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Pic's Pics & Report - August 2016
Pic's Pics & Report - August 2016
We vacationed for two weeks on St. John this past May/June - for that we had pretty much given up on our annual visit to my home country, Japan, this year. We just spent one week on St. John in August - for that we completely gave up on my homecoming and our plan to replace my outdated Mac (Apple is relentless in updating their products, aren't they?). I have to thank the discounted villa and the airfare that had been high for a long time and suddenly miraculously dropped - without them this last minute trip back to the island would not have been possible.
Our home for the week was Magic View Villa in Chocolate Hole. To be frank, it's not our preferred location to stay on St. John. We like the Coral Bay side of the island and also love staying in the Francis Bay area. For this trip we chose to stay close to Cruz Bay for the convenience of eating out in town.
Magic View, managed by VIVA, is a pod-style villa with sweeping views of the Southwestern bays of St. John. We knew going in that everything was in its own pod - even the kitchen and the living room were in different buildings. We ended up not unlocking the living room most of our time there. We just stayed in the kitchen or outside until we went to sleep in the bedroom. During our stay we didn't have a working washing machine. The maintenance person came out quickly but it just could not be fixed. Things like that happen, especially when they have to order parts, so we were okay with it. With that said, a lesson learned - pack slightly more clothes than you think necessary. We had always taken more clothes than we ended up needing so decided to take the very minimum on this trip. We live in NYC and are used to going to a Laundromat, as well as hand washing - but there is something about hand washing on vacation. It kind of got old.
The photos of Magic View Villa: https://www.flickr.com/photos/80473236@ ... 0664200273
We rented a jeep from St. John Car Rental and were very happy with their service as always.
----- Arrival Day -----
No delay schedule-wise or luggage-wise. We arrived at the St. John ferry dock in the bright mid afternoon. The beginning of the vacation feels completely different than the end at the same ferry dock. Everything looks brighter and perkier.
Magic View Villa
I would've liked to have enjoyed parts of the sunset sitting on the deck (the house is facing the South so there was no direct sunset view at this time of year) but I was hungry as I am often when we arrive on St. John. Halfheartedly we started unpacking our bags but soon ended up at Rhumblines with obligatory colorful drinks.
After the meal we finished unpacking at the villa and, finally, relievedly sat on the deck. We could see part of St. Thomas twinkling in the distance. It didn't feel quite real that we were back on island - perhaps because we were in an area where it was unlikely for us to stay. St. John is pretty small and it's true for us that we enjoy the island no matter where we stay. It's also true that where we stay makes each vacation on the island different. We had a feeling that we might not stay in the area again and wanted to enjoy it while we could.
----- Maho Day -----
No surprise that we ended up at Maho on our first full day. We stayed and snorkeled the left side to the point but didn't go around to Cinnamon. We could not be happier snorkeling in the warm August water and that could be said throughout this trip.
The first of our almost daily octopus sightings
Another almost daily sighting - Scrawled Filefish. It seems like we used to find them less frequently.
Cleaning (?) Goby
Gray Angelfish
Banded Coral Shrimp
Hawksbill Turtle
We got some take-out from Sam & Jack's for dinner on the deck at Magic View. Although August is not as quiet as it used to be, we could tell quite a few houses in our view had no lights on. Later that night we could see a hazy band of faint light in the sky, as well as the constellation Scorpius. I used to look at Scorpius a lot in a summer when I was little. I was living in Japan then. It felt funny how far (literally) I had come.
----- Francis Day -----
This is still our favorite beach to this day - in spite of the frequent presence of no-see-ums. It's also one of our favorite snorkeling spots, especially along the right side towards Mary Point.
Juvenile Lemon Shark, roaming in the shallow water
Spotted Moray, actively hunting and stirring up the sediment for this photo-shoot
Some octopuses... all in their dens
This one was very young.
Tarpons were swimming right by and I noticed that barely in time for the photo. Focusing on finding elusive creatures among the reefs sometimes leads to missing creatures that are swimming right by. It has been my dilemma to balance those two.
Spotted Scorpionfish
Remora on Green Turtle
Green Turtle
Incoming Nurse Shark - She didn't seem to mind my presence and swam right below my belly. I could see how beautiful the skin was up close. I had an opportunity to take close-up shots of their skin on a later day at Waterlemon so you can see.
