First Timer's STJ Trip Report Part 2: Days 4 - 6
Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2008 11:11 am
Part 2 of my trip report.
I didn't mention in the first report that it was extra special to spend time with these friends because we don't see them that often. One family (CJ, Nancy, Michael) lives about 45 minutes away in the Chicago area, but the other family (Ed, Laura, Nicholas) lives in Colorado. What a bonus to spend so much time with them, in such a beautiful place! Each family had a car, so if we wanted to do different things at different times it was no problem.
Day 4: Leinster / Waterlemon, Johnny Horn Trail Hike
It poured rain during the night, but we wake up to a beautiful clear morning. My family of 4 heads to Leinster with Nancy and her son Michael. My hubby Rick has gotten a bit too comfortable with the driving, and drives with one hand even when making that tight turn from westbound Centerline onto the North Shore Road. I discover a drawback of the Nitro: no 'grab handle' for the front passenger seat. This should be required on all STJ cars! But seriously, I love the roads here and am enjoying the hills and hairpin turns.
The 6 of us grab some gear (cooler, snorkel gear, boogie boards, Neat sheet, towels) and do the short Leinster Bay Trail. I'm thinking that this is a long walk if the only payoff is this really rocky beach! My friends will not be pleased! Luckily we soon round the point and see the sandy beach at Waterlemon Bay. We head for the far right side of the beach (closest end to Waterlemon Cay) and find a spot to leave our gear.
First thing on the agenda is to hike the Johnny Horn Trail. We don't plan to do the whole trail, just see some of the ruins and turn around at the point where it meets the Brown Bay trail. We apply our "St. John cologne" (bug spray) and get started. Right away we see some small ruins. Not much like the pictures in the books, and pretty overgrown. This might be the guardhouse ruins referred to in one of the books, not sure. Kids at the ruins:
We continue on the hike with occasional sightings of the water from the trail. But for the most part, it's just lots of island greenery. We missed the turn off for the Windy Hill trail spur on our way out, so we watch more carefully on the way back. It's covered with some fallen branches, but we do find it and clear away the branches and start down the spur. We need machetes! This part of the trail is really overgrown, and not with nice stuff! We're picking our way through lots of those plants with the long, red/brown thorns, and tons of catch-and-keep. Our hats are grabbed (and kept!) several times. The 3 kids are not excited. I say, "Give me 5 minutes to go ahead and see if there's any payoff." Right away... a great view from the trail! I think this view is looking east toward Tortola(?)
Just a bit further down the trail, battling our way through more thorny plants, and we see the Windy Hill ruins. They're more overgrown than the picture in the book, but still cool and they're pretty big. Here we are atop the Windy Hill ruins. Yes, that's my Forum tee shirt I'm wearing! (Sorry Anthony - I took the scissors to it to make it more like a tank. Hope you don't mind!) It's not the best shot... it was too thorny to get the Gorillapod really secure without drawing blood!
Here is a view from the top of the ruins:
We thrash our way back to the Johnny Horn trail, and head back to the beach covered with scratches and scrapes. Salt water is good for flesh wounds, right?
Nate and Delaney at Waterlemon:
The rest of our group shows up soon, and we enjoy some good snorkeling. We swim out to Waterlemon Cay. It's a shorter swim than I thought, but it's surfy, especially on the east side, and I'm glad the kids are on boogie boards. (Rick and I hang onto the tethers, so they're right next to us.) Rick and the kids take a break at that little sandy spit on Waterlemon Cay, and I snorkel around on the west side of it. We see some sting rays and sea turtles, and on the way back we see a colony of star fish! That was so cool! I wish I had some underwater photos for you.
After hanging out at Waterlemon Bay until the late afternoon, it's time to head back. We all carry our gear back to the cars. Then Nancy, Laura and I hike back on the Leinster Trail over to Waterlemon Bay to pick up the Johnny Horn trail for a hike back to Coral Bay. We aren't expecting any great views - our payoff is the calorie burning we hope to do! Even though it poured the night before, the trail isn't muddy. There are some really steep parts - good for working off all that vacation food, we hope. We end up at the Moravian Church in Coral Bay, and call one of the guys to pick us up. I think one of the books calls this a 90 minute hike, and they must mean both ways. We get from Waterlemon to Coral Bay in about 40 minutes going at a moderate pace (not taking any of the spur trails). We are definitely ready for showers!
