Last night we decided that today we would head out to Salt Pond Bay which is located on the southeastern side of the island. It's so weird because the island is not very large or long but because of the constant hills and switchbacks on any given ride, it makes the ride take much longer than one would think just by looking at a map. The island is only 20 square miles which is smaller than the DFW airport which sits at 30 square miles. The one good thing though is that there are very few roads so getting lost is almost impossible.
We have our breakfast and head out about 8:50 which gets us to Salt Pond just about 9:30. There is a small .2 mile trail to get to the beach area but for the arrival it is downhill and we were already dreading the uphill climb at the end of our day.
The beach is pretty big here and at this time there is only one other couple but as the day progresses, there is a constant flux of people in and people out. We've found this behavior at many places actually. People come, they snorkel or swim a little, sometimes hang out a little but then they are gone, usually moving on to another beach to do the same thing. I think it's easy for a lot of people to have this routine because they are only here for a week, some beaches are close together and can be paired up easily in one day and they really want to get the most out of their time here.
For us, we've done the opposite on every day except for one, we find a beach and stay for the day. We snorkel once or twice depending on the areas available at that beach and the rest of the time we spend in and out of the water just hanging out. We bring beer, water and snacks with us so we don't need to leave for anything.
Today at Salt Pond is pretty much the same. First we begin with a short hike over to the salt pond located just behind the bay. The water seems to be a bit high in the pond and even though I read that you can harvest the salt, I think the water level determines if you can do it as well. Continuing on the path along the salt pond it leads to Drunk Bay on the other side to where Salt Pond is. The water is here is very rough and it is all rock around here. We do see interesting corals and rocks that are on the shore but we would never try to swim or snorkel here and wonder if it is ever calm enough to do so since it does face the open ocean.
We head back to Salt Pond and begin with a snorkel along the left hand side and a bit over the middle. There are some interesting things here including a large porcupine fish, some trunk fish, a turtle and about four dozen squid just swimming around in one group as we were heading back in.
STJ is the first place that we have ever seen squid and even though we've seen them a few times here now they always make me laugh. They just swim in place (kind of like running in place) and their tentacles are facing toward us, then it's their bodies with these big eyes that let you know that you're being watched, but the funniest thing to me is the way they hover there constantly flapping their fins which really looks like wings in the water.
After a bit of beach time and a beer, we decide to head out snorkeling again. This time we head straight out before heading to the right shore and we see plenty this way. First we see a small stingray on the ocean floor looking for food and as it turns out, this will be the only ray we see here. Next, passing right under us is a LARGE barracuda. It has to be about three feet long and I am always intimidated when I see these guys but one this really freaks me out...in a good way though.
Heading out we also see what we think is a large grouper. It is not brown as we would have expected but the size and style of the fin looks about right. There are also a lot of ballyhoo and we thought that would have brought in a lot more predators as those are often used in sport fishing. As we make our way to the right hand side the water is a little rough and there is not as many fish as I would have expected but we do see the usual suspects here as well including a very large sea cucumber. Heading back in we come in through the middle of the bay and see a couple of turtles and those same squid hanging out. It's like a little squid gang there are so many of them but we make it by without incident.
Back on the beach we can see one of the turtles just popping his head up every few minutes. Nice view from the beach here too.
Eventually we face the fact that we have to climb the hill to get out of here and since it is about 3:00 we decide to get moving. Luckily for us the path is somewhat shaded at this time of day and that makes the climb a little more bearable so we only have to stop once on the way up instead of the four times we predicted we would have to do.
Since we are on this end of the island we decided to eat at the Tourist Trap which is basically a small shack that happens to be owned by a guy who is originally from Manchester NH. Everything on the menu looks good and Mary who is waiting on us doesn't help by telling us that everything always tastes good. Dave settled for the Pork Nachos while I decide on the blackened Grouper sandwich. Well Mary was right at least with these two items, both were really good.
Sufficiently full, and maybe even a bit more than that, we head back towards our villa and hang out with a couple drinks. Another full day under our belts.
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