Yes... the mean no-see-ums were around to nibble on us after we got out of the water so we packed up and went to Aqua Bistro. The place was pretty empty. As we were quietly sipping drinks, my eyes caught an unexpected, familiar face walking in. It was Randy (Randy in MD on VIOL), the owner of Reef Madness Villa, where we had stayed four different times. We had been in touch virtually but had never met in person. When I waved to him I could tell he didn't know who I was at first, but quickly realized and spared me from explaining. It was a happy surprise to have bumped into him and his wife. Better thank those seemingly mean-to-us no-see-ums for pestering us towards Aqua Bistro.
We were full from our late lunch and only snacked with rum for dinner at the villa. Magic View's pool is small but good for dipping and cooling off. It was warm enough at night even for me to be able to enjoy. I think I was in the pool every night - and that is very rare.
----- Maho Day (again) -----
When we are feeling lazy and indecisive, Maho is the place where we end up most often. Having coffee with passing showers and looking at the double rainbows in the morning seemed to have made us somewhat docile.
Since we snorkeled the left side the other day, we tried the right side all the way to the edge of Francis Bay. We did not see as much sea life as we usually do there. We found the biggest Spotted Scorpionfish that we've ever seen, though.
It's hard to tell from this photo but this guy was about 15 inches long, fully grown, found near the point in the deeper water.
Bar Jacks
Banded Butterflyfish
Remora
Sergeant Majors
Spotted Trunkfish
Orangespotted Filefish
After hanging out on the beach at Maho we returned to the villa and cleaned up for dinner at Extra Virgin Bistro with friends, Leslie (EagleRayLover), Steve (augie), Randy (Randy in MD), his wife and their friend. We arranged this get-together on short notice but were able to reserve a table for 6 p.m. on the day of. Extra Virgin Bistro was booming even in August and was packed by the time we left. It was a fun evening and I completely forgot to take any photos.
----- Waterlemon Day -----
I wanted to go to Waterlemon at least once during this trip. We had the best time snorkeling not only around the cay but also around the sandy beach on our past trip. Hiking on the trail in the morning was nice, unlike on the way back in the middle of the afternoon after a long snorkel. Just like our past trip we were the only ones on the beach when we got there. As I've expressed this in the past, I very much appreciate our alone time on the beach even if it lasts just for a little while.
We began snorkeling from the sandy beach to and around the cay and snorkeled back to the beach, which took us about 3-and-a-half hours. Not surprisingly, this snorkel turned out to be the best on this trip.
Gray Snapper
A young Nurse Shark was swimming and resting around the right side fairly close to the beach.
Their skin, up close. Kind of like sprinkled with pepper.
Porcupinefish
Nassau Grouper
Corkscrew Anemone - I often find Spotted or Pederson Cleaner Shrimp among/around anemones like Corkscrew, Giant, Knobby, etc. The Cleaner Shrimps are tiny (about 1 inch long max.) and glassy so are easily missed. I usually need to carefully look into those anemones to find them. Even when I think I don't see any, I take photos of anemones only to discover later that my camera captured parts of a Cleaner Shrimp in the photos - one of my "Oh, you WERE there" moments.
Right near the anemone I did find a couple of Spotted Cleaner Shrimp, one glassier than the other.
Incoming large Barracuda, accompanied by baby Bar Jacks
Caribbean Spiny Lobster and Yellowline Arrow Crab Duo - They stayed together and the crab was even on top of the lobster at times.
Green Moray, trying to intimidate me
On the backside of the cay, I came across my first Basket Star on our last trip and wanted to see it again. I did not remember the exact spot but ended up finding a few of them in the area. It usually goes like that - once you see one for the first time, you start seeing them more. Basket Stars are fascinating to me. Wouldn't you like to see them spreading their arms to feed at night? I would... but for now, I settle with seeing them coiled up like this during the day.
Tube Blennies - I find their tiny heads (one-fourth-of-an-inch wide or smaller) sticking out of tiny holes in sponges, corals and rocks in the reefs. I chuckle every time I see them.
