The Virgin Islands are Magical

We could not resist sharing Steve Simonsen's recent Facebook photo and posting. It is priceless:

One of the subjects of last week's water shoot in the BVI. Now here's the back story:

We went to the Baths early in the day before anyone was there. Staying on a private 58' Hatteras made that easy. When we began photographing the captain's mate in a mermaid tail, I had an idea. I told the mermaid that when people would enter the rock labyrinth know as The Baths on Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands, that our mermaid should swim away quickly so that know one can see her. They are mythical creatures, after all. After more than a half an hour we heard our first voices of people coming into the cathedral. It was a young girl and her mother. The mermaid swam away but not out of sight and Janet and I hid where we could watch. As luck would have it the little girl entered the cathedral first. See stopped dead in her tracks when see saw the mermaid frolicking quietly in the back of the cave. She bounced up and down on her feet and called softly, but excitedly, to her mommy... "Mommy a mermaid!" The little girl was still and didn't move, eyes locked on our mermaid. The mermaid began motioning her to come closer. The little girl inched into the shallow water of the cave closer to our playful, but shy, mermaid. Eventually the mom saw us hiding behind a rock and all three of us watched the little girl in total amazement get ever so closer to her discovery, still floating playfully and motioning the little girl to come closer. All this in complete silence, except for the gurgling sounds of waves entering the cave and the echoes. Eventually the little girl, we learned was from Brazil and she had a fascination for mermaids, got close enough to touch the mermaid to see if she was real. She recoiled after touching the wet, scaly skin and began to swim next to our mermaid. Everything about this encounter was precious, unbelievable and fantastically surprising for us and the little girl and her mother. For more than an hour and a half we were the only ones there to witness this mythical encounter except for the little girl from Brazil and her mommy. Upon exiting the cave the second people of the morning were about to enter when I told them what they had just missed. They looked at me like I was lying. I said "No really, there was a mermaid here just minutes ago" They looked at me like I was nuts. I said "Look I'll show you" I produced my camera from my bag and showed them one image similar to this and said "Really I told you" all they could say, with eyes wide open was "Wow!"

November 2014 News

St John Offers Amazing Sunset Views

The Sun and Clouds Melt into the Pool at Great Expectations 

It is often said that "a picture is worth a thousand words" and that could not be more true when talking about St John's vistas. No one captures them better than the award winning St John photographer Steve Simonsen. This past week Steve and his wife and partner Janet Simonsen spent several hours at Great Expectations capturing some of our views and taking photographs of the Villa. We will soon be adding these photos to our website, however, we thought you might enjoy seeing a couple of his photos.

We understand that all 50 states experienced freezing temperatures this week (and the Buffalo area a record 7' of snow) so we hope that these pictures warm you and motivate you to contact us today to reserve your spot (on your lounge chair) in the sun.

 Come join us as we Watch the Sun Set 

November St John news flashes & fun St John clips:

• Friends of the Virgin Islands National Park's 6th Annual On-Line Auction opened on November 15 and will be available for bidding until December 7 at 9 PM. There are over 70 items including great meals, artwork, boat trips, and lots of other great items to bid on all while supporting one of St John's great organizations.

• St John Tradewinds reports that the newly opened North Shore Deli (in same spot as the very popular Deli Grotto) is serving up some mighty fine looking and tasting sandwiches including mouth-watering slow roasted meats, vegan and healthy options are also on the menu as are the old time favorite homemade breads and coconut bars (so yummy they are called 'crack bars').

• The 8-Tuff Miles Race has now partnered with the St John Cancer Fund and it has morphed into the 8-Tuff Miles Festival Week starting on February 21 with an all night 'Light Up the Night' family event followed the next weekend with a Pasta in the Park feast at Cruz Bay Landing on the eve of the race which is scheduled for 7:15 AM February 28. Join in to celebrate all who walked or ran at the awards ceremony at 5:30 PM at Mongoose Junction. The Festival Week will be capped off on March 1st at the Oppenheimer Recovery Party. Proceeds from the Festival will support the St John Cancer Fund.

• Getting ready to reopen is Joe's RumHut at Wharfside. More seating and an expanded menu will make this spot even more popular this winter.

• Joe's Diner has closed and will be reopened this winter. The new incarnation will be The Longboard. The owners describe their menu offerings as "coastal cantina" which is best described as Caribbean meets SoCal. According to the owners, they will offer 'affordable' craft drinks and a fresh, healthy and affordable menu and lots of open seating along the street for great people watching.

• Lets talk turkey! As you gather together with your family and friends this holiday season it is a great time to start planning your next trip to St John. Since Great Expectations is completely booked this winter it is never too early to plan your next trip. Check our availability calendar and contact us today to secure your reservation! We will be happy to work with you to, as best we can, accommodate your needs. Our goal, always, is to meet or ideally, exceed your expectations.

St John Waters are full of Fabulous Fall Colors

This photo is courtesy of Steve Simonsen who captures the beauty of St John's sea life.  If you like to

scuba or snorkel

, there are plenty of operators to take you to their favorite spots. Even if you are not a 'water' person there have a

Glass Bottom boat

to show you the wonders of the sea on their reef tours.

