usvi-on-line
Pic's Pics & Report: June 2015 - Vol.2
Pic's Pics & Report: June 2015 - Vol.2
Vol. 1: http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/v ... Yi2H0v0xVk
----- Changeover Day -----
It seemed like a little mental adjustment was needed after moving from Sea Spirit to Island Time. As I've mentioned in the previous installment, it kind of felt strange to see the houses around us. Occasionally we could hear people talking and music being played at the villas in the neighborhood (one night the villa bellow us sounded like they were having a party). "Back to civilization" my husband and I kidded about. We stayed in the rest of the day enjoying the refreshing pool and the hot tub. As much as we love snorkeling, it felt really good to take a day off and lounge around the villa.
----- Maho (again) via Gibney Day -----
We were the first ones out on the beach that morning. Gibney was quiet and beautiful.
Perhaps because we did not snorkel the previous day, I was anxious to get in the water and didn't even wait for my husband to get ready. I went ahead and began snorkeling. I did not see many transparent floating creatures like I did at Maho. I was happily proceeding… and then "Ouch." Okay, the stingers were there, evidently, but I only got stung twice at Maho and it was no big deal. I kept snorkeling but I was getting stung literally every minute and some stings were hurting more and longer than the others. I sadly raised the white flag shortly after. Curiously my husband was not getting stung at all, but he felt sorry for me and we reluctantly left Gibney…
… and ended up at Maho, again.
We snorkeled the right side the other day so decided to try the left side. We had no issues with stingers on that side of Maho.
Flamingo Tongue
Sea Beams
Blenny
Although I was patient, these guys (Chain Moray and Green Moray) never really introduced themselves.
On our way out to the point, we found 10 octopuses, all of which were comfortably in their dens. We've never seen that many during one snorkel. Here are a few…
Peeking...
With flower (Feather Duster Worm) on her head...
Dinner was BBQ ribs and chicken from Candi's at the villa. I'm not really a BBQ person but it always tastes good after a long day underwater and on the beach.
----- Honeymoon Day -----
We parked at Caneel and walked over to Honeymoon in the morning. There were quite a few folks already on the beach but that was nothing compared to literally a hundred (or more) folks arrived by several excursion boats. That is actually a normal sight at Honeymoon these days - still, it was the largest number of people that we had ever seen there.
Honeymoon beach from the water - not quite filled yet
Yellowtail Snapper
Smooth Trunkfish, getting cleaned by a juvenile French Angel
Coral
We could tell this Spotted Moray was pretty large since the width was at least 4 inches. He swayed slightly now and then but stayed put as we watched. I was imagining him swimming around the reef in the dark...and thought that would be an eerily great sight.
We also came across a couple of Goldentail Morays. They were small and very cute.
We had a late lunch at Caneel Beach Bar & Grill. A salad dish that I had wasn't as fresh as it usually is and, unfortunately, didn't agree with me. Needless to say, we stayed in at Island Time for the rest of the day.
----- Maho (once again) Day -----
I was feeling better, but since I hadn't eaten much, I was feeling a little weak and wanted to go somewhere easy. When we think like that we usually end up at Maho. No, we are not taking Maho for granted. We think Maho is wonderful because it pleases all kinds of folks - little children and their parents, beach loungers and snorkelers alike. I even saw Mr. Simonsen working on the beach when we arrived that morning. Evidently, Maho is a great location for a photo-shoot as well. I had hoped to say hi to him but shied away. I did not want to interrupt his work anyway.
We snorkeled the left side again to the point that separates Maho from Cinnamon. It was about the same time of the day as we snorkeled there the other day. I was curious to see how different the snorkel would or could be.
Spotted Scorpionfish
Ciliated False Squilla
Gray Snapper
Does anyone know what kind of crab this is?
Spotted Moray
We looked into the octopus dens that we remembered from the other day but many of them were empty. They must have been out and hunting. We searched for them but we didn't really come across one.
This is the most active we saw…
By the early evening my stomach was feeling fine and I was quite hungry so we ate out at Vista Mare. It was our first time there and won’t be our last for sure.
Very tasty bisque - lobster and sun dried tomato (?)
----- Francis Day -----
I had heard the Sea Lice issue was bad at Francis. I was kind of reluctant to go but it is our favorite beach so, in the end, I could not resist. To our surprise, we didn't have to deal with the stingers until the end of our snorkel. They seemed to come and go.
