Pic's Pics & Report: June 2015 - Vol.1

[Pickle]

I long waited for June to arrive. When it was finally here, I had come down with a cold and our countdown was anti-climactic (I seem to get sick right before our trips to St. John rather often). I packed our bags while feverish and wasn't sure if I did it right. Except my head was quite there when packing our snorkel gear and bathing suits, which means this trip report will be, as usual, snorkeling heavy. Just wanted to warn you.

We often split our stay between two properties when we can go to St. John for a couple of weeks - and that's what we did on this two-week trip. For our first week we stayed at Sea Spirit located on the cliff between Kiddel and Grootpan. The location was fantastic. There is a large property sitting behind Sea Spirit now but we did not hear anything or see anyone during our stay. Once we were in Sea Spirit there was no civilization to be seen except for occasional boats on the blue water. When we moved to Island Time on Devers Bay for our second week, it actually felt strange to see all those houses. We really enjoyed the luxury of having a pool and a hot tub at Island Time and the house was very comfortable. With that said, we couldn't help missing the view from Sea Spirit.

For your information, all the photos were taken with the Canon S110, except for the ones at Kiddel which were taken with the Canon D20.


----- Arrival Day -----









At the end of our travel, this view soothed my dazed mind and exhausted body.




----- Great Lameshur Day -----

Our first full day on island was spent on the extensive pebbly beach (okay, technically, more underwater than on the beach). We tried to snorkel along the left side to Tektite but ended up turning around about the half way. Still being feverish, I got cold quickly in the water. Shame. There is a lot to see there and this snorkel is one of our favorites.



Gray Angelfish



Octopus, kept being poked by Damselfishes



Highhat



Honeycomb Cowfish



We had a nice meal at Aqua Bistro but I didn't eat as much as I usually do. It's no fun being under the weather on vacation!




----- Kiddel Day -----

Since I was feeling slightly better, we decided to walk down to Kiddel from Sea Spirit. The water was rather choppy but we opted to snorkel. Adding to the choppy condition, the visibility was not great so we were not in the water for long. Despite that we enjoyed snorkeling there and hope to return when it is calmer.







Hidden octopus



2-foot Permit



We went to Shipwreck for our late lunch. Again I didn't eat as much as I usually do but more than the day before. I knew I was on the way to being fine very soon.



Every day we spent a lot of time sitting on the deck at Sea Spirit. Although the island was looking brown and was desperately in need of rain, the water was blue and the Bananquits and Hummingbirds were plentiful.

r


----- Hansen/Pelican Rock Day -----

I must have been feeling much better because we snorkeled from Vie's all the way to Pelican Rock and back. It was a nice long snorkel and I felt so good to be in the water for that long. Now my husband could stop saying "Poor Pickle". I was happy and lively.



Palometas



Green Turtle



Nassau Grouper



Queen Angelfish



Underwater at Pelican Rock



Peacock Flounder



Trumpetfish



Nice snacks after a long snorkel



We stayed in the rest of the day taking full advantage of the solitude and the wonderful views.


----- Grootpan Day -----

We had somewhat busy afternoon plans so opted to snorkel nearby Grootpan in the morning. Like the other day at Kiddel the water was a little choppy and the visibility was not great so I ended up taking only a few photos. This was our first time snorkeling there and, despite the less than ideal conditions, we enjoyed seeing the new sights.



Queen Parrotfish



Bar Jacks



After snorkeling we drove to the East End to visit Sloop Jones. It is always a pleasure to spend some time with him.



He showed us the cottage that he is converting into a rental property. He was painting each wall in a different theme. We imagine it will be a unique place to stay.

After the nice visit to the East End we drove across the island to Cruz Bay to meet up with some forumites. Because of my rather reserved nature, I haven't met many of you here but I am really grateful that I've met some great folks through this forum. For that, I thank you, Anthony... and the island of St. John.



From right to left: Leslie (EagleRayLover), Beth (oh dear, can't remember her forum name, sorry!), Tracy (Tracy in WI) and blurry me - and I appreciate my husband for taking the photo of the girls at Banana Deck.


----- Great Lameshur Day -----

Since I wasn't feeling up to par for this snorkel in the beginning of this trip, we happily returned to this deserted spot and were even happier that Leslie (EagleRayLover) and Steve (augie) could join us. Fortunately, the water was warm and there were no problematic currents so we snorkeled all the way out to Tektite.



Chain Moray



Cubera Snapper



Nurse Shark





Blue Tangs and Parrotfish



Spotted Drum



It was a long fun snorkel and I felt so grateful that I was no longer sick on vacation. As I poked my head out of the water at Tektite and looked around at the blue sea and the bright sky, I truly thought, "this is how it should be!"



Hawksbill Turtle



We hung out leisurely for the rest of the day - on the beach, on the deck at Sea Spirit and then at Indigo. It was such a fun day with such fun friends.