St John -- Unadvertised Special for our Newsletter, Facebook, and Twitter Recipients!

January newsletter:

Leave Winter Behind
Enjoy St John's Warm Waters

Photographer Steve Simonsen captured a fabulous shot of Solomon Bay
 

Due to a cancellation, we are announcing an exclusive offer only for our newsletter, Facebook & Twitter subscribers:

    20% off our regular pricing for any new reservation between Sunday, February 23 - Saturday, March 8, 2014 (one week minimum)! 

As of February 1 we will be publicly announcing this offer so do not delay or you may be left out in the cold!

Contact us today to reserve your week on St John.

January/February St John news flashes & fun St John clips:

If you are a tennis or basketball player you will be happy to know we have just completed resurfacing our basketball/tennis court.

We even added a basketball key for those of you wanting to practice your 3-pointer shots! 

• Recently the Boston Globe highlighted the wonderful work of Concordia Eco-Resort of trying to minimize their carbon footprint. We, too, at Great Expectations are working hard to be green. Over the past few years we have added photo-voltaic panels to our roofs and recently added a net meter so we can return electricity to WAPA (our local utility company).
   
• Treat yourself to a vacation at Great Expectations after your 8 Tuff Mile Race! This year's race is Saturday, February 22. Whether you are a runner, walker, or a supporter of this 'tuff' event you can also participate in the 'after' party at the 'Oppenheimer Recovery Beach Party' sponsored by the St John Cancer Fund. 

Hope to see you on St John and at Great Expectations soon!

Kristin & Chuck 

owners of Great Expectations

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for news about Great Expectations specials & St John activities

St John Waters Get Invaded Every Year (and not only by Tourists) And This Year You Can Participate

Steve Simonsen captured the migration

Love them or not, hermit crabs are prevelent on St John (and many other tropical locations). Some people find them creepy while others find them cute. 

What St Johnian Pam Gaffin [yes, the same Pam Gaffin who is the author of the popular book  St John: Feet, Fins and Four Wheel Driveso best believe she knows St John] found last year were millions of them migrating to the sea from the highlands of St John. Pam immediately contacted her friend and noted St John photographer Steve Simonsen knowing that his whimsical personality and fabulous eye for the unusual would love to capture this migration.  Steve got to the site and captured the little critters as they scurried along the shoreline into the waters of St John. His video went viral and he has received nearly 1,500 likes and comments and even got featured on Smithsonian.com:

The adult hermit crabs are terrestrial, but the larvae develop in the sea. The adults must migrate to the waters edge in order to reproduce and release their eggs into the water. They then cast their fertilized eggs in the sea where the newly born hermit crabs spend their next few months before returning to land.

This year, Steve and Pam have teamed up with researchers from Tufts University in Massachusetts to build a website to help better track the movements and activity of the hermit crabs. The migration period happens during the summer and, most importantly the third and fourth weeks in August. They would love to have you participate in helping them locate the hermit crabs as they make their trek to the sea, if you are going to be on St John during this period.

For more info on the hermit crab I recommend reading the Blog entry on SeeStJohn.com which has a detailed description of how (and why) the hermit crabs acquire their shells (and sometimes shed them). 

While you are waiting on the beach for the crabs make sure you have a copy of Pam's book about St John's most interesting day trips. It really worth getting if you are going to be on St John:

Trunk Bay St John from the Front and Back

There is something magical about St John and pictures of Trunk Bay capture this magic whether the pictures are taken facing Trunk Bay or even with your back to the beautifiul Caribbean Sea. Don't know what I mean? Well, this past weekend, I had the wonderful opportunity to take a photography class 'Beyond the Basics' with the fabulous St John photographer, Steve Simonsen. Steve is a pro who clearly loves his craft. He is fun and a great teacher. Not only does Steve want you to learn the basics but he encourages you to have fun with your photos and to tell a story.  

For the first hour, we sat at a picnic table at Hawksnest beach (not a bad 'class room' venue) and were taught some of the basics. Steve then gave us some assignments which challenged us to capture the scene but make sure the light (and shade) did not capture us. I partially succeeded but lost the beautiful greens of the sea grapes in the foreground:

The surf was high at Hawksnest Beach

We then drove to the Trunk Bay overlook which is one of the most photographed venues, not just on St John but in the Caribbean. And, no wonder. The views are magical!

Barely a person comes to St John who does not stop to capture a picture of  magnificent Trunk Bay and its beach

Then Steve challenged us to have fun with the view and try to see something 'new'. At that time a car drove up, parked, and voila...a new 'canvas' was created...we turned our backs to Trunk Bay and took pictures of the reflection as it was shown in a rental car window - go figure! St John and Trunk Bay are beautiful whether you are looking at the Caribbean Sea or you, literally, have your back to it!

This is a picture OF a car window - truly!

We then drove to the ruins at Cinnamon Bay. Rather than being in the bright sun the ruins are in a bit of a forest. Lots of shade with hints of sun. Different challenges to be learned regarding lighting lessons. 

The red of this door was compelling

Not a bad way to spend a morning on St John!