Thu 3 Jan - My favorite photos are available at St. John Vacation. I also salvaged a few Underwater Shots from the disposable cameras.

Tue 1 Jan - Happy new year! Today was almost a repeat of yesterday. I saw three more Southern Stingrays out at Mary's Point today. Two of them were small, but the other was maybe the largest I've seen so far. They look so cool when they fly through the water.

Mon 31 Dec - So I snorkeled to and from Mary's Point today (the northern-most point of St. John) and learned three things:

1. Swimming to and from Mary's Point is a lot of work. I knew there was a good reason for using a kayak the other day. It took two and a half hours just to snorkel back from Mary's Point. Going out is easy... you just swim with the current and it only takes like an hour. Coming back... not so much. This was so stupid that I have to try again tomorrow. I know I can beat two and half hours on the return trip.

2. Swimming against the current takes two and half times as much effort as swimming with the current (see point one).

3. If you want to see really good underwater stuff then just forget to bring your camera like I did. The weather was perfect - the sunniest day so far. The air was warm, the water was warm and the visibility was good. That would seem like the best time to bring an underwater camera, right? But it must be some kind of Murphy's Law that if you forget the camera then you get to see all the neat stuff. I saw another Hawksbill Turtle, a huge Southern Stingray, a giant school of Bar Jack (hundreds and hundreds of them), a Trumpetfish and a Queen Angelfish. All beautiful and all, I gather, camera-shy because it worked like a charm.

I hope the weather is as good tomorrow so I can do this one more time!

Sun 30 Dec - It rained all night and into the morning, so I decided to do a hike today instead of snorkeling. Waterlemon Bay is about 2 miles from camp, so today seemed like the perfect time to go. There are so many beautiful colors in the water at Waterlemon, but none of the photos even come close to doing them justice.


As usual, all hikes start here....


And then down the main road out of camp. I will skip straight
to Waterlemon Bay without any intervening photos this time...


The colors in these photos are nice...


But not even close to what you see in person...






The rare eggplant rock.












I'm glad they thought about fires too... but they should have
added RAISINS to the list to make it truly infallible.


I think this rock looks like a turtle's head... do you see it?


The path over to the calmer side of the bay (less windy).










Always wear a hat - you never know what might fall!


Voodoo?




Look, a cactus... RUN!


Beautiful colors... wish the photo matched what I saw...






Always room on the camera card for flowers like these...

Sat 29 Dec - Today's weather was a repeat of yesterday, so I rented a kayak for the day and paddled out to Mary's Point (the northern-most point of St. John) to continue snorkeling in the same location we were at yesterday during the snorkel sail aboard The Pepper.

The weather was absolutely beautiful but the water at Mary's Point seemed especially cold today. Even with a wetsuit, I could only stay in the water for an hour (and it didn't even rain last night). Very strange. But it was quality time because I saw yet another species of sea turtle; this time a Hawksbill Turtle. The Hawksbill is rare and highly endangered (as are most sea turtles). I was able to follow him around for about 5 minutes, but he eventually swam out to deeper water and I couldn't keep up. What a beautiful turtle though. I also saw a Flounder, which must be the strangest fish ever.

(afternoon) - I'm taking a break from all the activities to just have a lazy afternoon. I might go down to the beach, or I might not, or I might just sit here and enjoy the view.


It's rough watching this view everyday.

Fri 28 Dec - Today the weather did a complete reversal. It started out cold and windy but quickly turned sunny, warm and mostly cloud free. This is finally how December is supposed to be here. I hope the rain is gone and this pattern continues for the next five days.

I went out again on The Pepper for another great sail and snorkel. Today we went to Mary's Point which is the northern-most part of St. John. I brought only an underwater camera this time, so I don't have any pictures to post right now. I saw another Southern Stingray today. This is a very good location for snorkeling, with lots of deep crevices, rocks and Elk Horn Coral (so named because they actually look like Elk Horns).

I also discovered what that giant "mystery fish" is. A few days ago, I saw a very large fish that looked something like a Barracuda, but it was much too big to be one of those. Well, today I saw 12 of them swimming together in a little school (each fish was 8 to 10 feet long). They were Tarpon. They're big, tubular, silvery and 10 feet long is pretty common. Now I know what I saw the other day!