----- Maho Day -----

We had been snorkeling the South shores so had not encountered any Sea Lice issues yet. Maho was filled with small delicate transparent floating creatures. During our 2+ hour snorkel along the right side to Little Maho, I got stung only twice and my husband got none. I wasn't sure what was actually stinging me since those floating creatures didn't appear to be just one species.



Spotted Moray



Red Hind



Barracuda



Wrasse



Hawksbill Turtle



Hawksbill Turtle, munching



Dusky Blenny



Southern Stingray & Bar Jack



Balloonfish - I just love those green sparkles in his eyes



Isn't he charming?



While we hung out on the beach after snorkeling, I heard a little girl screaming, "I got stung! I got stung!" She jumped out of the water, but then in a few minutes, was back in the water again. She seemed fascinated with those floating transparent creatures, and as she waded among them, she said in an amused voice "Oh, I kinda like swimming in the goo - it feels so weird!" It made me smile.



Since I was longing for curry for some reason, we went to Sweet Plantains for our dinner. It was very quiet the whole time we were there. My curry with shrimp was good although I was a little disappointed that they didn't have my usual order, scallops. My husband got some snapper dish and he said it was really good.





After the meal we returned to Sea Spirit and loosely packed our bags. We would be moving to another villa, Island Time, the next day. The first week went by so fast… but then, any week on vacation, especially on St. John, goes by quickly anyway. We all know that, don't we?

---------------------

The next morning we had our last coffee on the deck looking at the views and waiting for bananaquits to nibble on the sugar that we put out for them.





We, especially my husband, were feeling sad about leaving Sea Spirit, but we were grateful for what we'd had for our precious week on St. John.






I will squeeze the rest of the trip into one more installment and I imagine it will be longer than this. Unlike the first week, half of which I was sick, I was feeling lively and ended up taking more photos.

[Coconuts]

Pickle: Amazing photography, as always! Love that photo of the Queen Angelfish; I can usually find a pair of these near Little Maho, but they refuse to pose for me. By the time I frame and shoot, I usually get a thin butt shot as they scurry away. Do you use zoom, and shoot your quarry from further away to avoid spooking them? Any other tips on gear and workflow would be appreciated; your color balancing is excellent, and everything is always well lit. Do you use natural light, or strobes? RAW or JPG? Thanks!

All the best,

Kevin

[kklay]

Beautiful pictures and I really enjoyed your report. It's been a few years since I have been to Grootpan and Kiddle. I hope to visit again during our November trip. How was the road getting back to both bays?

[DonnaM]

Great TR so far! Your pictures are amazing!

[hanginghigh704]

Great pics and report!

[Tracy in WI]

Another amazing trip report - I'm always impressed by your photos! I soooo enjoyed meeting you and Evan in "real life". Thank you for making the journey to Cruz Bay! I'm certain our paths will cross again.

[PA Girl]

We are packing for our upcoming trip and we really enjoyed reading your report and looking at the pictures over coffee yesterday morning.

Waiting for the next installment....

[Bluestreak12]

I was really excited to see this thread title and it didn't let me down! Awesome photos as always! I follow you on Flickr and love seeing even more than you have posted here. Any tips on finding the scorpionfish would be appreciated.

[Pickle]

Kevin - I've taken plenty of those thin butt shots of Angelfishes. Although I've worked with photographers, I am a novice as far as technical elements are concerned. My camera setting is simple - the Auto, the Underwater, the Macro when needed, generally no flash, jpg...

The photos, especially close-up shots, taken in shallow water with good light usually turn out well. The ones I take in deeper water often need to be Photoshopped - I adjust the lighting and take out the excess blue/green.

I use zoom to some extent - no more than 4x. I try to get close to the subjects as much as I can without spooking them (doesn't always work, of course). Sometimes I quietly float around the same spot for a long while until I get better shots - and sometimes when I do that, other elusive creatures (eels, mantis shrimp, crabs, etc.) come out and surprise me, doubling my photo opportunity. Some photos turn out well by luck, particularly with fast moving subjects since the window of opportunity is very small.

kklay - The road is still rough but not too bad (to us, anyway). We usually take the second left turn after passing Salt Pond. As we remember and if it hasn't changed, the first left was a little rougher driving up the slope.

Bluestreak12 - You must be my only precious follower, haha. Thank you. Most often we see Scorpionfish at Maho and Francis in fairly shallow water among the reefs (looking into the gaps where you can see the bottom) or right near the patches of reefs. They are usually well camouflaged and motionless on the bottom so are often in front of you by the time you see them. Go slow and try to keep your eyes open not only for what jumps out but also things that don't look significant. You never know what's hidden.

Thank you all for your kind comments. I'll try to post the rest of the TR and photos of Sea Spirit and Island Time today (before leaving for my husband's hometown tomorrow!).

[ski2play]

Great photos, great report! Thanks for sharing!

[jmq]

Great shots! The barracuda is my fav - deserves to be seen = cropped a little and blown up, could make a pretty cool canvas print.