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Trip Report - "30th Anniv." Part Two
Trip Report - "30th Anniv." Part Two
May 7
Keeping to the east side, we headed to Salt Pond. OH MY GOODNESS – what an incredible day of snorkeling!!!
IMG_0161 by LinwardT, on Flickr
HT loves the do rag I gave him to keep the sun off his... pate
I snorkeled the R side, then the L side. HT snorkeled the R side – then went on out to the rocks in the middle of the bay. When we met back at the shore later, he told me he had spotted a “group” of cuttlefish on the right side, and that the coral and sea life around the far rocks were incredible.
So, after a short break, we headed back out. I was surprised/amazed when he found the cuttlefish for me again – 9 of them
. And, OH MY, was he ever right about the far rocks – absolutely breathtaking! Colorful fish swam around, and through deep crevices lined with beautiful coral (including elkhorn, pillar, tube), and big, lacey purple sea fans.
IMG_0667 by LinwardT, on Flickr
IMG_0629 by LinwardT, on Flickr
IMG_0754 by LinwardT, on Flickr
IMG_0702 by LinwardT, on Flickr
When we got back to shore – after a long paddle against the current, I discovered I had the camera set on the automatic setting vs. the underwater setting – ARRGH! So, after resting up a bit, we decided to go back out one more time. It was beautifully sunny – with no clouds overhead. HT said he’d find the Cuttlefish again for me, but I wasn’t very hopeful. And, bless his heart, find them again he did! I took lots of pictures of them – this time with the camera on the correct setting! Back out at the rocks, we’d just rounded the back side when HT pointed. Off in the distance – swimming towards us – was a spotted eagle ray!!! We were stunned; it was absolutely awesome!
IMG_0326 by LinwardT, on Flickr
Our attention now back on the sea life surrounding the rocks, I tried to take a picture of one of the coral outcroppings, and the camera registered, “change batteries”! OH MY, to think how close I’d come to not being able to take pictures of the eagle ray!
Back at the shore, once again, we wolfed down delicious steak sandwiches (left over from last night’s BBQ) before the hike up-hill to our jeep.
That evening we floated in the lap pool to ease the pain from our sunburns. Seems like 6 hours of snorkeling (without repeating sunscreen) was too much. Thankfully, we were both wearing shorty wet suits (and HT his “do rag”), so most of our bodies were covered - with the exception of the backs of our elbows and legs - which were now bright red. (Thank goodness we'd brought along "Ocean Potion" burn relief, with Lidocaine!)
Sunday 5/8 – Mother’s Day
IMG_1855 by LinwardT, on Flickr
IMG_1859 by LinwardT, on Flickr
After breakfast we drove to Coral Bay to attend the service at the Calvary Baptist church. Stone steps led up the hill to the little wooden one-room church. The church members were very friendly, and welcoming, and we enjoyed pastor’s enthusiastic message.
Our bodies needed a chance to recover from our sunburns, so we decided to “see the sights” instead of snorkeling.
IMG_1866 by LinwardT, on Flickr
IMG_1865 by LinwardT, on Flickr
We toured the Catherineberg ruins, had lunch in the gazebo at the Westin, and watched the iguanas being fed their daily meal of lettuce and tomatoes. Before the food person arrived, you could spot three or four iguanas here and there. But once “dinner” arrived, they suddenly appeared in “droves”, climbing down out of the trees, ambling up the hillside.
IMG_1879 by LinwardT, on Flickr
Later, we made our way over to the Beach Bar for the scheduled get-together of Forumites. It was such fun finally being able to put faces to the names of people that, through the forum, already felt like friends - including: Calif. Girl and her hubby, Rick G & Christine, Bev & Crash, Pia, Island Girl, Diane 2 & Mr. Diane 2. (Sorry if I’ve forgotten anyone; it was a big group). It was fun seeing Ruth and Ron again too. And, I was honored to be presented with a “Haven’t I Seen You On The Forum” tee shirt – THANK YOU
.
5/9
Today we snorkeled Maho.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5783441815/" title="IMG_1962 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5105/578 ... f2d2_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="IMG_1962"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5783605328/" title="IMG_0385 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3255/578 ... b252_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="IMG_0385"></a>
There really wasn’t a lot to see there – the bottom was mostly sand, and the visibility wasn’t very good. We did see several large star fish, two sting rays though.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5783604004/" title="IMG_0381 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5183/578 ... 2932_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="IMG_0381"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5791540013/" title="IMG_0370 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3009/579 ... fb57_z.jpg" width="426" height="640" alt="IMG_0370"></a>
After a picnic lunch, we toured East end. As I was out taking a picture of a young donkey (SO cute), his two companions tried to take my sandals out of the jeep.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5783492448/" title="IMG_0399 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5267/578 ... bffc_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="IMG_0399"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5782923865/" title="IMG_0392 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2412/578 ... 037d_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="IMG_0392"></a>
We then went back to the villa to do a load of laundry since we’ll only have one more full day at Beas Maison. OHH time – please slow down!
To be continued...
Keeping to the east side, we headed to Salt Pond. OH MY GOODNESS – what an incredible day of snorkeling!!!
IMG_0161 by LinwardT, on Flickr
HT loves the do rag I gave him to keep the sun off his... pate
I snorkeled the R side, then the L side. HT snorkeled the R side – then went on out to the rocks in the middle of the bay. When we met back at the shore later, he told me he had spotted a “group” of cuttlefish on the right side, and that the coral and sea life around the far rocks were incredible.