Spotted Moray
I wanted to explore more but, even in the warm August water, I was starting to get cold so sadly had to call it quits. We will return to this spot for sure on our next trip!
Our favorite high-end restaurant on St. John is ZoZo's. We had another excellent dinner there that evening.
----- Great Lameshur Day -----
The day started with stopping by at Reef Madness in Coral Bay in the morning. We appreciate Randy's invitation to one of our favorite villas on St. John. This visit brought back a lot of happy memories. Adding to that, it was a pleasant surprise for Steve (augie) to drop by with his beloved companion.
After saying "see you next time" to our friends, we headed out to Great Lameshur. This spot is always nearly deserted in off-season. We snorkeled the left side all the way to Tektite.
Caribbean Reef Squid
Caribbean Spiny Lobsters, trying to shoo my camera away with their antennae
Among the lobsters, a little crab crawled out to peek at what was going on and then quickly hid again.
Nimble Spray Crab - They usually retreat when I approach them but this guy stayed still like he was in Zen mode.
Bar Jacks
Orange Cup Corals and some kind of Gorgonians with white polyps
They created a pretty underwater garden near Donkey Bight
Today's octopus sighting
Glasseye Snapper, a fully grown one-footer - Although their name says Snapper, they are in the family of Bigeyes - as you can see.
After the long snorkel we stopped at Miss Lucy's for late lunch/early dinner (my husband loves their Grouper Reuben). As we were looking at the view from the table, we sort of brought up the subject of "the last full day", which would be the following day. We both acknowledged and said "Yeah..." and didn't say much else. I guess there was nothing really to say. It's a familiar happy-sad feeling that we had experienced many (fortunately) times before.
----- Francis Day (again) -----
I knew we would be back here. We toyed around with the idea of going somewhere we hadn't been on this trip - but not for long.
I love Francis in the early morning when my feet are almost the first ones making prints in the sand. Donkeys and/or deer sometimes beat me to it. We were walking towards the right side of the bay when a juvenile Lemon Shark leisurely swam past us along the shore. I tried to keep up... unsuccessfully. The cooler that I was carrying was slowing me down.
We snorkeled the right side towards Mary Point again.
Banded Brittlestar with a cameo Damselfish
Today's octopuses...
Hairy Blenny
Camouflaged creatures on sandy bottoms: Sand Diver, Blue Crab and Peacock Flounder
Unfortunately, this Spotted Seahare had expired.
Lettuce Sea Slug
Paved Clinging Crab (?) - I might not have seen it if not for those claws. I've found crabs like this with bristles clinging to corals, sponges or rocks in the reefs, but only very occasionally. Unlike more colorful crabs, these guys are harder to spot.
Orangeclaw Hermit
White Speckled Hermit
French Angel Duo
Checkered Puffer - I have a soft spot for them and adore the way they move and behave (not completely shy but cutely timid), not to mention those bright green eyes inside those orange rings. They blend in well in shallow water environments except for those striking eyes.
Our tiny pals were around to nibble on us again on the beach so we stayed in the water. We watched a young Nurse Shark passing by as we waded. We didn't want this afternoon to end but, eventually and inevitably, we said good-bye to Francis.
We had never been to The Longboard so wanted to try it on this trip. I hardly ever drink anything remotely creamy because my stomach doesn't take it well but I really liked their frozen painkiller. Against my better judgment, I ordered a second round. Later my taste buds were happy but not my stomach, of course. My husband had one of their sushi rolls. He said it tasted fine but it was mostly rice with little bits of stuff inside and didn't look particularly appealing to me (remember, I am Japanese and can be a harsh critic). My quinoa bowl with shrimp was tasty and I would happily have that again.
We returned to the villa and packed our bags as much as we could. The night ended with a little dip in the pool.
----- Departure Day -----
Yes...
for us visitors, this day will always come. As we sat around the gate at the STT airport, we saw people getting off the plane - the plane that we would be getting on to fly home. It was (has always been) slightly depressing to look at those just-arrived vacationers from where we were (you might know the feeling)... but that's the nature of vacations. I've been back to our everyday life and am looking forward to getting off that plane on STT again in the future.
We've noticed in our past few trips to the island in August that there is no real off-season any more and St. John is as popular as ever. I don't know that for a fact but it sure looks that way to our eyes. I get mixed feelings about that as some of you might, too. One thing that I know, St. John still remains our happy place.
