St John, USVI. Part 3 (fini)

I should get this post out before I rejoin the ranks of the employed.

My third day at St John was supposed to start with a double dive. We went over to the first dive spot. Dropped in. My tank was empty. Came back out. Swapped tank, but couldn't sink. Swam back to boat, added more weight (previous dive wasn't a good metric since I wore a shortie wetsuit this morning). Finally got started. The dive was, of course, beautiful. No pictures since we were going 50-60' deep. However, at about 25' my right ear stopped popping. I had to swim higher than the crowd for a good five minutes before I could finally equalize. That done, the dive went on smoothly. The baldish guy on the right was my dive master.

 When I hauled myself back into the boat after this dive, I got some part-horrified, part-grossed out looks from the crew on the boat. I immediately checked my clothes to make sure I hadn't accidentally come out naked. Nope. Then I took my goggles off and lo behold! They were smattered with blood and goop. Turns out my sinuses didn't enjoy diving with a blocked ear. So I was asked to not go down for the second dive that morning unless I could get my ear to start popping. I couldn't and so I stayed up, enjoying this view and sunbathing on the boat's bow.

 The rest of the day was spent napping, learning Spanish, periodically putting alcohol drops in my ear, and exploring this little plaza called Mongoose Junction that has a pretty design and nice delis and restaurants. It is sort of like chancing upon Davenport Village in Austin. A bit of chi-chi (shi shi?) amidst the flip-flops :)

The next morning (last full day - day 4), the chef at my lodge decided to play toured guide and we hopped in a local shared-taxi to head to Cinnamon Beach. Cinnamon Beach is right next to Turtle Beach which is the tourist favorite, but the locals all seem to prefer Cinnamon. Maybe it is the lack of tourists :)

The beach was beautiful. Seriously, describing St John beaches is redundant. They are all spectacular. Just get there early and find yourself a shaded spot. If you are smart and well-prepared (I was not) you will have rented snorkels the previous night to take along with you in the morning.

 Standing inside the water. I could walk forever before it hit neck depth.

 Uphill from the beach were the ruins of a sugar mill (Anna sugar mills are a popular tourist hike. I didn't see that one).

 Why so stone faced?

 View from a hill during the drive back.

 Night night St John.

 Morning, day 5. Waiting at the ferry stop to head back to St Thomas and fly home.

 I didn't post-process a single picture in this particular post (because I forgot). Every picture in this series  of St John posts was taken with a cheap point and shoot. The SLR never came out of the bag. That should tell you how beautiful the whole place was. Stop thinking. Just go.