Exploring St. John

Mangrove Hike

Possibly my favorite part of the trip was the Dead Mangrove Hike.

Prior to Hurricane Hugo, there had been a large mangrove forest in an area near camp. However, the hurricane caused salt to spray on the upper leaves of the plants, killing them. Mangroves are interesting plants because they have evolved to live in salt water. Red mangroves have root systems descending from the branches to take in water and nutrients. These specialized roots are able to exclude the salt from the water. The mangrove receives oxygen from specialized pockets along the root called lenticels.
Another type of mangrove which is prevalent in St. John is the black mangrove. These are also adapted to live in the salt water but they do it differently. Black mangroves actually take in the salt with the water and excrete it onto the leaves. Salt crystals can be seen and tasted on the leaves.



The mangrove forest looks pretty dead but some organisms still make their homes here.

There are many termite nests for instance.
Termites eat wood and use their feces to build nests.




Small land crabs live in holes in the earth.















The brackish pond was also a very interesting place to explore.

There is no oxygen in this environment so anything that lives in the pond must adapt accordingly. Bloodworms are one type of organism that live in the pond. They have a substance similar to hemoglobin in their systems, which allows them to live in this anoxic environment.










Bordeaux Mountain Hike

Bordeaux Mountain
Bordeaux Mountain is the highest point on St. John at 1277 feet. Our group hiked all the way to the top, making stops at the Reef Bay Sugar Mill ruins and the Petroglyphs. The mill ruins are located close to the bay for easy transport of processed sugar. Years ago, these mills on St. John (and elsewhere in the Virgin Islands) produced rum, molasses, and sugar using slave labor.











The Reef Bay Sugar Mill ruins














The Petroglyphs
The Petroglyphs are an archaeological mystery-no one seems to know exactly who made them. Some people maintain that slaves drew the pictures on the rocks.












SCUBA

Another great thing about this class is the opportunity to become SCUBA certified in St. John. For an extra fee, students do their certification dives in spare time on the trip. I didn't choose to do the SCUBA but other students said it was a fantastic experience.

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