St. John VI restaurants

[KennethT]

19 minutes ago, liamsaunt said:

Yessterday we spent the day snorkeling again, this time on the opposite side of the island. We saw lots of coral and sea life, but no octopus. I have not checked those photos yet. The ones from the day before came out great. 
 

 

 

They were both delicious but we got bombarded with flies. Not no see ums but actual flies. It was awful. They ended up moving our table but it did not help much. I asked them to hold our main courses until the sun went down to see if that would help. It did, but the experience was extremely irritating and put a big damper on the meal.  One of the hazards of eating outside I guess.  

 

 

When you take underwater photos, do you use lighting of any kind?  I had wanted to get a light for when we go diving - the last time, a bunch of divers with us had lights and it really makes a big difference.  You might not need it though since you're on the surface snorkeling.

 

I'm surprised the resort doesn't do something about the flies.  We eat outside at all of teh resorts in SE Asia and haven't had an issue with flies.  I imagine that the resorts spray for them when there's no one around and they also have these bug coils that make a smell the bugs don't like - although I find it very pleasant.  The bug coil is lit and sits in a pretty container, and tucked underneath the table.

[Shelby]

24 minutes ago, liamsaunt said:

I believe it was roasted peppers and avocado.   It was very tender. 
 

Yessterday we spent the day snorkeling again, this time on the opposite side of the island. We saw lots of coral and sea life, but no octopus. I have not checked those photos yet. The ones from the day before came out great. 
 

Dinner was at the fine dining area of the resort. Here’s the menu.  Dinner specials

 

 

drinks

 

 

food

 

 

setting

 

 

Husband had the king crab and grits

 

 

and I had the scallops

 

 

They were both delicious but we got bombarded with flies. Not no see ums but actual flies. It was awful. They ended up moving our table but it did not help much. I asked them to hold our main courses until the sun went down to see if that would help. It did, but the experience was extremely irritating and put a big damper on the meal.  One of the hazards of eating outside I guess.  

 

After sunset they brought the main courses. Post sunset view

 

 

Husband had the mahi mahi special

 

 

And I had the catch of the day (yellowfin tuna) with the chorizo eliminated from the hash

 

 

 

We shared a bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream for dessert

 

 

and were treated to the sight of a Space X launch! If they had not moved our table to a different area we would have missed it. No one else dining at the restaurant saw it but us.  Our server saw me pointing up and taking pictures so came over and caught some of it but missed the rocket part. 
 

 

Today is our last full day. We might go back over to St. John for dinner, we will see. 

What an awesome picture of the launch!!!  You could win an award!!

[liamsaunt]

7 hours ago, KennethT said:

When you take underwater photos, do you use lighting of any kind?  I had wanted to get a light for when we go diving - the last time, a bunch of divers with us had lights and it really makes a big difference.  You might not need it though since you're on the surface snorkeling.

 

I'm surprised the resort doesn't do something about the flies.  We eat outside at all of teh resorts in SE Asia and haven't had an issue with flies.  I imagine that the resorts spray for them when there's no one around and they also have these bug coils that make a smell the bugs don't like - although I find it very pleasant.  The bug coil is lit and sits in a pretty container, and tucked underneath the table.

 

 I keep flash off and just rely on natural light. I use an Olympus TG7 on the underwater setting, and run the photos I am keeping through photoshop to pull out any excess blue. You definitely need an external light for good dive photos. 

 

7 hours ago, Shelby said:

What an awesome picture of the launch!!!  You could win an award!!

It’s just an iPhone photo. Everyone who saw it basically got the exact same picture. Every time there is a launch all my St. John Facebook groups are filled with this same photo, and a couple of panicked inquiries from people who think we are under attack. 😀

[blue_dolphin]

44 minutes ago, liamsaunt said:

Every time there is a launch all my St. John Facebook groups are filled with this same photo, and a couple of panicked inquiries from people who think we are under attack. 😀

Space X also launched a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg last night. I was unaware until the boom shook the house and rattled the windows. First thing I do is check the Twitter feeds for the quake bots I follow in case it was an earthquake, then Google Vandenberg launch. Takes about 9 or 10 min for the sound to reach here so too late to run out and see but it was quite clear last night so lots of 🚀 photos on Facebook & Nextdoor.  

[liamsaunt]

Yesterday after breakfast (yesterday’s frittata was feta, mushroom, spinach and roasted pepper, and that’s avocado toast in the back)

 

 

we had a pretty chill day just hanging out on the deck of our tent (that’s a mango tree next to our tent)

 

 

enjoying the view

 

 

We went back down to the beach for snorkeling and sea glass hunting (success on both fronts). Once again we had the beach to ourselves. I guess everyone else was on the other side of the island at the pool.