Coney
Bicolor Coney
Creepy looking crab - if not for those claws, I wouldn't have known what he was.
Checkered Puffer
Octopus
Lettuce Sea Slug
Scrawled Filefish, getting cleaned by a juvenile French Angel
At the end of the snorkel we started seeing a lot of those small transparent floating creatures in the water and I began to get stung. The sting on my chin actually hurt for a few hours, but thankfully, didn't leave any mark. Again, my husband never got stung so we were convinced those stingers were rather discriminatory.
We went back to Island Time and cleaned up for Leslie (EagleRayLover)'s birthday dinner at Rhumb Lines. It was our pleasure to be there celebrating with her family. She was a little under the weather, unfortunately - I hope she had as much fun as we did.
----- Chocolate Hole Day -----
Leslie was still not feeling up to par so we met up with just Steve (augie) at Chocolate Hole and the three of us snorkeled together. It was Steve who suggested that we should try that snorkel, especially since we were staying minutes from the beach.
Checkered Puffer
Schools of Blue Tangs
Scrawled Cowfish
We snorkeled the left side to the point and swam across the bay and snorkeled back on the right side. When we swam across from the left to right, the right side near the point was pretty rough. I couldn't see my husband or Steve at all. When I finally saw them, I felt relieved because it had crossed my mind, though briefly, that they might have gotten lost (well, maybe not Steve, but my husband). Anyway, all was good. It's always exciting to snorkel some place new and to see new underwater scenes. Thank you, Steve, for suggesting and coming along with us.
After our water time, we visited Steve's friend, who we met at Leslie's birthday dinner the night before. His house is located right on the cliff above Chocolate Hole and has a front row seat view of the sea. The view sort of reminded us of Sea Spirit's. We cooled off in his pool with his beer (haha) and then met up again later at Tamarind for happy hour. It was another fun-filled day with fun friends.
When Steve's friend asked me how much longer we would be on island, I replied "One more day". And then it hit me. Oh... only one more day!
----- (Back to) Francis Day -----
We intended to snorkel Waterlemon but ended up at Francis again. Where else would we rather be on our last full day? Nowhere.
We snorkeled the right side towards Mary Point again. Just like the other day we had no issues with the stingers until the very end of our snorkel. Along with our second snorkel at Great Lameshur, this was probably the most memorable snorkel on this trip.
Porcupinefish
Chain Moray - I thank you for coming out!
Christmas Tree Worms
Blenny
Checkered Puffer - There seemed to be more of them now at Francis
Ciliated False Squilla
Giant Hermit
Gobies on Brain Coral
Octopuses…
juvenile Highhat hanging around an octopus
Munching
Common Blue crab (?)
Green Turtle
He didn't come out but wasn't exactly camera-shy either.
Just how happy were we at Francis? Very. We didn't want to leave… you know the feeling.
Our last meal (aka "our splurge dinner") on island was at ZoZo's.
We hadn't been there since they moved to Caneel and we really liked the atmosphere at the current location. All the dishes we had were excellent as usual. Such a nice meal really made packing our bags difficult later on at the villa.
----- Departure Day -----
The last look at Island Time - we really enjoyed the pool in the afternoon and even at night. It was the warmest pool that we've ever had at a villa.
Well, that is it. We departed from the island the same way we arrived - only all was reversed. We’ve done this many times, 18 to be exact, and it's always the same - happy sad. We've never vacationed in the same place that many times. I suppose I don't have to explain about that here on the forum.
Thank you so much for reading the long report. You forumites are sure patient.
Have a wonderful trip to those who will be on the island soon or later!
See you next time…
Pickle
Sea Spirit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/80473236@ ... 4943291425
Island Time: https://www.flickr.com/photos/80473236@ ... 4943291405
P.S. English is my second language so if you see any peculiar phrases or words… please pardon me.
----- Changeover Day -----
It seemed like a little mental adjustment was needed after moving from Sea Spirit to Island Time. As I've mentioned in the previous installment, it kind of felt strange to see the houses around us. Occasionally we could hear people talking and music being played at the villas in the neighborhood (one night the villa bellow us sounded like they were having a party). "Back to civilization" my husband and I kidded about. We stayed in the rest of the day enjoying the refreshing pool and the hot tub. As much as we love snorkeling, it felt really good to take a day off and lounge around the villa.
----- Maho (again) via Gibney Day -----
We were the first ones out on the beach that morning. Gibney was quiet and beautiful.
