Skyflower 2013 Trip Report - Part 5 (Fri)
Posted: Thu Aug 01, 2013 2:52 pm
FRIDAY July 19, 2013 - probably my favorite day
All through the trip I had been unsuccessful in convincing my travel companions that getting up with the sun makes everything easier in the tropics. Amber was willing to try it my way, but the husbands resisted. So on this day we told them to sleep in, got up (relatively) early and went to Maho without them. It was perfect! The beach was nearly deserted at 9:45, but there were just enough snorkelers out there to make it instantly obvious where the turtles were, and Amber really wanted to see turtles. It's funny, the first time you see turtles you are in awe of their beauty and majesty, and feel honored to be allowed to swim with them. You take picture after picture. Then it slowly dawns on you that once the novelty wears off, it's kind of like watching cows graze. Eventually you start looking around for other stuff to photograph and finally end up taking pictures of each other.
Anyway, we had a lot of fun. When we came back laughing and happy with all those turtle pictures, the boys got jealous. Now they wanted to go see the turtles too! But we already had plans for spending the afternoon at Caneel, and Olin was the one who was pining for the beachside tiki bar that he'd always dreamed of. So we packed up our stuff and headed for the imposing gates, golf courses, and parking lot attendants of Caneel Bay.
This was one of my favorite excursions this year, probably because it was something I hadn't done before. The friendly parking lot attendant directed us to the guest parking lot and told us how to get to Honeymoon Bay. The Caneel grounds are manicured and swarming with employees in little golf carts, but it's also classy. All the buildings are low-rise and pieces of the old plantation stonework are artfully preserved. The walk to Honeymoon was not difficult, but longer than we expected and far from flat. My husband walks with a cane, and not very fast, so it took us 20-30 minutes to walk from parking lot to the beach. The new concession area is shady and pleasant, but takes away from the secluded feel that I gather it used to have. And the local donkeys are PISSED. I mean that quite literally. Shortly after we settled into our rented chairs in a shady alcove by the beach, a donkey came stomping along, stopped directly in front of the chairs, and urinated spectacularly in the sand about 2 feet from my dumfounded family's feet. Then he cast a mean side-eye toward the chairs and stalked away, leaving everybody convulsed with laughter. I was down at the shoreline when this happened and sadly did not have my camera handy, but I saw the whole thing. This donkey was not looking for food - it was clearly making a political statement.
The beach itself is very pretty, with drifts of powdery white sand and a nice view, but the water is full of brightly colored plastic kayaks, which gives it kind of a Cinnamon Bay vibe. I've read that this beach is considered sheltered, but the water was quite rough the day we were there, rough enough that Richard decided to sit in the shade and guard our chairs rather than go in. The rest of us snorkeled over to the little point on the right, which turned out to be a beautiful little reef teeming with cool fish and striking coral formations. The kids spotted a peacock flounder and I saw a big stingray actually flapping its wings and swimming instead of snurfling along on the bottom. And I saw a couple of baby trunkfish, which are SO cute with their flat bottoms and button black eyes.
We then adjourned to the Beach Bar to spend enough money to cover our $20 parking fee (renting chairs doesn't count). Olin wasn't as impressed by this as he had expected. The drinks and the sunset view were lovely, but he thought it seemed too "American" - like he was back in California. On our way back to the villa, he commented, "I feel a little sorry for the people at Caneel - they have no idea what kind of view they're missing on the other side of the island. And if they think Honeymoon is the most beautiful beach they've ever seen, they need to get out more." Yay! I think he "gets it" after all! No offense to Caneel lovers. As resorts go, it's a beauty. But there really is more to St. John than a classy little beach resort.
All through the trip I had been unsuccessful in convincing my travel companions that getting up with the sun makes everything easier in the tropics. Amber was willing to try it my way, but the husbands resisted. So on this day we told them to sleep in, got up (relatively) early and went to Maho without them. It was perfect! The beach was nearly deserted at 9:45, but there were just enough snorkelers out there to make it instantly obvious where the turtles were, and Amber really wanted to see turtles. It's funny, the first time you see turtles you are in awe of their beauty and majesty, and feel honored to be allowed to swim with them. You take picture after picture. Then it slowly dawns on you that once the novelty wears off, it's kind of like watching cows graze. Eventually you start looking around for other stuff to photograph and finally end up taking pictures of each other.
- One of several remoras hanging around the turtles
- I can free dive too!
This was one of my favorite excursions this year, probably because it was something I hadn't done before. The friendly parking lot attendant directed us to the guest parking lot and told us how to get to Honeymoon Bay. The Caneel grounds are manicured and swarming with employees in little golf carts, but it's also classy. All the buildings are low-rise and pieces of the old plantation stonework are artfully preserved. The walk to Honeymoon was not difficult, but longer than we expected and far from flat. My husband walks with a cane, and not very fast, so it took us 20-30 minutes to walk from parking lot to the beach. The new concession area is shady and pleasant, but takes away from the secluded feel that I gather it used to have. And the local donkeys are PISSED. I mean that quite literally. Shortly after we settled into our rented chairs in a shady alcove by the beach, a donkey came stomping along, stopped directly in front of the chairs, and urinated spectacularly in the sand about 2 feet from my dumfounded family's feet. Then he cast a mean side-eye toward the chairs and stalked away, leaving everybody convulsed with laughter. I was down at the shoreline when this happened and sadly did not have my camera handy, but I saw the whole thing. This donkey was not looking for food - it was clearly making a political statement.
The beach itself is very pretty, with drifts of powdery white sand and a nice view, but the water is full of brightly colored plastic kayaks, which gives it kind of a Cinnamon Bay vibe. I've read that this beach is considered sheltered, but the water was quite rough the day we were there, rough enough that Richard decided to sit in the shade and guard our chairs rather than go in. The rest of us snorkeled over to the little point on the right, which turned out to be a beautiful little reef teeming with cool fish and striking coral formations. The kids spotted a peacock flounder and I saw a big stingray actually flapping its wings and swimming instead of snurfling along on the bottom. And I saw a couple of baby trunkfish, which are SO cute with their flat bottoms and button black eyes.
- Coming into Honeymoon Bay
- Honeymoon Bay, looking back towards Caneel
- $40 worth of drinks at Caneel Beach Bar & Grill
Maho is always my first beach for this very reason. A week and a day from now, and I'll have just spent my whole first day there 