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St Johns is another one of those 'unique' islands in the collection of Virgin Islands... they're all unique in their own way, but St John is the only one that is an official National Park with over 90% of it's land zoned as Conservation Area and Wildlife Preserve. It is a beautiful island, and someplace you can definitely go when you want to leave the 'rat-race' behind. Not that it doesn't have bustling centers of activity as well... you may remember our previous emails about the fun places we've visited in Cruz Bay on the other side of the island! Visiting the South side of St John is like stepping back in time... you may see the odd hillside home, but overall the island is largely unpopulated and offers tons of opportunity to explore to your hearts content, whether by snorkeling or hiking!
We set out early in the morning and had a great sail over to St John. The islands are fairly close so it only took us a couple hours to get there. The wind was behind us, the sun was shining, we even had a gentle 5-6 foot swell coming off the Caribbean Sea... it doesn't get much better! As we came around the point on the South side, we were both awestruck by the beauty of the island. I remember sitting there thinking, "wow, how can you capture that in a picture?"... well, you can't really, so I took three pictures and stitched them together to get a panorama of the whole island. I think it turned out pretty good!
A 3-shot Panorama we took while sailing around the South side of St John, US Virgin Islands
As we pulled around the point into Lameshure Bay we saw there was another sailboat already in the bay and the first thing we noticed was a pink flag... the flag that's flown by participants of the Caribbean 1500 Rally that we came down in! Before we even had the anchor down, Rick & Cindy from 'Dragonfly' came over in their dinghy and bid us welcome... how cool is it to arrive in a beautiful, secluded new place and find friends that you haven't seen in what seems like an eternity!
Rick & Cindy welcoming us to Great Lameshure Bay!
We hadn't seen Rick & Cindy in several months as they had wandered down island in the Caribbean, but had just arrived back in the Virgin Islands a couple days before. They found their way back to Lameshure Bay because it was one of their favorites for snorkeling too... this was where we first swam with the sea turtles that the girls had been talking about ever since!
It wasn't long before we donned the snorkeling gear and jumped in the water to cool off... it was hot!! As we had hoped, Lameshure Bay delivered again, and brought us not only a sea turtle, but some new marine life we hadn't seen before!
Swimming with the Sea Turtle!
There were 6 of us snorkeling together when we spotted the Hawksbill Sea Turtle and began to follow him. He seemed unafraid and continued to swoosh and glide near the bottom. We all tried to hold our breath as long as possible as we dove down and swam side by side with him. Seeing these gentle and graceful creatures fills you with awe every time. I was so happy we got to see and swim with a turtle one last time before we head home.
Beautiful coral lining the shoreline
The coral along the shoreline was very brilliant and lush and you fall into a little trance as you glide along slowly trying to simply take it all in. Each ledge you pass over seems vastly different and more intriguing then the last and your eyes are continually searching for hidden creatures. The sea fans and soft coral gently sway in the current and beautiful fish of every color swim in and out of the coral. It feels like you could float serenely above this ocean world and be endlessly mesmerized.
An Octopus!!
Our friend Cindy suddenly popped out of the water and yelled "octopus" - Rick and I swam towards her as fast as we could. Octopus are hard to find and once discovered quickly retreat and hide in crevices and dark corners. Someone forgot to tell this guy that's what he was supposed to do!! He seemed to be set on giving us a great show. He moved slowly from place to place, flaring his body and showing off as we all hovered around him.
Meandering along the bottom
He seemed to be in no hurry at all to go any where in particular and certainly not to hide. I felt like we were filming some under water documentary on the octopus and were highlighting all his features. I have never seen anything so amazing! We didn't even realize that all the arms were linked by giant webs until we saw this guys under water ballet.
Putting on quite a show for us!
Every time he came near and put on another display we all ooohhed and aaahhed and he must have loved the attention because he carried on for quite a while. Not that any of us were complaining- it really was incredible to see him... Or her!
'Sophisticated Lady' resting in the coral blue waters of St John
We all finally started to get cold and had to head back to the dinghies and leave all the wonders below us for the warmth of our boats. At one point it really felt like we were swimming in an incredibly expensive and well stocked tropical aquarium. Everything is so perfect, brilliant and right at your finger tips as you dive down. Its just so unreal to look around and think this is all real and wild and alive all around you and as far as the eye can see... Until next time...
Cheers,
Rick & Terri 'Sophisticated Lady' |