Perhaps because we did not snorkel the previous day, I was anxious to get in the water and didn't even wait for my husband to get ready. I went ahead and began snorkeling. I did not see many transparent floating creatures like I did at Maho. I was happily proceeding… and then "Ouch." Okay, the stingers were there, evidently, but I only got stung twice at Maho and it was no big deal. I kept snorkeling but I was getting stung literally every minute and some stings were hurting more and longer than the others. I sadly raised the white flag shortly after. Curiously my husband was not getting stung at all, but he felt sorry for me and we reluctantly left Gibney…
… and ended up at Maho, again.
We snorkeled the right side the other day so decided to try the left side. We had no issues with stingers on that side of Maho.
Flamingo Tongue
Sea Beams
Blenny
Although I was patient, these guys (Chain Moray and Green Moray) never really introduced themselves.
On our way out to the point, we found 10 octopuses, all of which were comfortably in their dens. We've never seen that many during one snorkel. Here are a few…
Peeking...
With flower (Feather Duster Worm) on her head...
Dinner was BBQ ribs and chicken from Candi's at the villa. I'm not really a BBQ person but it always tastes good after a long day underwater and on the beach.
----- Honeymoon Day -----
We parked at Caneel and walked over to Honeymoon in the morning. There were quite a few folks already on the beach but that was nothing compared to literally a hundred (or more) folks arrived by several excursion boats. That is actually a normal sight at Honeymoon these days - still, it was the largest number of people that we had ever seen there.
Honeymoon beach from the water - not quite filled yet
Yellowtail Snapper
Smooth Trunkfish, getting cleaned by a juvenile French Angel
Coral
We could tell this Spotted Moray was pretty large since the width was at least 4 inches. He swayed slightly now and then but stayed put as we watched. I was imagining him swimming around the reef in the dark...and thought that would be an eerily great sight.
We also came across a couple of Goldentail Morays. They were small and very cute.
We had a late lunch at Caneel Beach Bar & Grill. A salad dish that I had wasn't as fresh as it usually is and, unfortunately, didn't agree with me. Needless to say, we stayed in at Island Time for the rest of the day.
----- Maho (once again) Day -----
I was feeling better, but since I hadn't eaten much, I was feeling a little weak and wanted to go somewhere easy. When we think like that we usually end up at Maho. No, we are not taking Maho for granted. We think Maho is wonderful because it pleases all kinds of folks - little children and their parents, beach loungers and snorkelers alike. I even saw Mr. Simonsen working on the beach when we arrived that morning. Evidently, Maho is a great location for a photo-shoot as well. I had hoped to say hi to him but shied away. I did not want to interrupt his work anyway.
We snorkeled the left side again to the point that separates Maho from Cinnamon. It was about the same time of the day as we snorkeled there the other day. I was curious to see how different the snorkel would or could be.
Spotted Scorpionfish
Ciliated False Squilla
Gray Snapper
Does anyone know what kind of crab this is?
Spotted Moray
We looked into the octopus dens that we remembered from the other day but many of them were empty. They must have been out and hunting. We searched for them but we didn't really come across one.
This is the most active we saw…
By the early evening my stomach was feeling fine and I was quite hungry so we ate out at Vista Mare. It was our first time there and won’t be our last for sure.
Very tasty bisque - lobster and sun dried tomato (?)
----- Francis Day -----
I had heard the Sea Lice issue was bad at Francis. I was kind of reluctant to go but it is our favorite beach so, in the end, I could not resist. To our surprise, we didn't have to deal with the stingers until the end of our snorkel. They seemed to come and go.
Coney
Bicolor Coney
Creepy looking crab - if not for those claws, I wouldn't have known what he was.
Checkered Puffer
Octopus
Lettuce Sea Slug
Scrawled Filefish, getting cleaned by a juvenile French Angel
At the end of the snorkel we started seeing a lot of those small transparent floating creatures in the water and I began to get stung. The sting on my chin actually hurt for a few hours, but thankfully, didn't leave any mark. Again, my husband never got stung so we were convinced those stingers were rather discriminatory.
We went back to Island Time and cleaned up for Leslie (EagleRayLover)'s birthday dinner at Rhumb Lines. It was our pleasure to be there celebrating with her family. She was a little under the weather, unfortunately - I hope she had as much fun as we did.
----- Chocolate Hole Day -----
Leslie was still not feeling up to par so we met up with just Steve (augie) at Chocolate Hole and the three of us snorkeled together. It was Steve who suggested that we should try that snorkel, especially since we were staying minutes from the beach.
