Trip Report: first one in 7 years... part 6
Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 1:46 pm
I've realized this cannot be my last installment. There is going to be one more after this, so bear with me.
--- Day 12 ---
I was a little slow getting ready for the beach this morning (the pain was back but felt minor so I was determined not to pay attention to it) but still made it to Maho by 9:30 a.m. We set up our chairs on the right side and listened to the gentle surf for a while. One of the things I like about morning beaches is that the shade is longer. I'm not exactly a sun worshipper. I do sunbathe a little but I spend most of my time in the shade except when in the water.
Ever beautiful Maho in the morning
After a while, we began snorkeling the right side of the bay. The visibility was much better than it was when we were here last year. We saw neat creatures as well as the usual suspects.
Red Hind, hiding
Red Hind, revealed
Some sort of Cnidarians - loved the hints of green & blue in them
Trunkfish
Sponge and a cameo appearance of, hmmm...... a fish
Anemone
Yellowtail Parrotfish, resting
Another "some sort of Cnidarian" with very pretty orange color
We snorkeled around the point towards Little Maho but didn't actually get to the beach.
Little Maho
After snorkeling, my husband stayed in the water wading while I sat around in the shade. It was almost noon and there were more people out on the beach but it was still quiet for me to enjoy listening to the gentle surf of Maho. That was until a dinghy parked on the beach started to take off, but instead of leaving, it circled around the shallows for nearly 20 minutes (it turned out they were waiting for a friend). I am generally very laid-back but I was annoyed with the dingy within 5 minutes. It just was loud. I don't know much about dinghies but can their engines be turned "down" if not off? My husband was not far from the circling dinghy and when he came out of the water, he said with a sarcastic smile, "Ahhh... the fumes."
We use some of those waterproof cases for valuables while in the water. When my husband opened it to get the car key out, water poured out of the case. No wonder I saw bubbles coming out of it in the water." Hmmm, and he didn't think anything was wrong? Evidently, one of the latches got undone when he was repositioning it. Lesson learned - don't let your guard down.
When we got back to Sea Stone, Mr. Iggy was there on the edge of the pool. He looked so in a "zen" mode with the tip of his tail feeling the cool water. When I tried to sneak up on him for a picture, he slowly turned and looked at me like "What are you doing?"
Before our dinner at La Tapa, my husband waded in the pool (accompanied by Mr. Iggy again) while I sat around in the breezeway. He said he put his beach shoes right next to Mr. Iggy and Mr. Iggy didn't even flinch. Sometimes Mr. Iggy was like that but other times he seemed to be more cautious of us.
We got to La Tapa a little early so we hung out at the bar until our table was ready. We hadn't been back to La Tapa for 5 or 6 years because the last couple of times we ate there, we weren't quite impressed with their food. Lately I've heard such rave reviews of this place on this forum so thought we should try again. We had mussels for an appetizer and they were excellent. My husband had a Mahi entree and I had linguine with seafood & vegetables.
My husband was VERY happy with his fish. The flavoring of my linguine was nice but the dish was too salty for me and I'm not particularly sensitive to salt. For dessert we split an apple tart a la mode and it was excellent. Although La Tapa didn't quite meet our, or should I say "my" expectations that night (only because of the excessive sodium in my dish), we will be back again next year.
--- Day 13 ---
Did I tell you we love Gibney? We picked up a couple of sandwiches at Deli Grotto and hit the beach at 8 a.m. We saw a woman with her baby strolling the deserted beach. We said, "Good morning" and headed out to our regular spot near the old Oppenheimer house (the yellow building). I can't say enough about morning beaches. We get up early truly only on St. John - we are both totally night people at home. Gibney was so quiet and serene, and even Hawksnest looked nearly empty.
For snorkeling, the visibility was very good that day and my little Canon was so pleased though I realized later I didn't take many photos of fish. I do have a tendency to look for invertebrates in the water, sorry...
Flamingo tongue
Segmented worm
(Scary) clam
Looking out of the water was as beautiful as looking in the water
Sea egg on brain corals
Sea urchin hidden behind segmented worm
Octopus
Even with the heavy clouds moving in, the beach was still beautiful. It showered a little but the rain clouds quickly moved away. We ate our sandwiches, took a nap, waded in the water, watched Daisy (a dog) playing around the beach, etc. Knowing that we had one more full day left on the island, we wanted to spend our time out on the beach as long as we could. We were at Gibney until nearly 4 in the afternoon. It was getting close to "bug time", so sadly we had to go.
