Pic's Pics & Report: May & June 2016 - Vol.2

Travel discussion for St. John
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Pickle
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Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 12:00 am

Pic's Pics & Report: May & June 2016 - Vol.2

Post by Pickle »

Vol. 1: http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/v ... 2LgJkv0xxE

----- Changeover Day -----

We love the sea. We also admire mountains. We have stayed in the area of Bordeaux Mountain twice at different villas and liked the feel of a mountain retreat. We find it nice to return to after a day of water and beach activities.

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Summerwind is managed by Terry Witham. We have rented from Terry in the past and will happily rent from her again. I think she currently manages about 11 properties on St. John. She is lovely and it's a breeze to work with her.

Unlike on our arrival at Seawing, we quickly unpacked our bags and were ready for the activities for the day. We decided to take a break from the beach and headed out to Cruz Bay for lunch. When we can't find free parking in Cruz Bay, we can usually count on Slimman's (paid lot) but, unexpectedly, they were closed for some event. That seemed to have created a domino effect and other lots we looked at were full as well. We drove around and ended up at Mongoose Junction. We had planned to have lunch somewhere in Wharfside but made an adjustment and ate at Sun Dog Café. Their turnover special, stuffed with pulled pork, was really good.

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After lunch we strolled around and did some shopping at Mongoose Junction. We gave up on going to Wharfside and drove straight to Starfish to stock up on groceries. We also got tasty take-outs at Sam & Jack's for dinner later. Cruz Bay felt more crowded that day than usual and I felt relieved when we returned to Summerwind. After that we didn't go in to Cruz Bay until the night before our departure from the island.


----- Honeymoon Day -----

We parked at Caneel and hiked to Honeymoon in the mid-morning. As I was walking down the beach towards the left side, I spotted a forum member (mbw1024) and her husband wading in the water. I waved to them and proceeded to our usual spot on the far left. This is a very nice beach but tends to get crowded from late morning to early afternoon. During that time multiple boats often drop off loads of excursionists. We guessed since it was Sunday, there might not be many excursion boats stopping by. We only saw a boat or two and, all in all, the beach was relatively less crowded.

My husband, getting ready…

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We snorkeled around the reef between Honeymoon and Salomon. It was not as good as it could be. The water was rather choppy that day, especially around the point towards Salomon. I lose my focus on creatures in the choppy water, and so does my camera - but we managed to take a few acceptable shots.

Porcupinefish

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Social Feather Dusters

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Different species of Parrotfishes: Stoplight, Rainbow and Queen

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Ah yes, chuckle me, tiny one (Blenny).

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We had a late lunch at Caneel Beach Bar & Grill. My husband and I each devoured one of their innovative sushi rolls. They are good... but expensive.

We returned to Summerwind and stayed in the rest of the day. The pool was too cool for me to enjoy up on Bordeaux and I went in only once during our stay. My husband is more tolerant of cold so he enjoyed it quite a bit. In that area, unless a pool is heated, a hot tub is more useful to a wimp like me. Good thing Summerwind offers both.

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The views that we soaked in that quiet evening

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----- Haulover South Day -----

We hiked over to Haulover North hoping the water would be calm. It wasn't so rough that we could not snorkel but it looked to be another choppy-water snorkel. I didn't feel like it two days in a row, as much as I love snorkeling Haulover North. We hiked back and snorkeled calm Haulover South instead. For us this spot is usually a hit or miss. That day it was a hit and we snorkeled for a good long 3 hours. We started out snorkeling along the left and around the point. Eventually, we turned around, swam across the bay and snorkeled the right side past the point and back along the shoreline.

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Yellowhead Wrasse

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Another our almost-daily octopus sighting

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Porcupiefish, aware of our presence and doing its best to hurry past us

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Around the point on the left side, I spotted a large Green Moray hiding under a large rock in the deeper water. I saw his head when he popped out very briefly, and guessing from the size of it, he must've been a 5 or 6 footer. I patiently waited for him to pop his head out again but, disappointingly, he remained hidden and gave me no photo opportunities. Just as I gave up on and turned away from him, I noticed that a Nurse Shark had just swum past me. I wished I had given up on the Moray 5 seconds earlier. I always wonder what is passing by when I'm focusing on one creature. I've seen a shark or large Tarpons swimming by my husband and he had no idea because he was looking at something else. I'm sure things like that happen to me, too. It's not like they appear with some entrance music to let us know. We miss most of what is there underwater and only see what we happen to come across and are capable of seeing. I wish I had two pairs of eyes that function separately... and the second pair would only appear when I snorkel (and not necessarily on my head).