(evening) - The sky is exceptionally clear tonight - a welcome change from the past 4 nights. The stars are clearer and brighter than I've seen in a long, long time, so I'm going down to the beach, away from the lights, to take a look...

(later) - Just got back from the beach. The stars look amazing tonight! (Useless information follows. On the way back, I got curious about all the stairs at this place... there are 273 stair steps from the beach to my room - I counted.)

Thu 27 Dec - The weather has been going downhill since Christmas. I didn't attempt any snorkeling today because it rained so hard last night and today until noon. Worse than the rain are these huge puffy white clouds. When they block the sun, it's usually a 30 minute wait, then you get about 5 minutes of sunshine before the next cloud comes along. It's like 10 minutes of sunshine an hour (ok, so I'm getting real finicky).

So today I tried a hike to the ruins at Annaberg Sugar Plantation - a long abandoned, slave-based Danish plantation that was active in the 1800's. I wanted to get more shots of the ruins, but the rain started again soon after I got to the top of the plantation. I figured I would get caught in the rain on the way home, so I packed a ziplock bag large enough to protect the camera. Good thing too, because it turned into a total downpour on the way back. The camera stayed dry but I didn't!


Here's the main road leading away from Maho Bay.


Nice sights along the way...




The road continues...


Warning...


Dangerous trees...


And I think these walk!


A nice side path... where does it go?




















Further down the road is the Annaberg ruins.


Look, more steps... just what I hoped for.


Top in sight?


Nice flowers... and there is some blue sky - occasionally.














Start of the ruins... slave quarters in this area.


















Formerly a windmill.


Amazing view!


More of the ruins. I had to leave quickly at this point because
the rain was approaching. The storm overtook me about 10
minutes later on the road. It's raining again as I type this.

Wed 26 Dec (evening) - To make best use of your towel in the shower, you must actually bring the towel with you. It's not enough to realize you need the towel at the end of the shower. Remember this and no one gets hurt.

Wed 26 Dec (morning) - It's raining like crombies this morning. The locals say that morning rain always means a beautiful afternoon, but it looks like a good laundry day to me. If the weather improves, I'll go out to look for sea turtles this afternoon.

(afternoon) - The weather did improve and it means triple jackpot for me! My patience at Francis Bay has finally paid off. I saw two different kinds of sea turtles, a Southern Stingray and a giant monster fish that I know nothing about. Oh yeah... I saw two more Barracuda (yawn) which brings the total Barracuda count up to like 18 or something. I've lost track.


Francis Bay

I was about to give up for the day. The sun was out more today than yesterday, but the winds were strong, and the rain that ended a few hours ago made for poor visibility. I was actually complaining to myself, thinking, "That's it - I'm outahere..." when this large Green Turtle swam out from behind a large coral like 8 feet in front of me. He surprised me so much that I accidentally sucked in a mouthful of water and fogged up my mask. I thought, "Wait... that's the thing I'm looking for!" I didn't even think the word "turtle" for a moment or two. He was big, about 3 or 4 feet long, and swam effortlessly with beautiful, artistic, slow motion strokes.

I cleared my mask quickly because I didn't want to lose sight of him. When I looked back into the water, he was still nearby and not really in a hurry. He actually let me follow him for maybe 5 to 10 minutes (he even took a little break and rested on the bottom for a while). I could see he was getting annoyed with me though, especially when he tried to surface for a breath of air, because I think I got too close. He simply made a quick little dash and headed for open water. I had no chance of following him. His swimming was so graceful and beautiful though, like a dancer. Then I realized I used up all the remaining film in the camera taking pictures of him (but I got so excited I couldn't stop). I hope a few of the shots turn out good.

