St. John Essence Blog

St. John Snorkeling Reveals Manta Rays

2012-01-26T07:19:00.000-08:00

Most visitors who take a St. John vacation spend a good amount of time in the crystal clear aqua waters either swimming or snorkeling. For those who have snorkeled in Maho or Francis Bays within the last few months, you may be among the fortunate swimmers to see the graceful sightings of two Manta rays who have made their home of Mary's Point along St. John's north shore.

Take a look at the video to see what one visitor captured while he was snorkeling in shallow waters just off the beach. These Manta rays have up to a 6-foot width to their wing-like bodies and are a real thrill to spot while enjoying a day's swim.

Roseway Sails into St. John USVI

2012-01-17T11:24:00.000-08:00

Schooner Roseway under sail (photo from the ship's website)


Roseway at anchor Caneel Bay, St. John USVI

It's a beautiful day on St. John USVI and looking out to sea you may spot the Schooner Roseway with its amber sails billowing in the wind and be transported to the days when schooners sailed these waters. The Roseway spent a week off St. John USVI as part of its mission as a nonprofit organization teaching school children about the history and culture of sailing www.worldoceanschool.org.

This beautiful 137ft schooner was host to local students here on St. John USVI where they learned about the adventures the Roseway has experienced since its inception in 1925. In recent years the schooner has made its winter home St. Croix and sails north to Boston each summer to take day charters out of Boston harbor. It's been a treat for St. John students to experience a registered U.S. National Historic Landmark and we wish Roseway smooth sailing back to neighboring St. Croix.

Magical Moments in Maho Bay, St John USVI

2011-12-16T09:43:00.000-08:00

This had to be the most amazing animal encounter I've had on St. John, and I've had many over the years. My 2 daughters and I discovered a large Hawksbill turtle in the shallows near Lilly Maho beach on the North shore. I thought for sure we'd have maybe a couple of seconds with him before he would disappear from sight, the way all turtles do. The turtles here have a shy nature usually, and if they do let you swim along with them, it's usually at a distance, and you have to swim hard to keep up with them after they discover that you're watching them. This guy was different. He was large, about 2 and half feet across his shell, and the barnacles covering his back and the weathered look on his skin made him appear like he'd traveled these warm waters for decades. What amazed us was that he didn't leave us in a rush. He hung out with us! When I first came closer, he spun around quickly to face me, then seemed to relax as though he trusted me. The three of us stood in the shallow water around him, leaving him an open space to swim away if he wanted to, as if he were a tamed animal. Maybe he felt safe with my youngest daughter (age 8) since she found him first, then let us all get closer to him since he sensed our love. He slowly swam into deeper water, but stayed on the surface the whole time with us circled around him, still leaving him room to swim away if he desired. We made our way with him to about 50 yards off shore, then he began to slowly move deeper, and come back up to the surface where we were waiting. We felt he must have nowhere important to go, probably had just eaten and had a full belly, so he didn't mind taking time out of his daily routine to be with us. We hope he even enjoyed our company, perhaps a nice break from his lonely travels from cay to cove to grass bed searching for food. My watch told me that he kept company with us for 20 minutes, before he took his last dive into the deep and out of sight while we yelled our thank yous and goodbyes to our old sweet friend. We were sad to see him go at last, but we felt so lucky, blessed even, to have had this magical, amazing, once in a lifetime experience! (Hawksbill photo from Wikipedia)

St. John is at its Peak of Gorgeous Now

2011-09-14T17:48:00.000-07:00

Want a reason to come to St. John in September, smack dab in the middle of hurricane season? Because you can be the only human soul on Francis Bay to watch hundreds of boobies, pelican and terns take flight, and circle overhead, while verdant green Mary's Point and Ajax Peak provide a mountain backdrop of phenomenal Beauty. There are no charter boats in the harbor, nobody else to share space in the shade with, just you, the birds, the sting rays, and the soft pulse of lapping turquoise water. This truly can be heaven on earth!

Can you quess which St John beach this is??

2010-10-01T21:19:00.000-07:00

Donkeys over Coral Bay, St John

2010-10-01T20:32:00.000-07:00

This is a familiar scene on St. John for those who venture past town and make their way to the "country. If you want to stop and photograph them, just be sure to pull over to the side of the road because there may be a fast bus coming around the corner!

Current Weather on St John USVI

2010-06-07T20:12:00.000-07:00

If you're traveling to St. John this week, you want to pack very light clothing as it is hot and muggy lately. Still gorgeous, dry and the air is soft and sweet with the fragrances of the multitude of flowers that have bloomed since the rains last week. There are a few pesky no-see-ums out and some mosquitoes, but they are quite bearable. The water is a lovely temperature right now, just cool enough to refresh you but warm enough to stay in all day!

St John Snorkeling - Underwater beauty at Waterlemon and Salt Pond Bays

2010-05-20T08:59:00.000-07:00

I just received some gorgeous underwater photos taken by Christian and Elizabeth Mitchel while they were here last month staying at Stonegarden Cottage in Coral Bay. The clarity in the photos of Salt Pond and Waterlemon Cay is unbelievably good. Makes me want to go snorkeling right now!

From our St John Essence Travel Log Archives

2010-02-05T19:46:00.000-08:00

"Shamba uses brilliant acrylics to paint ethereal Black Jesus/ Rastafari images. Vibrant and powerful."