(Reflection of my camera, the Canon S110 with its underwater housing, on shiny Sea Perl)
Thank you for coming along this far down the post. May you all have wonderful vacations on the island soon, soon enough or eventually!
Pickle
Our home for the week was Magic View Villa in Chocolate Hole. To be frank, it's not our preferred location to stay on St. John. We like the Coral Bay side of the island and also love staying in the Francis Bay area. For this trip we chose to stay close to Cruz Bay for the convenience of eating out in town.
Magic View, managed by VIVA, is a pod-style villa with sweeping views of the Southwestern bays of St. John. We knew going in that everything was in its own pod - even the kitchen and the living room were in different buildings. We ended up not unlocking the living room most of our time there. We just stayed in the kitchen or outside until we went to sleep in the bedroom. During our stay we didn't have a working washing machine. The maintenance person came out quickly but it just could not be fixed. Things like that happen, especially when they have to order parts, so we were okay with it. With that said, a lesson learned - pack slightly more clothes than you think necessary. We had always taken more clothes than we ended up needing so decided to take the very minimum on this trip. We live in NYC and are used to going to a Laundromat, as well as hand washing - but there is something about hand washing on vacation. It kind of got old.
The photos of Magic View Villa: https://www.flickr.com/photos/80473236@ ... 0664200273
We rented a jeep from St. John Car Rental and were very happy with their service as always.
----- Arrival Day -----
No delay schedule-wise or luggage-wise. We arrived at the St. John ferry dock in the bright mid afternoon. The beginning of the vacation feels completely different than the end at the same ferry dock. Everything looks brighter and perkier.
Magic View Villa
I would've liked to have enjoyed parts of the sunset sitting on the deck (the house is facing the South so there was no direct sunset view at this time of year) but I was hungry as I am often when we arrive on St. John. Halfheartedly we started unpacking our bags but soon ended up at Rhumblines with obligatory colorful drinks.
After the meal we finished unpacking at the villa and, finally, relievedly sat on the deck. We could see part of St. Thomas twinkling in the distance. It didn't feel quite real that we were back on island - perhaps because we were in an area where it was unlikely for us to stay. St. John is pretty small and it's true for us that we enjoy the island no matter where we stay. It's also true that where we stay makes each vacation on the island different. We had a feeling that we might not stay in the area again and wanted to enjoy it while we could.
----- Maho Day -----
No surprise that we ended up at Maho on our first full day. We stayed and snorkeled the left side to the point but didn't go around to Cinnamon. We could not be happier snorkeling in the warm August water and that could be said throughout this trip.
The first of our almost daily octopus sightings
Another almost daily sighting - Scrawled Filefish. It seems like we used to find them less frequently.
Cleaning (?) Goby
Gray Angelfish
Banded Coral Shrimp
Hawksbill Turtle
We got some take-out from Sam & Jack's for dinner on the deck at Magic View. Although August is not as quiet as it used to be, we could tell quite a few houses in our view had no lights on. Later that night we could see a hazy band of faint light in the sky, as well as the constellation Scorpius. I used to look at Scorpius a lot in a summer when I was little. I was living in Japan then. It felt funny how far (literally) I had come.
----- Francis Day -----
This is still our favorite beach to this day - in spite of the frequent presence of no-see-ums. It's also one of our favorite snorkeling spots, especially along the right side towards Mary Point.
Juvenile Lemon Shark, roaming in the shallow water
Spotted Moray, actively hunting and stirring up the sediment for this photo-shoot
Some octopuses... all in their dens
This one was very young.
Tarpons were swimming right by and I noticed that barely in time for the photo. Focusing on finding elusive creatures among the reefs sometimes leads to missing creatures that are swimming right by. It has been my dilemma to balance those two.
Spotted Scorpionfish
Remora on Green Turtle
Green Turtle
Incoming Nurse Shark - She didn't seem to mind my presence and swam right below my belly. I could see how beautiful the skin was up close. I had an opportunity to take close-up shots of their skin on a later day at Waterlemon so you can see.