So I'm snorkeling back to Maho Bay and not even too bothered that I didn't have any film left. I accomplished my sea turtle quest, after all, and what else could I see that I haven't seen in the last few days? Well, it wasn't even 15 minutes later that I see this Southern Stingray sitting all by itself on the white sandy bottom, in like 10 feet of water. As I got closer, I noticed it was trying to bury itself in the sand. Well, either the sand wasn't quite right or maybe I startled him, but he gave up that idea and just swam away, graceful as a bird taking off, but in that wonderful slow motion that seems to move them forward more than it should for how little effort they use. Just like the turtle, the Stingray headed for deep water too.

So I'm really happy at this point - what else might happen? Not 5 minutes later I see another turtle, but a different species entirely. This one was a Gray Turtle of about the same size as the Green Turtle. And he was sitting right on the bottom just like the Stingray. He didn't do much until I got right above him, although I was trying not to move at all. So I'm just watching quietly when he starts to swim to the surface to take a breath. He got about half way up then he saw me. Unlike the Green Turtle, he took off instantly like a bolt of lightning and was gone in seconds. The whole encounter might have lasted 30 seconds tops. I didn't know turtles could swim that fast.

The last thing I saw on the way back is a mystery. I asked around at the dive shop, but they didn't know either. They probably think I'm nuts, "There's a tourist seeing nonsense again..." It looked something like a Barracuda, but crazy big. It wasn't an eel. It wasn't a shark (although certain sharks can look un-shark-like). One guy said it might be a Tarpon. I don't know. But it was resting on the bottom in about six feet of water. As soon as it saw me, it took off in a silvery flash and was gone. When I get home, I need to look through a bunch of pictures until I find it. I think it was about 8 to 10 feet long and very tubular looking. What a day!

[ Now I know the mystery fish is indeed a Tarpon. It's big, silvery, tubular and 10 feet long is pretty common... and I later saw 12 of them swimming together in a little school at Mary's Point; the northern-most part of St. John. ]

Tue 25 Dec (morning) - Merry Christmas! I rented a wetsuit and bought a few disposable underwater cameras. I snorkeled from Maho Bay to Francis Bay this morning (Francis is adjacent to Maho). It took me about 45 minutes (I'm guessing) to snorkel over to the far side of Francis Bay. I stayed there for maybe an hour and a half, then I snorkeled back. I was on a mission to find a sea turtle, but no luck so far!


Maho Bay


Francis Bay

The sea grass, rocks and coral at Francis Bay are the best, at least the healthiest, I've seen so far. I found out that snorkeling and underwater photography at the same time is really difficult. You're moving this way and that all the time with the currents, the fish are almost always moving, it's tough to get a fix on distance because you're trying to hold the camera up to your mask - and then, just when you think you have everything framed up for a shot, the sun dips behind the clouds, or the fish moves, or the fish and sun cooperate, but the current hits you just as you snap the photo, so it's all blurry. Not easy at all. If I get a few good shots, it will be sheer luck. It gives me a lot of respect for people that do this well.

I'm taking a little break now. If it gets sunnier this afternoon, I'm going back to Francis Bay and look for sea turtles some more.

(afternoon) - I went back out again... still no sea turtles. I searched and searched for another 3 hours, but the closest thing I saw to a sea turtle was a clump of sea grass that looked like a turtle's head. I'm going on another snorkel sail this Friday... I'll ask if they can help find one.

A cool thing happened though. I was floating along in shallow water above some sea grass when something huge splashed right next to me. I thought maybe a big fish jumped or something. I put my head above the water and just to my left, looking right at me, about two feet away, was this Pelican with a fish in her mouth. She looked at me like, "What are you doing in my space?" and flew away. There wasn't enough time to just pull out the underwater camera and take an above water shot, because the lens will still have water all over it. The Pelican was long gone shortly after I looked up anyway, so it wouldn't have mattered. Still, a Pelican dived into the water right next to me! Good times... good times...

(evening) - You should have seen the amazing Christmas dinner they made here. And it wasn't just pretty good food, it was really great, all homemade. Roasted acorn squash soup (maybe the best thing on the menu), turkey, ham, beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, roasted sweet potatoes, peas, an orange cranberry sauce, salads, pumpkin pie, apple pie, pecan pie and truffle pie. I can't move now.

