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ST CROIX 2024 DAY 3
Day 3: Learning to snorkel, a huge creature and sink holes.
Yawn, rise and shine. Wait, the hubby is up already? This was his night to not be able to sleep and he said he woke up at 4am. It would be your typical morning of trying to feed everyone (eggs, bacon and toast) and making sure that Karl's belly wasn't growling after we left for at least...an hour or two and then the questions started to roll in... "What are we doing today?" "Where are we going?" "Are we doing anything fun?" Geesh, just let me study my list of plans first would ya?
Now normally I have a schedule made up of what we are doing each day. I usually plan everything out in order to fit everything in I have on my list. But, this vacation would be more like a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-bathing-suit type of vaca. I had a list. I made markers on my MapsMe. I will decide when we get there or the day of. I was left with blank stares and astonished family members who couldn't believe I was so unorganized this time around.
Ok, got it! Get your bathing suits on and pack all the snorkeling equipment and beach towels. We are headed to the other side of the island to try to find some beaches and snorkeling.
My MapsMe said it would take approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes to get there. Buckle up and find something to entertain yourself with. Then away we went.
We pretty much ended up as far as we could go (since Sandy Point National Park was closed until September) and that would be the area of West End Bay Beach, Sand Castle Beach and Dorsch Beach area. I had read prior to coming this was a great place to snorkel. Let's see what their definition of "great" was compared to mine.
Here's the location:
We found a place to pull off on the side of the road (it reminded me of places in Aruba where you just pull off anywhere along the beach and there's trees to park under) and we unloaded our necessities for snorkeling. (Although I did pull up just a little too much and got myself stuck...for a minute at least). There were sandy area's to walk in and also area's with flatter rocks and still easy access to the water. There wasn't very many people here today...again, where are all the people???
Karl went right to it and was doing awesome. I believe he is actually getting the hang of it!
We snorkeled up and down the area pretty far. There was actually a lot to see with plenty of rocks and fish in the area. I was quite pleased with the area actually.
Several Smooth Trunkfish in different areas.
Then we spotted a group of SQUID
Sakari motioned me over and said she had found a Lion Fish.
Banded Butterfly Fish
I spotted an Oyster
A bunch of Christmas Tree Worms were all over the place. They are so pretty and come in so many different colors.
A cute little Gobie Fish working on getting all the sand back out of his home as the waves pushes it back in...all...day...long.
I have read and seen all the pictures of the starfish here on the island...well, this would be the one and only starfish we seen while there. Yea, it was dead and other fish were eating it.
Sakari was swimming along the bottom and waved her hand across the sand because she spotted something with a greenish color to it. At she continued to wave the sand away, she came up with a new critter for Karl to see for the first time.
It was a sand dollar. I don't think I've ever seen one that had green markings to it before.
Then she came up with a Tiger Spotted Conch Shell. It was so beautiful and I don't think we have ever seen one of these before either. Since I was floating at the top, I was moving back and forth and didn't manage to get a good picture darn it (but it is in the video).
A school of Blue Striped Grunts
More Christmas Tree Worms.
Flounder
This is a really big, extra large, extra fat, Sergeant Major Damselfish. I only seen them this size when we were in the Mexican Riviera.
We had made it pretty far down the beach and the hubby and I decided to get out when we seen a sandy area. Once we entered the beach, we noticed a bird by a rock where the waves were coming in. It was a Tern Chick (a type of sea bird).
It was just laying there by the rock. We didn't understand why it wasn't flying away or moving.
As we walked by, we could tell it must have been hurt the way it was flapping around. I felt so bad for it.
I think Karl was having too much fun snorkeling. Him and Sakari refused to get out of the water and wanted to snorkel back. The hubby and I walked back down the beach to where our things were. See them out there still going strong?
Once we returned I decided I wanted to go back out and try some over under pictures before leaving. I thought this would be the perfect place since there was rocks and fish in the water to make the "under" part look good. Here's what I came up with...enjoy!
When Sakari came out of the water I told her about the bird and she had to go rescue it. She's not afraid of anything I swear and she's a bird lover (she has a parrot) and couldn't stand the thought of it possibly drowning with the water rushing in.
We stayed until around 1:15pm and then decided to pack up and head out to our next stop.
