Oppenheimer house. We then noticed nice plates and napkins and such ready to be spread on the deck of the house just as a man drove down and came out of the car. We asked him if they were having a reception at the beach and he said yes, so we relocated to Hawksnest. He didn't shoo us away and we offered to move out of their way.

Since it was still early enough, we found a nice shady spot under seagrape trees.

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We had some on and off showers with very little peeking of the sun. We snorkeled around the reefs but didn't see a lot more than we usually see there.

The usual school of Blue Tang and Surgeonfish

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Nimble Spray Crab

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I was secretly asking for the sea to allow us to meet some exciting creatures on our last snorkeling on this trip. There was not much sunshine that day, I was getting cold in the water and about to signal my husband to swim back to the shore. When I didn't find him near me I looked around for him and found the largest Lemon Shark that I've seen around St. John instead. It was barely 5 feet but the largest for me, nonetheless (I personally wouldn't want to meet Lemons larger than that because I've heard from fishermen in French Polynesia that fully grown Lemons can be rather nasty). She stayed away from the people wading in the water and didn't seem to have wanted anything to do with me, either. Her face was the last large face I saw underwater on this trip (unfortunately, my husband missed her). I was very, very appreciative to the sea for letting me meet her at the end of our last snorkeling.

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We waded and lounged on the beach after snorkeling, but with on and off showers we never really felt warm enough to keep hanging out. I had goose bumps so we went back to Grande Bay and (sadly) packed up.

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Our last meal on the island was at ZoZo's. The food was great as usual. I particularly liked my appetizer, some sort of crab salad.

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Watching the sunset from our table, I couldn't help remembering the sunrise I saw on the very first morning on this trip. I really wished we could go back to that moment and do this all over again. However, the inevitable was inevitable. We left the island the next day just as we were supposed to.

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Friis Bay Sunrise

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Happy sad - that's how we always feel at the ferry dock at the end of any St. John vacations. I rarely take photos of our departure so there are none to post. At least, at the end of that ferry ride to Red Hook, we always see the smiling face of Rachel and she always eases our minds. She so happily played her favorite music and sang along and we all had great laughs and fun on the way to the airport.


Here is the link to the photos of Casa Tua: http://www.flickr.com/photos/80473236@N ... 236456333/
It is a special place. I can tell you that.

Also, here is the link to Seaside at Grande Bay Resort (1 bedroom suite): http://www.flickr.com/photos/80473236@N ... 138264216/
They are from 2012 but the suite looks as great as before - and did I mention how great the owner is?


That is it. Finally. I thank you all, who actually made it through this long post, for generously bearing with me. And thank you, St. John, for all you have offered us. We will be back - and I hope you all St. John-crazed forumites will be back on the island sooner rather than later.

All the best,

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Pickle
Maggy
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Re: Pic's Pics & Report 2013 - Vol. 2 (Final)

Post by Maggy »

Absolutely wonderful report and pictures. Now I can fall asleep, dreaming about pretty fishes :).
DonnaM
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Re: Pic's Pics & Report 2013 - Vol. 2 (Final)

Post by DonnaM »

No, thank you for sharing! What a great, detailed report with pictures!
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Pia
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Re: Pic's Pics & Report 2013 - Vol. 2 (Final)

Post by Pia »

Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous - I so enjoyed reading

Pia
Realtor - St John Properties
Myheart'sinSTJ
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Re: Pic's Pics & Report 2013 - Vol. 2 (Final)

Post by Myheart'sinSTJ »

Your photos once again are just amazing, absolutely great trip report, I am just amazed at how you identify the underwater world, I think I would have peed my pants if I saw a lemon shark that size :roll: , thanks so much for sharing your memories.
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sherban
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Re: Pic's Pics & Report 2013 - Vol. 2 (Final)

Post by sherban »

Thanks for posting the TR Pickle...I'm a big fan of your TRs...thanks!
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EagleRayLover
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Re: Pic's Pics & Report 2013 - Vol. 2 (Final)

Post by EagleRayLover »

As always, your report is stupendous and your pictures award worthy! I had so much fun with you and hubby and can't wait for our next time together!!
Leslie, Kids Night In Babysitting
cindygad
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Re: Pic's Pics & Report 2013 - Vol. 2 (Final)

Post by cindygad »

Loved you report. Thanks for taking me along. We too love Haulover North but have only found the water calm enough once to snorkel once .

Your pictures were wonderful. I wish I knew all the names of the fish. I need to get a good book to use as a reference
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cptnkirk
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Re: Pic's Pics & Report 2013 - Vol. 2 (Final)

Post by cptnkirk »

AWESOME REPORT Pickle, If we are ever on island at the same time I would love to snorkel with you guys. the passion you have for the underwater world is apparent. You have taken some pics to be proud of. That lemon was hangin at Maho just cruzin back and forth in April. I was told he has been there for awhile. I never get the shot off fast enough when I see sharks . That Lemon shot was sweet, biggest I have seen was a 5 footer at Maho real quik. Went right by this guy, popped my head up in excitment and said did ya see that Shark that just went by you he didn't have a clue. I wonder how often that happens when we are snorkeling. I seem to see sharks all the sudden out of the blue except for nurse sharks.
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susan & herb
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Re: Pic's Pics & Report 2013 - Vol. 2 (Final)

Post by susan & herb »

Amazing pictures. I am so jealous.
We should call you Jacques Cousteau of St John!
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ColumbiaSCTraveler
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Re: Pic's Pics & Report 2013 - Vol. 2 (Final)

Post by ColumbiaSCTraveler »

SIMPLY. AMAZING!!!!

I cannot express how much I enjoyed this TR.

You have a way with words AND pictures.

Fantastic.

THANK YOU for taking the time to pull this all together. I am grateful.
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liamsaunt
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Re: Pic's Pics & Report 2013 - Vol. 2 (Final)

Post by liamsaunt »

Fantastic report and pictures! That lemon shark was an amazing find. What a way to end the trip!
It's like looking in your soup and finding a whole different alphabet.
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Tracy in WI
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Re: Pic's Pics & Report 2013 - Vol. 2 (Final)

Post by Tracy in WI »

Thank you, thank you! Your trip reports are always such a joy to read and I am, as always, impressed with your amazing snorkeling and photography skills. Thank you for being one of my best guests at Grande Bay! Looking forward to your return!
Tracy, Seaside Properties at Grande Bay
AquaGirl
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Re: Pic's Pics & Report 2013 - Vol. 2 (Final)

Post by AquaGirl »

Same as what they all said :) Totally enjoyed your reports and pictures. Thanks for taking the time to post. We are also "snokel-a-holics" so we lived your snorkeling vicariously through your pics.
MN_Bhoy
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Re: Pic's Pics & Report 2013 - Vol. 2 (Final)

Post by MN_Bhoy »

Great trip report and pictures. I thought that view from Grande Bay looked familiar! Seaside is fantastic!

As I've mentioned before, I'm amazed at the number of shark photos that have been posted on the forum recently. Your pictures of the lemon at Hawksnest were two of the best. Thanks for sharing!
MN_Bhoy
Take me to 18N 64W!
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