Mon 24 Dec - Today's a snorkel sail abort The Pepper (which was hand-built here on the island). Fred and Rene have sailed The Pepper year-round since 1998 and host daily snorkel and sunset tours of the island. Today we sailed out to Whistling Cay and hit some great snorkeling spots that most tourists never get to see. We were in 20 to 40 feet of water, so we had to dive down to get a close up view of anything. The water was beautifully clear, although there were some strong ocean swells and we had to be careful around the rocks.


Tip of Whistling Cay.

Although today was the best snorkeling by far, with the water depth providing a very different experience, my suspicions were sadly confirmed. Everywhere you look, the rocks, coral and sea floor are covered with pure white calcium. It was precisely the same in Trunk Bay, which is exactly the opposite of 10 years ago when I snorkeled there - there was none of this back then. Coral thrives between 75 and 85 degrees... any warmer and the coral (they're animals not plants) are ejected into the ocean which leaves behind a calcium shell. This is known as bleaching and has happened widespread in St. John in the last two years and worldwide over the last decade. To make matters worse in St. John, the weakened state of the coral overall has allowed a virus to thrive here - it attacks all species of coral, not just one, and nobody knows how to stop it.

*** rant starts ***

Coral health is an accurate temperature gauge. The temperature of the water around St. John averages above 85 degree now, which is enough to cause the bleaching. No one knows if the bleached areas are truly dead or if they can recover. An overall increase by 1 degree in ocean water temperature is huge and it's happening now. To those listening to Rush Limbaugh or similar, know that those idiots have certainly never seen what I have, or have any idea of what they're blabbering about - and they've probably never even been in the ocean, except maybe, to pollute it. The state of the coral alone proves beyond doubt that ocean temperatures are rising above and beyond the normal, expected variations in temperature. I've seen these changes firsthand between 10 years ago and today (so don't even get me started about polar ice conditions, I don't want to travel there).

*** rant ends ***

On a positive note, I tried using a wetsuit today for the first time and it was GREAT! I will rent one at the dive shop tomorrow because it lets you stay in the water much longer (and warm and comfortable). I never though of using one for snorkeling because I was always very close to shore, but today was closer to an open ocean experience, so it was perfect. I also figured it was for divers only, but I won't make that mistake again... I loved it!

I'm also going to pick up a few disposable underwater cameras. I'm not expecting really great results... but who knows, maybe I'll get lucky on a few shots and find some sea turtles! Anyway, here are some shots from the aboard The Pepper.


Leaving St. John and Maho Bay.


A close up of Whistling Cay. We were doing a lot of snorkeling
around the rocks at the point (on the leftmost part of the photo).


Whistling Cay again, with St. John in the background.


A different view of Whistling Cay (around the opposite side).


We were also around these rocks quite a bit...


Here's St. John again (from our point of view during snorkeling)


The sky was very pretty today.


Another closer shot of Whistling Cay.


Here's home (Maho Bay)... but look how different the water looks.
It just depends on the weather, time of day and where the sun is.

Sun 23 Dec - Today I went to Trunk Bay National Park. It's maintained by the Parks Service, so there's no development happening there. It's looks about as pristine as it can be, but the downside is the beach is very crowded because that's where everyone wants to go when they visit St. John.


Trunk Bay National Park

I was in the water today for about 3 hours. In the picture above, I was just beyond that rocky island (even islands have islands) in the smaller bay that you can only see a little bit of. I saw two more Barracuda (or the same one twice) along with lots and lots of Parrot Fish. There was a big cloud hanging over the island all day, so the snorkeling was either very sunny and very cloudy. It got pretty cold when the sun was hidden, but I stayed in the water anyway. When it's sunny, Trunk Bay looks pretty much exactly the same in person as it does in the picture above.

***

I had two special guests for dinner tonight. A gray cat and a black cat. With much practice, I'm sure, the black cat looks up and makes the saddest little noise while I'm eating. The gray just sits patiently and waits. How can I not feed them? Now that I started this, I will have dinner guests all week.

After I finished feeding the cats, it was sunset, and the cats left me... so I snapped some shots...