Here's a short video of our time there (best viewed in full screen to see the fish):
Moving down the road, we decided not to stop until we made it to the pier. I just knew I had to check the area out. Ask anyone that's been to St Croix or lives on the island and they will tell you the best snorkeling is at the cruise pier. I wasn't going to pass up that opportunity (even though we are scheduled to scuba dive there tomorrow). I had read that you are not allowed on the pier and had to enter on the side or off the side of the pier. I had also read that you cannot snorkel there when the cruise ships are docked. I figured today would be the perfect day.
We found a place to park right in front of the pier on the side road and it was so hot out. I went to the back of the vehicle to gather all of our snorkeling equipment and then this happened.
The skies opened up and it was POURING! The family ran under the side of a building and I stayed under the hatch of the car laughing. Well, we were already wet and well you can snorkel in the rain, but man was it pouring. I assured them it would stop soon and WE WAS DOING THIS!
And just like that...it was over and we were on our way to the pier. We followed several divers on to the side of the pier. We looked down. They were about to step off into the water. Um, ok, I can do this but HOW do we get back up? There was nothing but rocks along the side and quite frankly, I didn't see myself climbing those without risking my life. Just saying...
The area leading to the pier and on the right side of this picture is the path the divers take.
We headed to the other side to check it out because I knew you could get in that way as well. Right at the corner there was an area we walked down and onto the rocks. It was definitely an entrance, but it was going to be a slippery one (see the cut out area at the bottom of this picture, that was the "path")
This picture is along the side of the area. As you can tell, they are doing some work in the water and had it blocked off.
If you notice in the next picture, there are some steps on down a ways. However, we didn't even notice that until we came out of the area and I took the picture.
Ok, we are doing this. I eased my way in on the slippery rocks as the husband held his breath, lectured me to go slow and at some point I'm sure his face turned white a few times. Whew, I had made it. That was a chore in itself. The rest of the family came in and off we went.
The water got deep quick as we headed out and around the barriers to the right of us in the water where they were working. There were rocks along the side after we made it around the work area and Sakari was busy diving down like she always does as we looked on.
She explores every crevice and came up with something to show Karl. An Arrow Crab.
I don't think I've seen him push away so quickly before and thrash his head back and forth. He was having no part of it. Remember the scared blank look I told you he got during his very first dive in the Mexican Riviera a few months ago? Yea, I'm pretty sure he had that look on his face again. He refused to hold it and when we came up out of the water he's like "I'm not holding a spider!!" LOL Oh dear Karl. You will learn all these creatures some day. hehe
We came across a family of squids as we went along. It's hard to see against the green sea floor but there were quite a few in the area.
Banded Butterfly Fish
Trunkfish
We started seeing more and more schools of fish in this area and was getting close to the old pier remains.
We finally reached the remains of the old pier and immediately noticed something really huge down at the bottom:
There were several scuba divers down there as well. Can you see the turtle? I believe it was a Leatherback Turtle. It was extremely large and the biggest I had ever seen before. It's right along the pier leg. It's time like this I wish I was diving to get up close for better pictures.
We were ready to explore around the pier remains. It was covered in beautiful coral everywhere you looked. I was only wishing that we were actually able to go up and down them exploring. But, that would have to come on a different day when we are diving. There was still a lot to see from the surface though.
Karl was doing such a good job at snorkeling. I think he's getting the hang of it and he said he was enjoying it. He was pretty amazed at everything under there. Aww, they made the ❤️ symbol.
There was just so much to look at that my eyes and brain was in overload.
The original pier was destroyed in 1989 by Hurricane Hugo. There are decades of coral growth and sponges located on the remains still standing and obviously a great place to snorkel and dive at.
We had been out there for awhile and knew that Karl was probably getting tired. I didn't want to over-do him and told them we would head back. It was a pretty far swim back to shore so we took breaks here and there along the way. There was an area along the rocks that he was able to stand on for a minute, and then off we went. The hubby and Sakari decided to go under the pier and out the other side while Karl and I swam around.
We were almost back around to the construction area when we noticed something coming at us...
We eventually made it back and it was a successful snorkel for us. I will admit, since it was pretty far out and in deep water, I probably would have never done this on my own. Things like this usually freak me out unless I'm with a group. I'm not sure why.