So, after a short break, we headed back out. I was surprised/amazed when he found the cuttlefish for me again – 9 of them
. And, OH MY, was he ever right about the far rocks – absolutely breathtaking! Colorful fish swam around, and through deep crevices lined with beautiful coral (including elkhorn, pillar, tube), and big, lacey purple sea fans.IMG_0667 by LinwardT, on Flickr
IMG_0629 by LinwardT, on Flickr
IMG_0754 by LinwardT, on Flickr
IMG_0702 by LinwardT, on Flickr
When we got back to shore – after a long paddle against the current, I discovered I had the camera set on the automatic setting vs. the underwater setting – ARRGH! So, after resting up a bit, we decided to go back out one more time. It was beautifully sunny – with no clouds overhead. HT said he’d find the Cuttlefish again for me, but I wasn’t very hopeful. And, bless his heart, find them again he did! I took lots of pictures of them – this time with the camera on the correct setting! Back out at the rocks, we’d just rounded the back side when HT pointed. Off in the distance – swimming towards us – was a spotted eagle ray!!! We were stunned; it was absolutely awesome!
IMG_0326 by LinwardT, on Flickr
Our attention now back on the sea life surrounding the rocks, I tried to take a picture of one of the coral outcroppings, and the camera registered, “change batteries”! OH MY, to think how close I’d come to not being able to take pictures of the eagle ray!
Back at the shore, once again, we wolfed down delicious steak sandwiches (left over from last night’s BBQ) before the hike up-hill to our jeep.
That evening we floated in the lap pool to ease the pain from our sunburns. Seems like 6 hours of snorkeling (without repeating sunscreen) was too much. Thankfully, we were both wearing shorty wet suits (and HT his “do rag”), so most of our bodies were covered - with the exception of the backs of our elbows and legs - which were now bright red. (Thank goodness we'd brought along "Ocean Potion" burn relief, with Lidocaine!)
Sunday 5/8 – Mother’s Day
IMG_1855 by LinwardT, on Flickr
IMG_1859 by LinwardT, on Flickr
After breakfast we drove to Coral Bay to attend the service at the Calvary Baptist church. Stone steps led up the hill to the little wooden one-room church. The church members were very friendly, and welcoming, and we enjoyed pastor’s enthusiastic message.
Our bodies needed a chance to recover from our sunburns, so we decided to “see the sights” instead of snorkeling.
IMG_1866 by LinwardT, on Flickr
IMG_1865 by LinwardT, on Flickr
We toured the Catherineberg ruins, had lunch in the gazebo at the Westin, and watched the iguanas being fed their daily meal of lettuce and tomatoes. Before the food person arrived, you could spot three or four iguanas here and there. But once “dinner” arrived, they suddenly appeared in “droves”, climbing down out of the trees, ambling up the hillside.
IMG_1879 by LinwardT, on Flickr
Later, we made our way over to the Beach Bar for the scheduled get-together of Forumites. It was such fun finally being able to put faces to the names of people that, through the forum, already felt like friends - including: Calif. Girl and her hubby, Rick G & Christine, Bev & Crash, Pia, Island Girl, Diane 2 & Mr. Diane 2. (Sorry if I’ve forgotten anyone; it was a big group). It was fun seeing Ruth and Ron again too. And, I was honored to be presented with a “Haven’t I Seen You On The Forum” tee shirt – THANK YOU
.5/9
Today we snorkeled Maho.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5783441815/" title="IMG_1962 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5105/578 ... f2d2_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="IMG_1962"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5783605328/" title="IMG_0385 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3255/578 ... b252_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="IMG_0385"></a>
There really wasn’t a lot to see there – the bottom was mostly sand, and the visibility wasn’t very good. We did see several large star fish, two sting rays though.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5783604004/" title="IMG_0381 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5183/578 ... 2932_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="IMG_0381"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5791540013/" title="IMG_0370 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3009/579 ... fb57_z.jpg" width="426" height="640" alt="IMG_0370"></a>
After a picnic lunch, we toured East end. As I was out taking a picture of a young donkey (SO cute), his two companions tried to take my sandals out of the jeep.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5783492448/" title="IMG_0399 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5267/578 ... bffc_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="IMG_0399"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5782923865/" title="IMG_0392 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2412/578 ... 037d_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="IMG_0392"></a>
We then went back to the villa to do a load of laundry since we’ll only have one more full day at Beas Maison. OHH time – please slow down!
To be continued...
Life is an adventure.
Treasure each moment.
Treasure each moment.
I am really enjoying your reports! Ouch on the sunburns. Your eagle ray story made me smile--the same thing happened to me at Salt Pond once--eagle ray approached, I got one picture, and bam! the camera battery died.
Looking forward to more.
Looking forward to more.
It's like looking in your soup and finding a whole different alphabet.
Love your pictures and your stories.
We visited the Calvary BC too. The people were oh so lovely and the message was right on. Just a wonderful experience and then we got a sweet Christmas card from them. Really nice. Glad to know you went as well.
Then we walked over to Lucy's for brunch. It was a perfect day.
We visited the Calvary BC too. The people were oh so lovely and the message was right on. Just a wonderful experience and then we got a sweet Christmas card from them. Really nice. Glad to know you went as well.
Then we walked over to Lucy's for brunch. It was a perfect day.