Sat 22 Dec (afternoon) - Francis Bay is one of the beaches adjacent to Maho Bay. It's only about a 1 mile hike... but it's pretty hilly in spots. Francis Bay is neat because it has Mangrove trees in an inland channel running adjacent to the ocean. The roots of the Mangrove trees press deep into the channel and serve as a natural sanctuary and nursery for many young fish species. They're actually vital to the whole ecosystem, but they're being wiped out worldwide by silt runoff caused by upland deforestation. They're very protected here though, so much that you can't even get very close to them. You can see the inland channel, though only from a distance, while walking along the Francis Bay Trail. (How did I do, Jeff Corwin?)


Here's the road leading away from Maho Bay.




It's actually a long road to walk before the trail even starts.




There's lots of nice sights along the way though...




I see a lot of these flowers here... don't know what they are.




Here's the start of the trail.


This trail was not, however, built by goats.




Here's the start of the Mangrove channel... looks like a nice mud bath.


Here's a better view of the inland channel...


You can sit and watch the channel, and the grass grow, from here.


The trail leads deeper into the forest...


The biggest hornet's nest I've ever seen... hope they're friendly.


I was actually pretty scared to walk under this, but it was abandoned.


Don't forget to look up occasionally.


Ok. Nuff said.


Look, it's the rare tri-leafidon grassinon (ok, I made that up).


Approaching trail's end. It's fun...


To walk...


From forest...


To Beach!










Pelican diving (just missed it)!


























And the trail leads back home...






Maho Bay, and showers, and dinner, is just beyond... what a nice afternoon!

Sat 22 Dec (morning) - I was in the water this morning at Maho Bay for about 3 or 4 hours - what a great Saturday morning! There's no way to describe the magic of snorkeling to someone that hasn't tried it.


Maho Bay

I been lucky enough to do some really, really good snorkeling in the past (Bonaire being the best experience by far), but St. John is pretty darn good too. My dive mask worked much better this time out. The guys in the dive shop here recommended that I gently clean the inside of the mask with toothpaste. New masks have this clear coat that protects against scratches during shipping, but it also makes the mask fog up like crazy. The toothpaste is abrasive enough to remove the clear coat, but not enough to damage the lenses. It worked - what a great tip!

But snorkeling is magical. You can be as ambitious or lazy as you want. All you really need to hang out in calm shallows, close to shore, is a mask and snorkel - it doesn't get much simpler than that. A lot of times, you can just float along with the current and take in the sights below. You need fins to do anything more, of course, unless you only plan to swim a very short distance. I haven't tried scuba diving yet. I'm sure that's a whole step beyond cool, but snorkeling is just so simple; that's the appeal of it anyway.

So I was snorkeling around the rocks at the side of the bay and there was this Pelican sitting on a single rock surrounded by water. I wondered how close I could get without scaring her away. The current was in my favor, so I just floated up to the rock, nice and easy. She just stayed there, pruning her feathers, didn't care that I was right there watching. Pelicans probably see one-horned butt fishes all the time (as snorkelers are affectionately nick-named) and remember that they don't taste very good.

So I'm waiting for the Pelican to dive in and catch a fish, hoping, as close as I was, that I could just watch the whole thing. She never did. Just stayed there on the rock, pruning. In the meantime, guess who swims right in front of me? I would have jumped back, had I been able, because they came out of nowhere. Two really big barracuda! They must have been like two feet in front of me. I must be a barracuda magnet, because that's at least 5 now that I've seen in two days. None of the other sightings were this close. I didn't know if I should be scared or not, but before I had a chance to figure it out... they were gone. I'm not sure what you do to threaten these fish, but I'd rather not do it. Instead, I just give them plenty of respect and hope they understand. What a great morning!

Fri 21 Dec - It's quite a trek from my room to the beach... you'll see.


Here's my mirror (Rene wanted all the details, so here goes... Rene, I didn't get any shots from the bathroom or shower... maybe I'll shoot those tomorrow).


Here's my plastic chairs and foam-like couch.


Here's my luxury bedroom (notice the light switches).


It's not much... but it's home.


Power-laiden battery charging station.


Here's that new executive office I've been asking for... it includes a better office chair than the ones we have at work).