Here's a video I took of our adventure:
Of course the rain had dried up after the downpour in town and we decided to walk around the area to check out Frederiksted while we were here. We put our things in the car, dried off, grabbed some money in case there was shopping and off we went by foot.
Here's where we snorkeled at...you can see where they have it blocked off and doing construction and you can see the remains of the old pier we were at. It doesn't look far does it? But when you are out there in the water, it's a lot further than it appears.
As we strolled along, we would soon notice that most things were closed or boarded up. It wasn't at all what I expected to see. The town seemed very run down and quite honestly, I was left scratching my head how this area is where the cruise ships come. Buildings were falling apart, things caving in. This could be a beautiful historical area if redone. Does it come to life when the ships are docked? Am I missing something? Along the waterfront it was pretty, but go one block over and...eeek!
I did manage to find some cool artwork along the way
We did stop along the way to see about getting something to drink. However, after finding a corner store, we checked the dates on all the pop and almost all of them were expired. After searching each and every bottle, we managed to find a Diet Pepsi that was good for another 2 months. I jumped with joy and held out all hope that I would be able to taste my Pepsi as it normally does. I twisted the cap, the psshhhh sound was released, then the goodness touched my mouth and....ick! It was just as bad as what we have already purchased at the grocery store. Really flat, shook up, and yucky tasting. Ugh! It was over 90° outside and humid. Yes, I drank it, yes I complained with every sip that I took. I added extra effects of a sourpuss face too!
Along the waterfront it was pretty.
Once we made it back to the car, we decided it was time to head out. This really wasn't a town to hang out in because there was nothing to do...other than snorkel.
I found the I ❤️ STX sign but we were too tired to get out.
On the way back, I decided to put in my MapsMe a different way and head to the Rain Forest. I went to the end of the street and as we got further and further, it turned into a dirt road, a pot hole road, a sink hole...um...where is this taking us to??? I pulled over at one point and let a dump truck go zooming past me without a care in the world if he hit any of those sink holes!
Some places were close to the water. I even had places marked on my map saying they were a beach and it ended up being down a cliff lined with trees and NO beach. What the heck.
All of a sudden I slammed on the breaks and the kids thought I had lost my mind...
Mr Crabby took.his.good.ole.sweet.time.across.the.road!! Like seriously.
We came out to an area and I thought things were going to get better...I was wrong. (I wish I would have taken pictures of all the pot holes. Some were really ridiculous). These were taken when I was actually able to grasp the camera without bouncing all around and potentially chucking it out the window.
Hmm, we came to an area that appeared to be a quarry place with tons of gravel. A guy came out of a trailer office and said "Halt!" Um...I'm lost me thinks! He told me I was going the wrong way but if I wanted to head to the rain forest and come out where Mt Pellier was, it was one street back. HOWEVER, "That thing won't make it on those roads. Those are worse than the one you came up on". Um, alrighty then. We are about to adventure right back to where we started at.
When we made it almost back to the beginning, we noticed a sign on the side that said "Rain Forest" on Mahogany Rd. Yea, that's what I was looking for to begin with. We missed it because right beside it was what looked like a sugar cane garden and it was funny because Sakari remembers being in Dominican Republic on a buggy tour and we had stopped and tried real sugar cane. She was just talking about it and how good it was and we looked over to the side and seen them. I think it distracted us and we zoomed on by the sign.
We turned off and started to head down that road. It was lined with enormous Mahogany trees and absolutely gorgeous.
THE ROAD THOUGH!!!! Oh my gosh. I think it was worse than the one we just came off us. I'm pretty sure I was going the rapid rate of 2mph and weaving back and forth. Yea, I give up! This is just too much at this point. We would have to try another day. We only had around another hour of daylight so there's no way we could do this trail in the dark.
I turned around again and we headed back to town. Along the way we would stop at Plaza Extra because we wanted to have a cook out when we returned home and Sakari had a special request she was craving...she wanted orange juice. LOL
We finally made it home and the hubby fired up the grill for the hamburgers and I made mac & cheese. I also reached out to Jolly Roger about doing a trip to Buck Island and he informed me that both his boats were out of commission and would not be able to book a tour for us. Bummer! I guess I was just going to have to book with Big Beards after all. I decided to get in touch with them tomorrow.
We were so tired from snorkeling most of the day that we actually laid down and went to sleep at 7:30pm. 💤
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