We know we are very lucky to live on St. John and any opportunity we get to explore our beautiful island we take advantage of that fact. Yesterday we had a great Sunday snorkel in the mangroves!
Mangroves are shrubs and small trees that can grow in salt water. From above they look like a normal tree aside from the fact they are grown in the ocean, but underneath its a another world!
We went to Hurricane Hole on this trip, a bay accessible by boat at the east end. We sailed out of Coral Bay with light winds so it took almost 2 hours to get there, which with the stunning weather and good music playing we didn’t mind the trip. After mooring, the captain gave us sound advice, take your time and really look into the trees and the roots. We all jumped in (theres nothing like jumping off a sailboat in the Caribbean) and the first discovery was the large pincushion starfish under the boat. After that we snorkeled over to the side where the trees grow. The underwater root system looked like stalactites of coral hanging down. They were colorful (a lot of oranges and reds) with fish darting in and out of the hanging roots. Captain was right, if you just float and look, you will keep seeing something new. The sun was shining on the side we were on and the light and shadows actually danced with the movement of the ocean. We made our way down the side of the bay until reaching a point with large rocks, covered in sea urchins and coral.
There are many amazing snorkel spots here in the Virgin Islands but this one was so different from the places I have been so far. This is a very calm place to snorkel and can easily be done by a beginner. I highly recommend adding it to your itinerary on your next visit to St. John! When you book your next villa vacation with us, we will be sure to send you to this and all of our favorite spots!