Here's the outside of my secret lair... they'll never find me here, it's GPS-proof!


Now the stairs, and the fun, begins.


1. Please read all posted signs.
2. Safety first!


This is named Pearow Parkway... not sure why.




Lots of stairs...


But after a while, you don't even notice them much...


When you get to the recycle bins, turn right...


But don't slip after it rains!


And don't drink this. And don't do anything else either.


This has a name too, but I don't remember it again.


Did I mention stairs?




Here's the first bathroom... so plan ahead or run fast!


This is the path the cats, and everyone else, use to get to the restaurant.




No reservations or call-ahead seating required.


Nice restaurant... but can't they do something about the view?


Shhhh... don't wake T. J.


Not even close to the goat trail yet.




Again with the slippery.


The stairs continue...




Finally... a place to rest!


Approaching the store and registration area.






This is the laundry area behind the store.


Get ready for the goat trail!


Goats build the best trails... see if they don't!




Goats love to build things with large, seemingly permanent obstructions that are difficult to navigate... especially after all-night rain storms. We all luv ya here, goats!






The goat trail goes on and on (trust me, I skipped many pictures).


Has anyone seen the beach yet?


Look, a cactus... RUN!




There's some water and sand down there... that might be a beach.






Just a little more goat trail... please!


and then it's...


Beach!












I wanted to get a closer shot of that pelican, but my thing's not long enough... (previous sentence written in Rene-Speak for your enjoyment. One might normally say, just to clarify, that their lens isn't long enough to get a good close up, but hey).


This one's a little closer...










Like swimming in an aquarium! I saw three barracuda today. One was just swimming near the bottom looking for fish, wasn't even looking at me. Then I saw the other two while getting out of the water. They were swimming right next two each other, just off shore in shallow water. They looked like they needed to bite something soon.

Fri 21 Dec - It rained like crazy this morning, but cleared up by noon and the rest of the day has been beautiful! Don't do your grocery shopping here... a bag of natural blue chips + salsa (not even hot) = $18.50.

Thu 20 Dec - What a long day of traveling! Just found out my cell phone doesn't work here on St. John (but it seemed to work briefly on St. Thomas). I didn't get a chance for too many good shots yet. I had to hold the luggage on the ferry and taxi, so that got in the way, plus it was dark by the time I arrived at Maho Bay anyway.


St. Thomas Bay


Boat in St. Thomas Bay


St. John (a really populated part - most of the island is not like this)


Boat in St. John Cruz Bay




 

(it looks brighter in the photo than it really was...
it's actually close to dusk here)
 

(here too)


It was dark by the time I arrived at Maho, but here's the restaurant decorated for xmas...


Ok, first impressions... I like it... there are lots of cats here! Some of them are timid and some of them are friendly. And they're prowling up and down the walkways everywhere!










Maho Bay is a cool place... it's exactly like walking around inside Riven (if you know that game)... especially with all the birds and insects here at night... it's the only sound you hear for the most part... very peaceful.

All of the following blurry photos are me being stupid and trying to hold a camera at night without a tripod (I didn't want to use the flash, so as to not disturb anyone or frighten the tree lizards).
 

Here's my blurry cabin... tent... room... whatever it is...

And more blurry night photos follow...


Not sure what this is...


 

 


 














I was just about to quit this entry and then look who came to visit!

2007
20 Dec - Travel day. Say hello to tree lizards in my room
21 Dec - Snorkeling, hiking and photos
22 Dec - Snorkeling, hiking and photos
23 Dec - Trunk Bay snorkel day
24 Dec - Snorkel sail aboard The Pepper
25 Dec - Christmas Snorkel To Francis Bay
26 Dec - Jackpot Day At Francis Bay
27 Dec - Hike to Annaberg Ruins
28 Dec - 2nd snorkel sail aboard The Pepper
29 Dec - Kayak to Mary's Point for snorkeling
30 Dec - Waterlemon Bay hike
31 Dec - Snorkel to Mary's Point

2008
1 Jan - Snorkel to Mary's Point (again)
2 Jan - Travel day. Say goodbye to tree lizards in my room.