Yes... the mean no-see-ums were around to nibble on us after we got out of the water so we packed up and went to Aqua Bistro. The place was pretty empty. As we were quietly sipping drinks, my eyes caught an unexpected, familiar face walking in. It was Randy (Randy in MD on VIOL), the owner of Reef Madness Villa, where we had stayed four different times. We had been in touch virtually but had never met in person. When I waved to him I could tell he didn't know who I was at first, but quickly realized and spared me from explaining. It was a happy surprise to have bumped into him and his wife. Better thank those seemingly mean-to-us no-see-ums for pestering us towards Aqua Bistro.
We were full from our late lunch and only snacked with rum for dinner at the villa. Magic View's pool is small but good for dipping and cooling off. It was warm enough at night even for me to be able to enjoy. I think I was in the pool every night - and that is very rare.
----- Maho Day (again) -----
When we are feeling lazy and indecisive, Maho is the place where we end up most often. Having coffee with passing showers and looking at the double rainbows in the morning seemed to have made us somewhat docile.
Since we snorkeled the left side the other day, we tried the right side all the way to the edge of Francis Bay. We did not see as much sea life as we usually do there. We found the biggest Spotted Scorpionfish that we've ever seen, though.
It's hard to tell from this photo but this guy was about 15 inches long, fully grown, found near the point in the deeper water.
Bar Jacks
Banded Butterflyfish
Remora
Sergeant Majors
Spotted Trunkfish
Orangespotted Filefish
After hanging out on the beach at Maho we returned to the villa and cleaned up for dinner at Extra Virgin Bistro with friends, Leslie (EagleRayLover), Steve (augie), Randy (Randy in MD), his wife and their friend. We arranged this get-together on short notice but were able to reserve a table for 6 p.m. on the day of. Extra Virgin Bistro was booming even in August and was packed by the time we left. It was a fun evening and I completely forgot to take any photos.
----- Waterlemon Day -----
I wanted to go to Waterlemon at least once during this trip. We had the best time snorkeling not only around the cay but also around the sandy beach on our past trip. Hiking on the trail in the morning was nice, unlike on the way back in the middle of the afternoon after a long snorkel. Just like our past trip we were the only ones on the beach when we got there. As I've expressed this in the past, I very much appreciate our alone time on the beach even if it lasts just for a little while.
We began snorkeling from the sandy beach to and around the cay and snorkeled back to the beach, which took us about 3-and-a-half hours. Not surprisingly, this snorkel turned out to be the best on this trip.
Gray Snapper
A young Nurse Shark was swimming and resting around the right side fairly close to the beach.
Their skin, up close. Kind of like sprinkled with pepper.
Porcupinefish
Nassau Grouper
Corkscrew Anemone - I often find Spotted or Pederson Cleaner Shrimp among/around anemones like Corkscrew, Giant, Knobby, etc. The Cleaner Shrimps are tiny (about 1 inch long max.) and glassy so are easily missed. I usually need to carefully look into those anemones to find them. Even when I think I don't see any, I take photos of anemones only to discover later that my camera captured parts of a Cleaner Shrimp in the photos - one of my "Oh, you WERE there" moments.
Right near the anemone I did find a couple of Spotted Cleaner Shrimp, one glassier than the other.
Incoming large Barracuda, accompanied by baby Bar Jacks
Caribbean Spiny Lobster and Yellowline Arrow Crab Duo - They stayed together and the crab was even on top of the lobster at times.
Green Moray, trying to intimidate me
On the backside of the cay, I came across my first Basket Star on our last trip and wanted to see it again. I did not remember the exact spot but ended up finding a few of them in the area. It usually goes like that - once you see one for the first time, you start seeing them more. Basket Stars are fascinating to me. Wouldn't you like to see them spreading their arms to feed at night? I would... but for now, I settle with seeing them coiled up like this during the day.
Tube Blennies - I find their tiny heads (one-fourth-of-an-inch wide or smaller) sticking out of tiny holes in sponges, corals and rocks in the reefs. I chuckle every time I see them.
Spotted Moray
I wanted to explore more but, even in the warm August water, I was starting to get cold so sadly had to call it quits. We will return to this spot for sure on our next trip!
Our favorite high-end restaurant on St. John is ZoZo's. We had another excellent dinner there that evening.