Caribbean Reef Squid

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I don't know if this was the same shark that I saw on the left side. This guy was roaming on the right side past the point.

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You can tell it was "he" (from one of his claspers seen here).

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We stopped by at Shipwreck Landing for a late lunch. I wasn't really hungry so had a few conch fritters while my husband had the Mahi Sandwich.

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Stayed in at Summerwind for the rest of the day, just relaxing…

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----- Salt Pond Day -----

We used to hike past Salt Pond and over to Blue Cobblestone for some great snorkeling but haven't done that in a while. We hadn't even been to Salt Pond in a few years, so we decided it would be our destination for the day.

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We didn't hike to Blue Cobblestone. We were hoping we could swim over from Salt Pond. We started snorkeling along the left shoreline and went around the point to proceed. The water got quite choppy past the point and we ended up turning around about half way to Blue Cobblestone. When we got back to the bay, we didn't even attempt to swim over to the rock that is sticking out in the middle of the bay. We could see the waves making big splashes around the rock. We snorkeled over the center of the bay (not much to see) back to the shore.

Baby Peacock Flounder

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Green Turtle, breathing in some air

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Wrasses around Fire Coral

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Underwater between Salt Pond and Blue Cobblestone

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Caribbean Reef Squid in the shallow water

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Wading…

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The hot and tiring hike back to the parking lot was not as bad as we had remembered. With that said, we felt like we did some extra exercise on top of the snorkeling and just wanted to return to Summerwind and relax - involving the pool, hot tub and rum. We rested for the rest of the day.


----- Waterlemon Day (again) -----

We drove to the East End and visited Sloop Jones in the morning. It's always nice to see him. Yes... "the gate is to keep the goats out and let yew in!"

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He showed me around his orchids. He has many different beautiful kinds all around.

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I bought a purple sleeveless top. I really like it.

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Vie's was closed but there seemed to be a new place that you can enter for a fee at Hansen Bay. I don't know the details so hope someone can chime in about the spot. I've heard that it's dog friendly. We didn't try because we had decided it would be another Waterlemon day. Instead of swimming over to the cay, we wanted to snorkel from the sandy beach, go around and past the point and continue along the shoreline. We had never done that before. We snorkeled as we planned and, when we returned to the bay, we swam across the deep water to the other side and snorkeled along the shoreline. It was overcast in the morning but got somewhat sunny in the afternoon. That snorkel turned out to be the longest on this trip.

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Nassau Grouper

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A couple of octopuses - one with a Threespot Damselfish

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Underwater, past the point - It was not as dramatic as the cay but was nice to swim around.

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Juvenile Highhat, munching

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Adult Highhat

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Flamingo Tongues

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Orange Spotted Filefish

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Large Barracuda with Remora attached

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Scrawled Cowfish

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A little shrimp made an appearance when we finished snorkeling.

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We picked up our dinner at Oasis in Coral Bay and stayed in at Summerwind once again. Their food was tasty as always.


----- Francis Day (again) -----

Leslie (EagleRayLover) joined us at the beach for this snorkel. We did the right side towards Mary Point again.

Lettuce Sea Slug

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Juvenile French Angelfish

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Gray Angelfish

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Banded-Arm Brittle Star

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Caribbean Reef Squid

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Orangeclaw Hermit

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The highlight of the snorkel was a Common Octopus that was out and about for a good 7 minutes or so.

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It was fun to observe this guy. It probably wasn't fun for him because three humans were watching his every move. I don't know what he was thinking but he appeared to be bolder than most other octopuses that I’ve seen and was in no hurry to hide from us.

Leslie and we parted after snorkeling. We tried to hang out at our favorite beach but, once again, pesky no-see-ums were nibbling on us. We regrettably said goodbye to Francis and returned to Bordeaux Mountain.

That evening we had a reservation at ZoZo's - the second of our three dinner-outs on this trip. Our anniversary is in June. Although it wasn't quite the day yet, we celebrated our 22nd that evening with great food.

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----- Maho Day (again) -----

We went full circle... and were at Maho on our last full day. The visit felt different, of course, from the one that we made on our first full day on St. John. You can imagine why.