To be continued... next, the final installment (finally!)
--- Day 12 ---
I was a little slow getting ready for the beach this morning (the pain was back but felt minor so I was determined not to pay attention to it) but still made it to Maho by 9:30 a.m. We set up our chairs on the right side and listened to the gentle surf for a while. One of the things I like about morning beaches is that the shade is longer. I'm not exactly a sun worshipper. I do sunbathe a little but I spend most of my time in the shade except when in the water.
Ever beautiful Maho in the morning
After a while, we began snorkeling the right side of the bay. The visibility was much better than it was when we were here last year. We saw neat creatures as well as the usual suspects.
Red Hind, hiding
Red Hind, revealed
Some sort of Cnidarians - loved the hints of green & blue in them
Trunkfish
Sponge and a cameo appearance of, hmmm...... a fish
Anemone
Yellowtail Parrotfish, resting
Another "some sort of Cnidarian" with very pretty orange color
We snorkeled around the point towards Little Maho but didn't actually get to the beach.
Little Maho
After snorkeling, my husband stayed in the water wading while I sat around in the shade. It was almost noon and there were more people out on the beach but it was still quiet for me to enjoy listening to the gentle surf of Maho. That was until a dinghy parked on the beach started to take off, but instead of leaving, it circled around the shallows for nearly 20 minutes (it turned out they were waiting for a friend). I am generally very laid-back but I was annoyed with the dingy within 5 minutes. It just was loud. I don't know much about dinghies but can their engines be turned "down" if not off? My husband was not far from the circling dinghy and when he came out of the water, he said with a sarcastic smile, "Ahhh... the fumes."
We use some of those waterproof cases for valuables while in the water. When my husband opened it to get the car key out, water poured out of the case. No wonder I saw bubbles coming out of it in the water." Hmmm, and he didn't think anything was wrong? Evidently, one of the latches got undone when he was repositioning it. Lesson learned - don't let your guard down.
When we got back to Sea Stone, Mr. Iggy was there on the edge of the pool. He looked so in a "zen" mode with the tip of his tail feeling the cool water. When I tried to sneak up on him for a picture, he slowly turned and looked at me like "What are you doing?"
Before our dinner at La Tapa, my husband waded in the pool (accompanied by Mr. Iggy again) while I sat around in the breezeway. He said he put his beach shoes right next to Mr. Iggy and Mr. Iggy didn't even flinch. Sometimes Mr. Iggy was like that but other times he seemed to be more cautious of us.
We got to La Tapa a little early so we hung out at the bar until our table was ready. We hadn't been back to La Tapa for 5 or 6 years because the last couple of times we ate there, we weren't quite impressed with their food. Lately I've heard such rave reviews of this place on this forum so thought we should try again. We had mussels for an appetizer and they were excellent. My husband had a Mahi entree and I had linguine with seafood & vegetables.
My husband was VERY happy with his fish. The flavoring of my linguine was nice but the dish was too salty for me and I'm not particularly sensitive to salt. For dessert we split an apple tart a la mode and it was excellent. Although La Tapa didn't quite meet our, or should I say "my" expectations that night (only because of the excessive sodium in my dish), we will be back again next year.
--- Day 13 ---
Did I tell you we love Gibney? We picked up a couple of sandwiches at Deli Grotto and hit the beach at 8 a.m. We saw a woman with her baby strolling the deserted beach. We said, "Good morning" and headed out to our regular spot near the old Oppenheimer house (the yellow building). I can't say enough about morning beaches. We get up early truly only on St. John - we are both totally night people at home. Gibney was so quiet and serene, and even Hawksnest looked nearly empty.
For snorkeling, the visibility was very good that day and my little Canon was so pleased though I realized later I didn't take many photos of fish. I do have a tendency to look for invertebrates in the water, sorry...
Flamingo tongue
Segmented worm
(Scary) clam
Looking out of the water was as beautiful as looking in the water
Sea egg on brain corals
Sea urchin hidden behind segmented worm
Octopus
Even with the heavy clouds moving in, the beach was still beautiful. It showered a little but the rain clouds quickly moved away. We ate our sandwiches, took a nap, waded in the water, watched Daisy (a dog) playing around the beach, etc. Knowing that we had one more full day left on the island, we wanted to spend our time out on the beach as long as we could. We were at Gibney until nearly 4 in the afternoon. It was getting close to "bug time", so sadly we had to go.
To be continued... next, the final installment (finally!)