I think this is the night we had dinner at Aqua Bistro. Good meals and of course excellent company!
Day 5: Salt Pond Bay and New Year's Eve!
I am so happy to get back to Salt Pond Bay! It's not a long drive from our villa, and it's so pretty. Rick and the kids and I head out early to enjoy the peaceful morning there. Our friends will meet us there later.
This turns out to be one of our best snorkeling days! There is some really cool and big coral out by those rocks that are past the mooring balls. We see sting rays, sea turtles, and a big spotted ray - his tail looked like it was over 4 feet long. He was beautiful, but I was glad that he was on the bottom and I was on the surface, many feet up. We also saw a nurse shark! Just a small one, probably less than four feet long, and I was so happy to spot one.
We go out snorkeling a few times, sometimes with the kids and sometimes not. It was pretty surfy out by the farthest rock, so we didn't take them out there. But there was lots to see along the left side of the bay, too.
After snorkeling and limin', Rick, Delaney and I take the short hike over to Drunk Bay. What a difference! The waves are crashing, and it's very rocky, and of course there are all those funny rock people sculptures!
We decide to make one of our own:
Someone who was there before us celebrated a happy occasion!
Here is a view of the salt pond as seen from the Drunk Bay trail, en route back to Salt Pond Bay:
More limin' at the beach, and I'm starting to feel the effects of too much sun and not enough sun block. My back is a bit burned, but the worst is my lips! They're sunburned and swollen. I feel like I have a water balloon stapled to my face, and I look like I've stolen Angelina Jolie's mouth. (Sadly, the resemblance ends there.) We head over to the shops by Skinny's to pick up some long sleeved rash guards for me and the kids, which we should have done on our first day here. They have a good selection. Mine is black with a pink Roxy logo. I love it! Makes me look tough, and I feel like a cool beach chick when I wear it.
Back to the villa for dinner. It's New Year's Eve! We had considered hiring a private chef, or getting some gourmet drop off. But thanks to hubby's pre-trip shopping (Omaha Steaks), we had steaks, salmon, and lobster bisque. Yum!! The villa has a new gas grill, which was super. We also made salad, pasta with pesto sauce, and had some sourdough bread. Mix that with a few bottles of red wine and several Carib's and we were happy campers! Sorry, no food porn. I was too busy eating to take pictures!
The kids ate at the big dining table inside, and we adults enjoyed the dining table on the deck with wonderful breezes. At one point, I was laughing so hard I was speechless (a blessing to all, I'm sure!) and had tears running down my face. Sometime during the night we started mocking that James Blunt song, "You're Beautiful" by singing it overly dramatically. (Actually, that's the way he sings it.) This became our song for the trip: every time one of us would gaze at a beach and say "wow, it's beautiful!" the kids would start singing "It's beautiful, it's beautiful!" Blunt-style. (I don't blame you if you're thinking: "Guess you had to be there." But it cracked us up!) It made us realize how often the word "beautiful" is used when you're looking at St. John beaches.
At midnight (or sometime near there) we went up to the Happy Hour Tower. The view of the stars up there is amazing! We popped open bottles of Veuve Clicquot (a great price at Lily's Market), poured glasses of Sprite for the kids, and toasted in the New Year. It's a wonderful way to start 2008.
Day 6: Cinnamon, Rose Bowl at Skinny Legs
We're moving a bit slower this morning, and enjoying some coffee on the deck and tower. We make our way over to Cinnamon at around 9:30 or 10:00. We head to the right side of the beach because we want to snorkel to Cinnamon Cay. It's already getting busy, but absolutely lovely.
Morning on Cinnamon Bay beach.
The kids at Cinnamon, writing in the sand and wearing their new rash guards.
We do some snorkeling, and go out around Cinnamon Cay. We also laze around talking, reading, and enjoying the great day.
Later on we head to Skinny Legs for dinner and to watch the Rose Bowl. I'm either sunburned or red from weeping for the Illini:
Other than the game, 2008 is off to a good start!
