VIERS (Virgin Islands Environmental Resource Station)
This was our base camp. The camp has 13 cabins, bathroom facilities, showers, a mess hall, kitchen, library, and a classroom. The food was really good here, and so was the dessert. We slept in cabins with 6-12 beds, complete with electricity. The water on the island is a valuable resource so making sure you didn't waste water was a must. This is where it got tricky because the plumbing system in the camp was fussy. Sometimes the toilets would get clogged, and sometimes the UMASS kids would get blamed for it, but nonetheless we made it. I still think Walter, that crazy turkey, kept somehow clogging the toilets... VIERS is conveniently located near the two Lameshur Bays (Little and Greater), our own sort of "private" beaches that we used for swimming and snorkeling.
On our way to the Brackish Pond, we stopped at the dead mangrove forest. Burrowed in the ground all over were fiddler crabs. We also saw some remains of the much larger land crabs. We then continued to the Brackish Pond. The Brackish pond is a hypersaline pond (very high salt levels). Any organism living in the water would have to have some kind of adaptation to deal with the high salinity of the pond. In the water we saw some crabs and tiny worms scooped out through a filter. There was a lot of clay in the bottom of the pond, so some people took advantage of the skin moisturizing qualities in clay. We also got to watch some birds around the extremities of the pond, including a green heron, a stilt, and a cuckoo.
On our way up to the top of Bordeaux Mountain, we stopped first at the Sugar Mill Ruins and then for lunch at the Petroglyphs. The Sugar Mill Ruins are what is left of the sugar plantations. The petroglyphs are another interesting area. These are markings on the rocks, which have caused much controversy over who put them there, for what reason, and what they mean? One newer hypothesis was that the carvings were made by the Tainos (descendants of the Aramak Indians). Excavations near Cinnamon Bay have revealed a ceremonial site of the Tainos that had pottery with symbols matching the Petroglyph symbols. Another theory states that the Petroglyphs may have an African origin, and one researcher had translated a series of dots and crescents to mean "Plunge in to cleanse and dissolve away impurity and trouble; this is water for ritual ablution before devotions."
We then finally made it to the top of Bordeaux Mountain (it took about 2.5-3 hours from VIERS) where there was a conveniently located souvenir shop and a drink/snack shop. Bordeaux Mountain is the highest peak on St. John, towering 1,277 ft. The views from here were amazing. We got to rest for a little while, watch the bananaquits go nuts over some sugar, and just chill in the subtropical shade.
On our way to Ram's Head, we stopped at Saltpond Bay, which was a hypersaline environment. There were not many organisms living in the pond itself. I think there were some brine shrimp. Any organism living in the water would have to have some kind of adaptation to deal with the high salinity of the pond. There were many fun things to look at under the rocks here: Earwigs, spiders, other insects, and we even caught an African gecko here.
Ram's Head was another place with a spectacular view. Very picture-worthy. Along the way, the xeric, or desert, environment was observed. Many cacti were seen containing fruit (Melocactus intortus). Those who tried the fruit said it tasted like strawberries.
Hurricane Hole was once used by the United States Navy to store their ships during storms. It is an enclosed, very shallow environment. This was also a nice place to observe all mangroves surrounding the area. We had to be very careful not to disturb the sand on the ocean floor here, so no fins were used.
On our last full day on St. John, we worked our way towards the more inhabited side of the island. Our first main stop was Cinnamon Bay. We got to swim and just lay out on the beach. Cruz Bay was our next stop...
This is the most frequented tourist city of St. John. There are shops, restaurants, and bars everywhere you turn. We got to explore for a bit, before meeting at the Banana Deck for dinner. The after dinner experience was centralized at Duffy's Love Shack. This is a fun-filled bar with music and a huge variety of tropical drinks. The coolest thing about this bar is that you get to keep the neat cups that come with the drinks. We then ventured back to VIERS to get a good night's rest before heading out the next morning.