----- Great Lameshur Day -----
The day started with stopping by at Reef Madness in Coral Bay in the morning. We appreciate Randy's invitation to one of our favorite villas on St. John. This visit brought back a lot of happy memories. Adding to that, it was a pleasant surprise for Steve (augie) to drop by with his beloved companion.
After saying "see you next time" to our friends, we headed out to Great Lameshur. This spot is always nearly deserted in off-season. We snorkeled the left side all the way to Tektite.
Caribbean Reef Squid
Caribbean Spiny Lobsters, trying to shoo my camera away with their antennae
Among the lobsters, a little crab crawled out to peek at what was going on and then quickly hid again.
Nimble Spray Crab - They usually retreat when I approach them but this guy stayed still like he was in Zen mode.
Bar Jacks
Orange Cup Corals and some kind of Gorgonians with white polyps
They created a pretty underwater garden near Donkey Bight
Today's octopus sighting
Glasseye Snapper, a fully grown one-footer - Although their name says Snapper, they are in the family of Bigeyes - as you can see.
After the long snorkel we stopped at Miss Lucy's for late lunch/early dinner (my husband loves their Grouper Reuben). As we were looking at the view from the table, we sort of brought up the subject of "the last full day", which would be the following day. We both acknowledged and said "Yeah..." and didn't say much else. I guess there was nothing really to say. It's a familiar happy-sad feeling that we had experienced many (fortunately) times before.
----- Francis Day (again) -----
I knew we would be back here. We toyed around with the idea of going somewhere we hadn't been on this trip - but not for long.
I love Francis in the early morning when my feet are almost the first ones making prints in the sand. Donkeys and/or deer sometimes beat me to it. We were walking towards the right side of the bay when a juvenile Lemon Shark leisurely swam past us along the shore. I tried to keep up... unsuccessfully. The cooler that I was carrying was slowing me down.
We snorkeled the right side towards Mary Point again.
Banded Brittlestar with a cameo Damselfish
Today's octopuses...
Hairy Blenny
Camouflaged creatures on sandy bottoms: Sand Diver, Blue Crab and Peacock Flounder
Unfortunately, this Spotted Seahare had expired.
Lettuce Sea Slug
Paved Clinging Crab (?) - I might not have seen it if not for those claws. I've found crabs like this with bristles clinging to corals, sponges or rocks in the reefs, but only very occasionally. Unlike more colorful crabs, these guys are harder to spot.
Orangeclaw Hermit
White Speckled Hermit
French Angel Duo
Checkered Puffer - I have a soft spot for them and adore the way they move and behave (not completely shy but cutely timid), not to mention those bright green eyes inside those orange rings. They blend in well in shallow water environments except for those striking eyes.
Our tiny pals were around to nibble on us again on the beach so we stayed in the water. We watched a young Nurse Shark passing by as we waded. We didn't want this afternoon to end but, eventually and inevitably, we said good-bye to Francis.
We had never been to The Longboard so wanted to try it on this trip. I hardly ever drink anything remotely creamy because my stomach doesn't take it well but I really liked their frozen painkiller. Against my better judgment, I ordered a second round. Later my taste buds were happy but not my stomach, of course. My husband had one of their sushi rolls. He said it tasted fine but it was mostly rice with little bits of stuff inside and didn't look particularly appealing to me (remember, I am Japanese and can be a harsh critic). My quinoa bowl with shrimp was tasty and I would happily have that again.
We returned to the villa and packed our bags as much as we could. The night ended with a little dip in the pool.
----- Departure Day -----
Yes...
for us visitors, this day will always come. As we sat around the gate at the STT airport, we saw people getting off the plane - the plane that we would be getting on to fly home. It was (has always been) slightly depressing to look at those just-arrived vacationers from where we were (you might know the feeling)... but that's the nature of vacations. I've been back to our everyday life and am looking forward to getting off that plane on STT again in the future.We've noticed in our past few trips to the island in August that there is no real off-season any more and St. John is as popular as ever. I don't know that for a fact but it sure looks that way to our eyes. I get mixed feelings about that as some of you might, too. One thing that I know, St. John still remains our happy place.