I didn't mention in the first report that it was extra special to spend time with these friends because we don't see them that often. One family (CJ, Nancy, Michael) lives about 45 minutes away in the Chicago area, but the other family (Ed, Laura, Nicholas) lives in Colorado. What a bonus to spend so much time with them, in such a beautiful place! Each family had a car, so if we wanted to do different things at different times it was no problem.
Day 4: Leinster / Waterlemon, Johnny Horn Trail Hike
It poured rain during the night, but we wake up to a beautiful clear morning. My family of 4 heads to Leinster with Nancy and her son Michael. My hubby Rick has gotten a bit too comfortable with the driving, and drives with one hand even when making that tight turn from westbound Centerline onto the North Shore Road. I discover a drawback of the Nitro: no 'grab handle' for the front passenger seat. This should be required on all STJ cars! But seriously, I love the roads here and am enjoying the hills and hairpin turns.
The 6 of us grab some gear (cooler, snorkel gear, boogie boards, Neat sheet, towels) and do the short Leinster Bay Trail. I'm thinking that this is a long walk if the only payoff is this really rocky beach! My friends will not be pleased! Luckily we soon round the point and see the sandy beach at Waterlemon Bay. We head for the far right side of the beach (closest end to Waterlemon Cay) and find a spot to leave our gear.
First thing on the agenda is to hike the Johnny Horn Trail. We don't plan to do the whole trail, just see some of the ruins and turn around at the point where it meets the Brown Bay trail. We apply our "St. John cologne" (bug spray) and get started. Right away we see some small ruins. Not much like the pictures in the books, and pretty overgrown. This might be the guardhouse ruins referred to in one of the books, not sure. Kids at the ruins:
We continue on the hike with occasional sightings of the water from the trail. But for the most part, it's just lots of island greenery. We missed the turn off for the Windy Hill trail spur on our way out, so we watch more carefully on the way back. It's covered with some fallen branches, but we do find it and clear away the branches and start down the spur. We need machetes! This part of the trail is really overgrown, and not with nice stuff! We're picking our way through lots of those plants with the long, red/brown thorns, and tons of catch-and-keep. Our hats are grabbed (and kept!) several times. The 3 kids are not excited. I say, "Give me 5 minutes to go ahead and see if there's any payoff." Right away... a great view from the trail! I think this view is looking east toward Tortola(?)
Just a bit further down the trail, battling our way through more thorny plants, and we see the Windy Hill ruins. They're more overgrown than the picture in the book, but still cool and they're pretty big. Here we are atop the Windy Hill ruins. Yes, that's my Forum tee shirt I'm wearing! (Sorry Anthony - I took the scissors to it to make it more like a tank. Hope you don't mind!) It's not the best shot... it was too thorny to get the Gorillapod really secure without drawing blood!
Here is a view from the top of the ruins:
We thrash our way back to the Johnny Horn trail, and head back to the beach covered with scratches and scrapes. Salt water is good for flesh wounds, right?
Nate and Delaney at Waterlemon:
The rest of our group shows up soon, and we enjoy some good snorkeling. We swim out to Waterlemon Cay. It's a shorter swim than I thought, but it's surfy, especially on the east side, and I'm glad the kids are on boogie boards. (Rick and I hang onto the tethers, so they're right next to us.) Rick and the kids take a break at that little sandy spit on Waterlemon Cay, and I snorkel around on the west side of it. We see some sting rays and sea turtles, and on the way back we see a colony of star fish! That was so cool! I wish I had some underwater photos for you.
After hanging out at Waterlemon Bay until the late afternoon, it's time to head back. We all carry our gear back to the cars. Then Nancy, Laura and I hike back on the Leinster Trail over to Waterlemon Bay to pick up the Johnny Horn trail for a hike back to Coral Bay. We aren't expecting any great views - our payoff is the calorie burning we hope to do! Even though it poured the night before, the trail isn't muddy. There are some really steep parts - good for working off all that vacation food, we hope. We end up at the Moravian Church in Coral Bay, and call one of the guys to pick us up. I think one of the books calls this a 90 minute hike, and they must mean both ways. We get from Waterlemon to Coral Bay in about 40 minutes going at a moderate pace (not taking any of the spur trails). We are definitely ready for showers!