"I got up in the AM and went up to Bordeaux, where I have a garden. There were 4 bunches of bananas ready to harvest (4 different kinds too, and one bunch that was so big that I had to struggle carrying it on my back up the trail to the truck). And, of course, there were weeds to pull/cut. I cut off some hands from the bunches and gave some to neighbors. I passed by the shanty of a childhood friend, who is a "true" rasta, and gave him 4-6 hands of the different kinds of bananas. "Praise and thanks," he said several times. He gave me some bush tea slips in return. It was satisfying to share the produce, engage in a neighborly exchange of foodstuffs, and cool to be invited into the dark, earthy-smelling interior of his black-painted shanty (with the Lion of Judah" painted on the door), from the porch of which he overlooks his garden in a gut off of Centerline Road...This guy truly lives a pure and simple life."

-- Brion Morisette, St. John

From our Travel Log Archives

2010-02-05T19:43:00.000-08:00

March 23, 2008:

"Here’s a little glimpse from our recent trip to St John. We rented our car on St. Thomas and drove to Red Hook, then took the car ferry over to St. John. We had an excellent meal in Cruz Bay, then drove around and over the hills until we landed in our favorite spot - lovely Coral Bay. We stayed at Stonegarden Cottage – we love the view from the deck and enjoy visits from the “sugar birds,” but mostly it just feels like a comfortable and peaceful home away from home. Clouds and showers greeted us on the morning of our first full day, so we packed water and snacks and set off to explore the National Park trails, knowing that a bit of rain and clouds would be welcome along the way. We parked at Little Lameshur Bay, explored the sugar mill ruins, then set off on a fairly challenging up and down hike. Our destination was a spot where petroglyphs can be seen in the stone over a fresh water reflecting pool - just fascinating. While we rested there, we were entertained by mongooses chasing each other and tumbling about. We enjoyed seeing the unique desert vegetation as well as deer, land crabs, goats, chickens and donkeys. At the end of our hike, the clouds had cleared, so we headed to Maho Bay to soak in the sunset (photo) and finished off our day with a stop at Skinny Legs. We relaxed, watched a bit of March Madness on the big screen TVs, and enjoyed Mahi Mahi sandwiches and blue cheese burgers (washed down with a couple of rounds of refreshing beverages . . . a little reward for our efforts!). We love Coral Bay, St John!"

--- Karen Stallman & family
Marion, Illinois

Yoga Class on the Beach

2010-02-03T09:52:00.000-08:00

I just came from an amazing morning yoga class at Maho Bay beach, taught by St. John's own instructor, Suki. We delighted in the sights, smells, touch and sounds of nature as we gently stretched our bodies on the sand and in the water (that was the best part!) A sting ray glided by us under the water as we did our breathing exercises on the sand. A huge school of fish came by and about 8 pelicans flew in to enjoy their breakfast as we did our warrior poses. The waves lapped the shore and the gentle breeze tickled our skin as we did downward dog. Then, we got in the water for more stretches, assisted by each gentle wave coming in to shore. We ended all in a circle, heads together, hands clasped, chanting omm. It was magical!! Come try it at 9:00am every Wednesday (November thru May) at Maho Bay's north end, donations of $10 or more gratefully accepted.

The advantages of not renting a car on St. John

2010-01-30T20:06:00.001-08:00

After some investigation based on advice from friends who had visited St. John before and from our hosts at Stonegarden Cottage, we decided not to rent a car during our visit even though we were staying in the less urban part of the island. It turned out to be a great decision for many reasons: We didn't have to brave the very windy, bumpy, steep, right-sided driving; and we saved ourselves quite a bit of cash. We got plenty of exercise going up and down Bordeoux Mountain, and found creative ways to get around the island that involved hiking through the National Park to the North and South Coast Beaches where we were always able to find someone willing to give us a ride back to Coral Bay. Pretty much anywhere we stopped, we were able to hitch a ride within a few minutes. Locals and tourists alike were incredibly friendly, and by hitching we got to know a lot about the island, and were even invited to play at a pickup frisbee game held Tuesday evenings in Coral Bay."
-- 1/10, Katie & Casey, Greenfield, MA (contact them at katiecampbellnelson@gmail.com)

8 Tuff Miles Race - February 28th, 2009

2009-02-16T00:00:00.000-08:00

Feeling like getting some good exercise while you're in paradise? The 8 Tuff Miles Road Race is just the thing to get your heart pumping! Here's the info I found on the race at the USVI's new website, www.visitusvi.com:
For the 13th consecutive year, the Annual St. John Gatorade 8 Tuff Miles Road Race takes place on Saturday February 28, 2009 at 7:15 a.m. The race begins at Cruz Bay and ends 8.38 miles away, at Coral Bay. The course begins and ends at sea level, but elevates along the way to a maximum of 999 feet. Awards will be distributed to winners from all age groups, with the first place overall female receiving $300 and the first place overall male receiving a $300 bar tab from The Tap Room, Mongoose Junction. All entrants who complete the course will receive an official race T- shirt and a medal. For more information, call (340)779-4035 or visit www.8tuffmiles.com.

2008-11-27T00:06:00.000-08:00

I just received these beautiful underwater photos from a recent traveler to St. John and wanted to share them here.

The first photo is a school of blue tang swimming through coral and was taken at Whistling Cay (the small island north of Cinnamon Bay with the old custons house on it). The next two were taken at Waterlemon Cay, a parrotfish and a hawksbill turtle, nice clear shots. We're so lucky to be able to enjoy these amazing sites in the cays around St. John!!

First Blog Post, St. John Essence

2008-11-23T23:59:00.000-08:00

This is the first post, number 1 of many to come, I hope. I will offer my favorite photo of St. John, Trunk Bay of course, and hope that it will inspire you to send yours.