 

We had not planned to go back to St. John, but decided on a whim to head over for dinner. (The resort provides shuttle service as part of your stay).  The concierge got us a reservation at one of our favorites, La Tapa.  But first, we stopped in at Drink for, well, a drink.  View

 

 

Husband’s margarita and my very exciting Diet Coke 😂

 

 

La Tapa setting

 

 

Menu

 

 

Drinks. Husband had a martini and I had sparkling water 

 

 

we shared a scallop seveche special appetizer. 
 

 

Then I had the tuna 

 

 

And he chose the mahi.  We skipped dessert. 
 

 

Afterglow from La Tapa

 

 

Back to Lovango

 

 

We are flying home today, but will be back on St. John in May. We are hoping for smaller crowds and warmer water. We also made a pledge that we would only try new places to eat in May. Will we succeed? Only time will tell.

 

Thanks for following along, and see you on the dinner! thread starting tomorrow! 

Edited March 12 by liamsaunt (log)

[rotuts]

@liamsaunt

 

thank you for the menus

 

and sharing your trip with us.

[KennethT]

1 hour ago, liamsaunt said:

Yesterday after breakfast (yesterday’s frittata was feta, mushroom, spinach and roasted pepper, and that’s avocado toast in the back)

 

 

we had a pretty chill day just hanging out on the deck of our tent (that’s a mango tree next to our tent)

 

 

enjoying the view

 

 

We went back down to the beach for snorkeling and sea glass hunting (success on both fronts). Once again we had the beach to ourselves. I guess everyone else was on the other side of the island at the pool.

 

We had not planned to go back to St. John, but decided on a whim to head over for dinner. (The resort provides shuttle service as part of your stay).  The concierge got us a reservation at one of our favorites, La Tapa.  But first, we stopped in at Drink for, well, a drink.  View

 

 

Husband’s margarita and my very exciting Diet Coke 😂

 

 

La Tapa setting

 

 

Menu

 

 

Drinks. Husband had a martini and I had sparkling water 

 

 

we shared a scallop seveche special appetizer. 
 

 

Then I had the tuna 

 

 

And he chose the mahi.  We skipped dessert. 
 

 

Afterglow from La Tapa

 

 

Back to Lovango

 

 

We are flying home today, but will be back on St. John in May. We are hoping for smaller crowds and warmer water. We also made a pledge that we would only try new places to eat in May. Will we succeed? Only time will tell.

 

Thanks for following along, and see you on the dinner! thread starting tomorrow! 

Thanks for sharing!!!  I always love your trips.  Do you think you could post some of your underwater photos?  Also I think the tree next to your deck was a papaya tree, not a mango tree.  Mangoes come from the branches of the tree, not off the trunk like a papaya does.

[TdeV]

Great fun, thanks!

[liamsaunt]

On 3/12/2024 at 11:17 AM, KennethT said:

Thanks for sharing!!!  I always love your trips.  Do you think you could post some of your underwater photos?  Also I think the tree next to your deck was a papaya tree, not a mango tree.  Mangoes come from the branches of the tree, not off the trunk like a papaya does.

 

You are right!  It is a papaya tree.  Thank you for clarifying.  They are in most of the places we have rented houses from, but we have never been able to get a ripe one.  The fruit rats always get to them first (fun fact: fruit rats also love to eat shampoo and soap in the outdoor showers that people think are such glamorous additions to the villas).

 

Here are a few photos from underwater.  I hope it's ok to share.

 

Grunts

 

 

Octopus swimming

 

 

Octopus clinging to rocks

 

 

Hiding in their den 

 

 

Yellow trumpetfish

 

 

Coral garden

 

 

Blue tang

 

 

 

Reef squid

 

 

I'll update this thread again when we return in May.

 

[rotuts]

@liamsaunt

 

spectacular pictures.

 

loved the octopus .

[KennethT]

36 minutes ago, liamsaunt said:

 

You are right!  It is a papaya tree.  Thank you for clarifying.  They are in most of the places we have rented houses from, but we have never been able to get a ripe one.  The fruit rats always get to them first (fun fact: fruit rats also love to eat shampoo and soap in the outdoor showers that people think are such glamorous additions to the villas).

 

Here are a few photos from underwater.  I hope it's ok to share.

 

Grunts

 

 

Octopus swimming

 

 

Octopus clinging to rocks

 

 

Hiding in their den 

 

 

Yellow trumpetfish

 

 

Coral garden

 

 

Blue tang

 

 

 

Reef squid

 

 

I'll update this thread again when we return in May.

 

Thanks so much!  I've only seen an octopus once - on our last trip, there was one hiding at the bottom of a giant barrel sponge.

 

If you're ever cooking a meal while on vacation, you can use an unripe papaya to make papaya salad.  It's also pretty good snack with a dip made from salt/chilli/a little sugar.  Not like a green mango, but pretty good.

[MaryIsobel]

Love following you on your trips. I particularly love the photos of the Octopi. Now I feel bad for eating them!

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

I'll add my thanks for taking us along.

Great underwater photos.