Checkered Puffer
Schools of Blue Tangs
Scrawled Cowfish
We snorkeled the left side to the point and swam across the bay and snorkeled back on the right side. When we swam across from the left to right, the right side near the point was pretty rough. I couldn't see my husband or Steve at all. When I finally saw them, I felt relieved because it had crossed my mind, though briefly, that they might have gotten lost (well, maybe not Steve, but my husband). Anyway, all was good. It's always exciting to snorkel some place new and to see new underwater scenes. Thank you, Steve, for suggesting and coming along with us.
After our water time, we visited Steve's friend, who we met at Leslie's birthday dinner the night before. His house is located right on the cliff above Chocolate Hole and has a front row seat view of the sea. The view sort of reminded us of Sea Spirit's. We cooled off in his pool with his beer (haha) and then met up again later at Tamarind for happy hour. It was another fun-filled day with fun friends.
When Steve's friend asked me how much longer we would be on island, I replied "One more day". And then it hit me. Oh... only one more day!
----- (Back to) Francis Day -----
We intended to snorkel Waterlemon but ended up at Francis again. Where else would we rather be on our last full day? Nowhere.
We snorkeled the right side towards Mary Point again. Just like the other day we had no issues with the stingers until the very end of our snorkel. Along with our second snorkel at Great Lameshur, this was probably the most memorable snorkel on this trip.
Porcupinefish
Chain Moray - I thank you for coming out!
Christmas Tree Worms
Blenny
Checkered Puffer - There seemed to be more of them now at Francis
Ciliated False Squilla
Giant Hermit
Gobies on Brain Coral
Octopuses…
juvenile Highhat hanging around an octopus
Munching
Common Blue crab (?)
Green Turtle
He didn't come out but wasn't exactly camera-shy either.
Just how happy were we at Francis? Very. We didn't want to leave… you know the feeling.
Our last meal (aka "our splurge dinner") on island was at ZoZo's.
We hadn't been there since they moved to Caneel and we really liked the atmosphere at the current location. All the dishes we had were excellent as usual. Such a nice meal really made packing our bags difficult later on at the villa.
----- Departure Day -----
The last look at Island Time - we really enjoyed the pool in the afternoon and even at night. It was the warmest pool that we've ever had at a villa.
Well, that is it. We departed from the island the same way we arrived - only all was reversed. We’ve done this many times, 18 to be exact, and it's always the same - happy sad. We've never vacationed in the same place that many times. I suppose I don't have to explain about that here on the forum.
Thank you so much for reading the long report. You forumites are sure patient.
Have a wonderful trip to those who will be on the island soon or later!
See you next time…
Pickle
Sea Spirit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/80473236@ ... 4943291425
Island Time: https://www.flickr.com/photos/80473236@ ... 4943291405
P.S. English is my second language so if you see any peculiar phrases or words… please pardon me.
Re: Pic's Pics & Report: June 2015 - Vol.2
Pickles, you rock! Your pictures amazing and your stories the best! Thanks for sharing. Someday, I would like to snorkel and photograph with you!
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david@va.beach
- Posts: 163
- Joined: Sun Jul 14, 2013 7:51 am
Re: Pic's Pics & Report: June 2015 - Vol.2
You're a great photographer! your pics made my day. Va. beach,va. is hot as hell again!!
thanks for the trip report!
thanks for the trip report!
Re: Pic's Pics & Report: June 2015 - Vol.2
Awesome report and pics! Thanks so much for sharing with us and allowing us to live through your experience.
Re: Pic's Pics & Report: June 2015 - Vol.2
Pic: Another spectacular series of underwater photos; thanks so much for posting them. The identifications really help; despite having all of the Reef Fish/Creatures/Coral books, as I view your post, I routinely go "Right, so that's what that is". You might consider creating a visual web site compendium of St. John sea creatures. More importantly, though, is your obviously advanced skills in underwater awareness. Trust me, I could have snorkeled that left side of Maho the day that you were there, and would have felt lucky to see one octopus, let alone ten! You set the bar high, but I expect that I'm not the only forum member who is inspired by your photographic and underwater awareness skills. Well done!
All the best,
Kevin
All the best,
Kevin
Re: Pic's Pics & Report: June 2015 - Vol.2
Thank you so much for taking the time to post all these wonderful pictures!
