OK, so I managed my second major screw up here. We had toyed with the idea of going over to JVD for the day, neither of us 'convicted' that this was a must-do since we had been there before. But we both woke up early, and decided that we could in fact make the ferry and have a day over there. I mean, it would be fun. This is where my genius failed me on the week. I am a wallet guy. I decided this week to be a backpack guy, just leaving my license, a bit of cash, and keys in the backpack, leaving other credit cards and cash in a safe. This brilliant idea would turn out to be the bane of my existence for the week.
So we get into town and realize I have left the credit card back in the house, which I planned to use for some of the trip costs. I probably have enough cash to make a day of it, but with no debit or credit cards on me, i'll pass on taking any risk. C'est la vie, we weren't just dying to do this, so now what? Back to Deli Grotto, had our chairs, small cooler, and towels, we're ready to go to any beach. This time we decide on our favorite from the previous trip, Denis Bay. This is a short hike from Peace Hill on an unmarked trail to the right on the way up the hill. There is a resident on this beach with his own private property, and there is a line not to cross that is more than adequately marked. The beach is part of the park, and it is absolutely gorgeous. The parking and hike down are easy, and we're the only ones on the beach, early at 9am. Today the surf is unusually high, particularly for the summer. The winds are kicking. I wish there was more to report here, but this was a day we loved. For the better part of six hours, we were alone on this beach. A boat came in but the passengers never came to shore. Some snorkelers were there for a short period but we could barely see them. I tried snorkeling but the water was rough and cloudy. Still, being alone on a St John beach for a day was wonderful. In the evening we hit Banana Deck (see other post), came back to enjoy the hot tub, and had enough fun for the day.
Denis
Day 4 is south shore / east shore day. We plan to go to Salt Pond and possibly hike to Drunk Bay or Blue Cobblestone. Again we early-birds are the first arrivals (sort of, there were Ram's Head hikers not on beach). The snorkeling was amazing, I probably went too far, saw more turtles and rays. It rained on us pretty good for about five minutes and then it was beautiful for the morning. Saw a scrawled filefish, something I read is fairly common but that I'd never seen before. The past two visits here I had seen a spotted eagle ray, so was bummed that he was gone this time and I couldn't get a picture. Salt Pond was never crowded and we couldn've easily stayed here for the day. Just didn't have anything to eat. From here we headed to Vie's for a late lunch and maybe a move to Haulover for the afternoon. We arrive at Vie's at about 1pm after picking up a couple of necessities at Lily's Market in Coral Bay (the guy running it seems angry). Loved this (see other post), and then decided to just stay there at Hansen Bay since it was nearly 3pm. About the time we paid and got on the beach it began to rain. This time, it wasn't going to stop. We picked up our gear and headed back for the rest of the afternoon in the villa. After the rain subsided we cleaned ourselves up and had our first meal at the Maho Camps. We stayed late, went to the glass shop (amazing stuff, expensive stuff) and even watched a few minutes of the movie they were playing (March of the Penguins). Don't know if we're really allowed to do this, but it wasn't crowded and no one seemed to mind. Now we're off to bed. Some Salt Pond and Vie's Pictures....
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