We had a great time here! We hiked out to the point and then swam around the cay. We saw gorgeuos coral, lots of colorful fish, a sea turtle and a sting ray. My husband went around again and saw some huge starfish. I walked back over to Leinster and laid out on the beach for awhile and was visited by the mongoose, they are pretty cute! It's an easy walk back to the parking lot from there. We went early in the morning and it was a bit cloudy, a sunny day would be even better! The beach was rocky, but we just wore swim shoes, fins aren't necessary. This was our favorite snorkeling place for both St John and St Thomas.

This was an excellent change of scenery from the crowded St. Thomas where we started our trip. We brought a car over on the ferry from Red Hook ( St. Thomas) and it cost us $23. This was a very comfortable way to travel up and down the treacherous steep roads and allowed us time to stop at many scenic overlooks as well as visit the most beaches we could in one day. We went early to Trunk Bay and so were able to take pictures of ourselves with NO other tourists at all! Just like we were stranded on a tropical paradise. We visited the abandoned sugarmill ruin at the top of one hill overlooking a beautiful bay and were treated to local wildlife...a wild boar, mongoose, lizards and colorful butterflies. There were NO bugs and we delighted in sharing bread baked in a clay and brick hut on the premises. It must have been maddening for the slaves to work so hard a few feet away from freedom in paradise.

Salt Pond was an entirely different beach than the "brown sugar" sand we were accustomed to....here it was pieces of coral and shells and pretty red-streaked pebbles. A chilly downpour pelted us as we exited our car, causing we Northerners to grab our fleece jackets for protection. Ten minutes later we looked like martians on the beach....locals curiously eyeing our out-of-place attire in the now blazing sunshine. Day showers definately don't last long here and I would never cancel an outing because it "looked like rain."

A side trip to Drunken Bay for some beach combing was a real adventure. Visitors have built their own "skeletons" from coral, rock, coconuts and driftwood and we made sure we added our own. The pounding surf was deafening that day and we tied a picture of our recently deceased mother so she could experience the wind in her hair as well.

We topped off the day at a nice open aired restaurant 9 Island Blues, I believe was the name) in one the bays. After dodging the wild burros to park the car, we had a lovely lunch including bacon and blue cheese stuffed jalapenos, spicy blackened burgers and fresh cut fries.

All in all, a wonderful day trip but we needed more time to see the rest of the island. We will definately be back.