(Reflection of my camera, the Canon S110 with its underwater housing, on shiny Sea Perl)
Thank you for coming along this far down the post. May you all have wonderful vacations on the island soon, soon enough or eventually!
Pickle
Re: Pic's Pics & Report - August 2016
Enjoyed your trip report and especially the pictures! Thank you!
Re: Pic's Pics & Report - August 2016
Pic's Pics and TR are my Pick for Best on the Forum! TY for sharing!
Bigcheeze/Dave
Bigcheeze/Dave
-
Wanda Creech
- Posts: 345
- Joined: Sun Nov 04, 2007 7:47 pm
- Location: Raleigh,NC
Re: Pic's Pics & Report - August 2016
Simply Beautiful. You have an eye for finding and taking great pics. Thanks for sharing.
Beach Creecher
Re: Pic's Pics & Report - August 2016
Thanks so much for sharing your adventures it was a nice break from my work day. Looking forward to our trip in November.
Soarin' with the eagles all week long, and this is all that we've learned about living - VACATION!
Re: Pic's Pics & Report - August 2016
Thank you for sharing!
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ArkieLovesSTJ
- Posts: 111
- Joined: Fri Jul 19, 2013 2:34 pm
- Location: Conway, AR
Re: Pic's Pics & Report - August 2016
Really enjoyed your trip report! It is almost like a identification guide, but with better pictures than any identification guide I have ever seen.
Re: Pic's Pics & Report - August 2016
Thanks for yet another awesome trip report! All of your pictures are simply amazing!!! Funny, the only place we have ever seen True Tulips are in Francis Bay on our way out towards Mary Point (and only on a couple of occasions)..... nice pic next to the octopus (a.k.a. lunch!).
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Re: Pic's Pics & Report - August 2016
Awesome - thanks so much for sharing! Makes me want to take better photos 
Anthony for Virgin Islands On Line
Re: Pic's Pics & Report - August 2016
No comment on the villa?
Re: Pic's Pics & Report - August 2016
Looks like another very successful snorkeling adventure! As always your pictures are fantastic. Thanks so much for sharing. 
It's like looking in your soup and finding a whole different alphabet.
Re: Pic's Pics & Report - August 2016
Wow! You are an awesome photographer! Thanks for posting.
Trip report 2009
http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... highlight=
Trip report 2008
So good, so good, so good!
http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... highlight=
http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... highlight=
Trip report 2008
So good, so good, so good!
http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... highlight=
Re: Pic's Pics & Report - August 2016
I've come across more octopuses munching on True Tulips in Francis than anywhere else.Ed S wrote:Funny, the only place we have ever seen True Tulips are in Francis Bay on our way out towards Mary Point (and only on a couple of occasions)..... nice pic next to the octopus (a.k.a. lunch!).
Maho is a distant second.It took us a few days to get used to that pod style. We knew the exact design of the house going in and had imagined it would be fine - but during our stay we realized we missed having a "kitchen in the living room" design more than we had thought, especially when it rained. It is a true pod style villa and requires more locking & unlocking than we were used to.HughA wrote:No comment on the villa?
The kitchen is the only pod that had no a/c. It sits a little higher than the living room so received direct sun in the afternoon, which made it pretty hot inside (felt better at night, of course).
The master bedroom and the bed itself were very comfortable. The a/c cooled the room quickly and worked well. The house had Wifi throughout, except for the master bedroom, apparently. Also, depending on where I put my cell phone (AT&T), sometimes there was no signal in that room.
The railings on the deck are placed low so we had great views from inside and outside. The deck is the best part of this villa, in our opinion, and we spent a lot of time out there.
Overall, we did enjoy our stay at Magic View even though it doesn't quite make our list of favorites. The reason for that is also the location - we felt that Upper Chocolate Hole wasn't really for us. The views are very nice but not the best that we've had - but that is our "subjective" opinion. It's more densely populated and we could hear more music and voices than in other areas where we've stayed, except in Cruz Bay. We kind of knew all that when picking the location in order to stay near Cruz Bay so we were fine with it.
Our favorite villas are all on the Coral Bay side and around Francis - that probably tells you about us.
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It took much longer than usual to finish writing this trip report for some reason (I had given up, actually), so I really appreciate you all for your comments. Thank you for taking time to post them!