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We decided to stay on the left side, which was rather an easy decision. Ever since the parking lot was built on the right side, that side gets more crowded. As I've mentioned, I really like finding elusive little creatures in the Maho water. Every snorkel is different even in the same spot and I was looking forward to what I might come across that day.

Rough Fireclam

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Spotted 5 octopuses, all well hidden like this one

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Christmas Tree Worms

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Hairy Blenny Duo - They won the most adorable award of the day!

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Hidden Anemone in Coral

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True Tulip

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We had turned around at the point and were snorkeling back to the shore. Although I was happy and satisfied, I couldn't deny a tiny bit of disappointment that we hadn't seen anything that stands out like the out-and-about octopus the day before. That was until this little guy appeared slithering through the shallow reef right in front of my eyes. I had seen Key Worm Eels (a species of Snake Eel) a few times before (all at Maho) but only very briefly. They are shy and elusive. Fortunately, this little guy decided to stay out and entertain us for several minutes.

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The appearance of that cute slithering guy felt almost scripted. It was a perfect, amusing end to our snorkels on this trip.

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We had our last dinner on island with Leslie and Steve (augie) at Extra Virgin Bistro. It was also a nice fitting end to our vacation on St. John.

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----- Departure Day -----

Our last morning at Summerwind

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Not much to say about this day. You all can imagine pretty much how it goes. Say goodbye to the villa, drop off the jeep, drag luggage to the ferry dock and sit around until the ferry departs. Look at the Cruz Bay waterfront for the last time (until next time) through ferry's window as it pulls out of the dock... and sigh. Happy sad.

This vacation was taken with my mother’s blessing. She knows St. John is our happy place and wanted us to go even if that meant we would most likely not be able to visit her in Japan this year. One night I made a call to her while I was sitting on the deck at Summerwind. She answered the phone and said, "The connection isn't good… Can't hear you well because of the noise." "Oh... that’s frogs, mom, and insects". She laughed... and laughed again. The thing is that when I call her from home in NYC she often tells me "I hear sirens again... Every time you call I hear sirens" (it's true, when I am on the phone with my mother an ambulance or some fire trucks almost always pass by our building). I can tell you that her voice was a pitch higher and happier with the call I made from St. John.

Well, I thank you, Mother. Thank you, St. John, as always! And, thank you all for coming this far down the page, reading such a long report. It's finally THE END!

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Until next time…

Pickle

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PL3
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Re: Pic's Pics & Report: May & June 2016 - Vol.2

Post by PL3 »

Beautifully done!

Thank you.
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Pickle
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Re: Pic's Pics & Report: May & June 2016 - Vol.2

Post by Pickle »

I meant to include some videos in my report but forgot…

Common Octopus: https://youtu.be/B0PCATZHJzY

Key Worm Eel: https://youtu.be/MKauRRK2zJM

Spotted Moray: https://youtu.be/4c5uhOe2Ub8
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Diana2
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Re: Pic's Pics & Report: May & June 2016 - Vol.2

Post by Diana2 »

Wonderful, Pickle. I'd love to snorkel with you. You see the coolest things. You have a great eye for finding the smallest coolest stuff. Loved your report. Glad you enjoyed Summerwind and Sea Wing. They are great houses.
inuny
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Re: Pic's Pics & Report: May & June 2016 - Vol.2

Post by inuny »

Your pictures are beautiful. How did you learn the names of so many fish?

Thank you
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toni
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Re: Pic's Pics & Report: May & June 2016 - Vol.2

Post by toni »

Thank you, thank you, thank you! And happy anniversary :)
papabou
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Re: Pic's Pics & Report: May & June 2016 - Vol.2

Post by papabou »

p,

volume 2 does not disappoint. marvelous narrative and exceptional pictures. i thought i had a good eye for the hidden creatures, but your ability to spot what must have been every octopus on stj territorial waters is amazing. perhaps they were exposing their hidding places for the sake of a quick hello to an old friend.

thanks again for taking the time to post and share your talents with us.

papabou
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Suziekue
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Re: Pic's Pics & Report: May & June 2016 - Vol.2

Post by Suziekue »

Thank you for sharing, I'm in awe of your snorkels and knowledge of the things you see, I could identify the barracuda LOL! Your pictures and narration are awesome, makes me feel as though I was there despite the fact that I have months to wait still. 8)
Soarin' with the eagles all week long, and this is all that we've learned about living - VACATION!