I think this is the night we had dinner at Aqua Bistro. Good meals and of course excellent company!
Day 5: Salt Pond Bay and New Year's Eve!
I am so happy to get back to Salt Pond Bay! It's not a long drive from our villa, and it's so pretty. Rick and the kids and I head out early to enjoy the peaceful morning there. Our friends will meet us there later.
This turns out to be one of our best snorkeling days! There is some really cool and big coral out by those rocks that are past the mooring balls. We see sting rays, sea turtles, and a big spotted ray - his tail looked like it was over 4 feet long. He was beautiful, but I was glad that he was on the bottom and I was on the surface, many feet up. We also saw a nurse shark! Just a small one, probably less than four feet long, and I was so happy to spot one.
We go out snorkeling a few times, sometimes with the kids and sometimes not. It was pretty surfy out by the farthest rock, so we didn't take them out there. But there was lots to see along the left side of the bay, too.
After snorkeling and limin', Rick, Delaney and I take the short hike over to Drunk Bay. What a difference! The waves are crashing, and it's very rocky, and of course there are all those funny rock people sculptures!
We decide to make one of our own:
Someone who was there before us celebrated a happy occasion!
Here is a view of the salt pond as seen from the Drunk Bay trail, en route back to Salt Pond Bay:
More limin' at the beach, and I'm starting to feel the effects of too much sun and not enough sun block. My back is a bit burned, but the worst is my lips! They're sunburned and swollen. I feel like I have a water balloon stapled to my face, and I look like I've stolen Angelina Jolie's mouth. (Sadly, the resemblance ends there.) We head over to the shops by Skinny's to pick up some long sleeved rash guards for me and the kids, which we should have done on our first day here. They have a good selection. Mine is black with a pink Roxy logo. I love it! Makes me look tough, and I feel like a cool beach chick when I wear it.
Back to the villa for dinner. It's New Year's Eve! We had considered hiring a private chef, or getting some gourmet drop off. But thanks to hubby's pre-trip shopping (Omaha Steaks), we had steaks, salmon, and lobster bisque. Yum!! The villa has a new gas grill, which was super. We also made salad, pasta with pesto sauce, and had some sourdough bread. Mix that with a few bottles of red wine and several Carib's and we were happy campers! Sorry, no food porn. I was too busy eating to take pictures!
The kids ate at the big dining table inside, and we adults enjoyed the dining table on the deck with wonderful breezes. At one point, I was laughing so hard I was speechless (a blessing to all, I'm sure!) and had tears running down my face. Sometime during the night we started mocking that James Blunt song, "You're Beautiful" by singing it overly dramatically. (Actually, that's the way he sings it.) This became our song for the trip: every time one of us would gaze at a beach and say "wow, it's beautiful!" the kids would start singing "It's beautiful, it's beautiful!" Blunt-style. (I don't blame you if you're thinking: "Guess you had to be there." But it cracked us up!) It made us realize how often the word "beautiful" is used when you're looking at St. John beaches.
At midnight (or sometime near there) we went up to the Happy Hour Tower. The view of the stars up there is amazing! We popped open bottles of Veuve Clicquot (a great price at Lily's Market), poured glasses of Sprite for the kids, and toasted in the New Year. It's a wonderful way to start 2008.
Day 6: Cinnamon, Rose Bowl at Skinny Legs
We're moving a bit slower this morning, and enjoying some coffee on the deck and tower. We make our way over to Cinnamon at around 9:30 or 10:00. We head to the right side of the beach because we want to snorkel to Cinnamon Cay. It's already getting busy, but absolutely lovely.
Morning on Cinnamon Bay beach.
The kids at Cinnamon, writing in the sand and wearing their new rash guards.
We do some snorkeling, and go out around Cinnamon Cay. We also laze around talking, reading, and enjoying the great day.
Later on we head to Skinny Legs for dinner and to watch the Rose Bowl. I'm either sunburned or red from weeping for the Illini:
Other than the game, 2008 is off to a good start!
Thank you for taking the time. I like travelling with others who will do the hikes with me - they always take 1/2 the time that the books say and are so worth it.