Re: Pic's Pics & Report: June 2015 - Vol.2
I agree with Kevin (Coconuts): I've got all the books/charts etc. for underwater creature identification. But when I look at your pics, I'm also going "A-ha!".
This year will be our 7th or 8th (who's counting?) and I hope to see and identify even half of what you did. Great pics, great commentary, loved all of it. Thanks!
This year will be our 7th or 8th (who's counting?) and I hope to see and identify even half of what you did. Great pics, great commentary, loved all of it. Thanks!
AwardB
Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop. - Lewis Carroll
Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop. - Lewis Carroll
Re: Pic's Pics & Report: June 2015 - Vol.2
Another fantastic report, Pickle! Thanks so much for sharing your amazing photos once again.
It's like looking in your soup and finding a whole different alphabet.
Re: Pic's Pics & Report: June 2015 - Vol.2
Great Report
The only place I got stung a lot was at Francis so we didn't stay long and moved onto another beach
The only place I got stung a lot was at Francis so we didn't stay long and moved onto another beach
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Wanda Creech
- Posts: 345
- Joined: Sun Nov 04, 2007 7:47 pm
- Location: Raleigh,NC
Re: Pic's Pics & Report: June 2015 - Vol.2
Always love your report and your pics are outstanding. We just got back last night and I saw 4 octopus and thought I was lucky. Now I know more of what to look for.
You seems to find a lot of different fish.
Thanks for sharing.
You seems to find a lot of different fish.
Thanks for sharing.
Beach Creecher
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Myheart'sinSTJ
- Posts: 363
- Joined: Sun Apr 22, 2012 7:02 pm
- Location: New London, PA
Re: Pic's Pics & Report: June 2015 - Vol.2
Thanks so much for sharing your perfect pics and trip report!
Re: Pic's Pics & Report: June 2015 - Vol.2
Thanks for sharing your trip and photos, I always enjoy your trip reports they're great!
Cheers!
Cheers!
STJ Villa Map:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie ... 2&t=h&z=14
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie ... 2&t=h&z=14
Re: Pic's Pics & Report: June 2015 - Vol.2
Wow, truly amazing!!! My wife and I are always in search of octopus - you are so fortunate to have seen so many. In early Dec. 2013, at Francis (also our favorite beach), my wife actually found a live true tulip (the only time in 7 trips / 7 years), and proceeded to bring it to the octopus we had been visiting several times that week about 1/3 of the way out on the right towards Mary Point. Left it at the entrance to his den. Went back the following day (and several days to follow) and no sign of the true tulip or octopus. Assumed someone took the shell and the octopus moved on. My wife was so disappointed. So surprised to see your pictures of the octopus and true tulips. So, there is hope to see that again (next trip also this coming early December). Thanks again for sharing your amazing pics and report!
[/url]Re: Pic's Pics & Report: June 2015 - Vol.2
I always love your reports and photos. So sorry you were under the weather for part of your trip.
We stayed at Longview in Chocolate Hole the 2nd week of June it was very quite until Saturday the 13th then it seemed the villas were starting to fill up. It was our 1st stay at a pool villa and we just fell in love with it also the breezes from Hart Bay were terrific. Unfortunately it is being taken off the rental market at least for now. Island Time really peaked my interest and when I saw your photos i was so excited. Thank you for the great photos. Did Island Time have breezes/trade winds?
We stayed at Longview in Chocolate Hole the 2nd week of June it was very quite until Saturday the 13th then it seemed the villas were starting to fill up. It was our 1st stay at a pool villa and we just fell in love with it also the breezes from Hart Bay were terrific. Unfortunately it is being taken off the rental market at least for now. Island Time really peaked my interest and when I saw your photos i was so excited. Thank you for the great photos. Did Island Time have breezes/trade winds?
Re: Pic's Pics & Report: June 2015 - Vol.2
An idea similar to that has crossed my mind. If I ever decide to do it, I would like to add episodes/tales (from my experiences) about the creatures, along with identifications and such, so it might be fun to read. It is a looooong shot, though.Coconuts wrote:You might consider creating a visual web site compendium of St. John sea creatures.
The house gets some breezes on and off. We have stayed at places where we received more constant trade winds. Island Time is a cute villa and we liked it a lot. I would say that the view is not one of the best that we've had (I admit - we are spoiled) but it is still nice.NJsurfsup wrote:Did Island Time have breezes/trade winds?
Thank you all for your kind words and taking time to post them!