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Ed S
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Re: Pic's Pics & Report: May & June 2016 - Vol.2

Post by Ed S »

OMG - thank you! Your report, pics and videos are simply amazing. To say reading this was the highlight of my day is an understatement. Francis is our favorite, and we have seen octopus many times, but never out and about and for so long! Also love the True Tulip (have seen one twice, both times at Francis). So many things you saw that we have never seen (i.e. the banded arm brittle star and key worm eel, let alone the little shrimp!). Thanks again - I would pay admission to this show :D
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SusanNJ
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Re: Pic's Pics & Report: May & June 2016 - Vol.2

Post by SusanNJ »

Great report! Love the underwater pictures! Thank you for taking the time to share your vacation with us!
star2515
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Re: Pic's Pics & Report: May & June 2016 - Vol.2

Post by star2515 »

Thanks again for another wonderful trip report........you could write 100 of these and I'd read every one. Your pics are always so good and love seeing all the underwater life through your lens.
Coconuts
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Re: Pic's Pics & Report: May & June 2016 - Vol.2

Post by Coconuts »

Pickle: Another astounding series of underwater photos; thanks! It seems as though I am snorkeling in the wrong ocean when I'm on island, but alas, I'm pretty sure that it is the same ocean, and that the deficit lies with this snorkeler.

All the best,

Kevin
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Robin in NC
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Re: Pic's Pics & Report: May & June 2016 - Vol.2

Post by Robin in NC »

Really enjoyed your wonderfully detailed trip report. Snorkeling then relaxing...that's the way to do St. John. I'm amazed by your knowledge of the creatures of the sea. I've snorkeled only a few times, and things have to be pretty big (or in my face) for me to even see them, much less to appreciate the vast diversity you chronicle. Glad you had such a good trip, and thanks for sharing your adventures with us!
msfcambridge
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Re: Pic's Pics & Report: May & June 2016 - Vol.2

Post by msfcambridge »

thank you! left on 6/11 after a week and miss it so much!
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Pickle
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Re: Pic's Pics & Report: May & June 2016 - Vol.2

Post by Pickle »

PL3 - thank you. :)

Diana2 wrote:Glad you enjoyed Summerwind and Sea Wing. They are great houses.
Seawing will be our "more affordable" option from now on. Summerwind is our favorite of the properties that we've stayed in that area. If we opt to stay up on Bordeaux, we will happily stay at Summerwind again.

inuny wrote:How did you learn the names of so many fish?
I've been learning little by little since we started visiting St. John. I look up what I saw and/or photographed in reference books for their names and compare the behaviors and habitats that are described in the books to my observations. Some names stick in mind instantly but others I have to look up multiple times to finally remember. The books I use are "Reef Fish, Reef Creature and Reef Coral identification (3 separate books) - Florida Caribbean Bahamas" by Paul Humann & Ned Deloach.
I also use this site: http://reefguide.org/carib/index_all.html
The site has been adding species so it is more extensive now than it used to be.


toni - I thank YOU!


papabou - your octopus comment made me smile. I appreciate your generous words.


Suziekue - months will pass and before you know it, you will be packing for St. John. I wish you a wonderful trip!

Ed S wrote:So many things you saw that we have never seen (i.e. the banded arm brittle star and key worm eel, let alone the little shrimp!).
You might see some arms of Banded-Arm Brittle Stars sticking out in the reefs. They are hidden so you have to peek in to see the whole creature. As for elusive Key Worm Eels, luck might need to be on your side... but you never ever know!


SusanNJ – thank you, Susan!

star2515 wrote:you could write 100 of these and I'd read every one.
I wish I could visit St. John 100 times. :lol: Thank you for your encouraging words on my report.


Coconuts - if I can find these creatures, you can too. :)

Robin in NC wrote:Snorkeling then relaxing...that's the way to do St. John.
Yes… not for everyone but certainly for us!

msfcambridge wrote:left on 6/11 after a week and miss it so much!
I share your sentiment. I am embracing happy memories...


Well, I ended up acknowledging everyone who commented here but didn't in Vol. 1. Please know that I very much appreciate every comment.

For those who will be vacationing on St. John soon or soon enough, have a great time. For those who have no trip on the horizon, hope you will be on island soon, sooner or eventually.
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