trip report page 3

day 4

we had planned to be up early and start down Francis , swim around mary point and to the cay but slept in and decided on a big breakfast instead....yummy! We watched a thrasher swoop in and attack the toast of some poor thing who left her plate on the table while she got more coffee.

Back to the cottage and then down to the beach. We snorkled around Francis, landed on the tiny beach around the point to check currents. Donkey donuts all over the beach, but sheer cliffs all around, they must levitate back up those rocks! The wind had kicked up and sea was choppy.......the swim looked do-able by catching a current beyond the point out, but just watching Fungi pass for a few minutes convinced us not to try.....too many boats roaring past at high speed that day, and we were not towing dive flags. We started futher down mary point, but too many jellies, and chop was tough, so turned back and poked our way home. That coast along Francis was amazing, each and everytime we visited. Saw a couple of eels.. green moray and a large sandy color spotted one. Also saw a carribean octopus, got 2 pics, but deleted one by accident, of all the pictures to goof! Time to get my honey out of the sun, so back to the cottage.

We were hungry hours before dinner, needed to stay out of the sun, and almost out of diet coke......time for a market run! Caught Frett's to town and spent happy hours shopping and exploring.....many pictures! Hunger growled, so many choices, but settled on Uncle Joe's bar-b-q, based on reports I had read..... Right choice! YUM!

While waiting for the bus struck up a conversation w/ some passengers and firmly placed my foot into my mouth. I loudly proclaimed how much i liked the 'no radio' policy at MBC, not having to listen to someone's country-western......to someone who has won multiple emmys in that catagory. My hubby just about exploded trying not to laugh, and had quite a good tease for sometime about that one.

Back to camp, and chilled for a while. The sunset looked promising, so started to climb to catch it. Took a few pic's, then just as it got intense, decided to run to the beach to catch it there.......was too dumb to stop for bug spray and paid the price....heavily! Incredible
sunset, burned lots of media, and stayed on beach talking to some great folks. By the time i got to the cottage i was chewed up. Nothing seemed to work on bites, the ususal cortison bug stick did nothing....welted , blistered, the whole nine yards. Oh well, I would not recognize the fact that i was on vacation w/out several hundred bites, it just means long pants on the way home!

Made a blender full of fresh pina-coladas, itched and grinned.

day 5

Packed the hydration packs for an all day voyage and set off for Waterlemon. We had spent the week calling that cay every fruit in the book. It was a muggy walk in, but the ruins along the trail were so photogenic. There werent many people there, a couple of boats moored and one family in the water. The sky was cloudy, but the visablity still good, and the coral was amazing. I spotted and shot a huge octopus. Ususally its my hubby who spots and points, but this trip i was the octo-hunter. We planned a couple of trips around the cay, then up the coast, but when we pulled out on Waterlemon beach the sky said... MOVE now. We tore across the bay and just hit the beach when the rain started pounding. I stayed in the water, keeping warm, chatting w/ a family from albany. All of us were floating around
telling tales when lightening struck.... close! Our exit sure wasnt pretty, but it was FAST! Stayed on the beach in the pelting rain for about 10 minutes, was starting to chill when hubby pulled his 'silver swaddler' (space blanket) out of his pack and handed it to me. I looked like a giant baked potato but warmed right up. We have hauled that thing hundreds and hundreds of miles skiing, sometimes well below zero, and never used it. go figure. The rain looked like it was going to stay and thunder rumbled pretty constantly so we decided to head back. Nice hike, sure warmed up fast going uphill!
Ate our picnic sitting watching the rain. The only casuality was his watercolor hanging on the wall. It was not improved by mother nature's tye-dye.

A lazy afternoon was just what we needed, the rain was a good excuse. I actually got a couple of chapters read, he painted and we both went to bed early, just to listen to the waves. By night the rain was gone and the stars were magnificent. I lay in bed watching the milkyway and wanting to live like this forever.

day 6

lots of rest, an early morning serenaded by 'our' thrashers. Time for fuel, so up the hill for breakfast. I think I ate 2 of everything, a massive pile of food...just right! I love to eat breakfast out while on vacation, but always want an early start for snorkling. The food was so good at MBC, there was little conflict.

We set out for Jumbie and Hawksnest. Started at Jumbie and worked our way almost to trunk. Once again great snorkling! My camera fogged, learned not to tuck it under the rashguard, but paid the price of missing some great shots. Saw turtles, several eels, rays, spent hours looking at sea grass for sea-horses, but never saw one.......still on the hunt list! Kept talking to people who saw star-fish, but never timed that right either. Hubby had been looking forward to seeing a shark, we would talk to someone who just saw some, swim there, but no luck. I saw several small nurse shark, but he missed them and never had another chance.......we will just have to go back to try again. Sun was high so headed back to jumbie, full of did you see thats.......

Took an afternoon snooze, then headed for shower. Met a huge iguana, asked him to wait while i got the camera, but he must have misunderstood. By the time i did 134 steps for camera he was off posing for someone else. I did get some nice shots of one while in the square at Cruz Bay. I also got some good shots of chickens and roosters walking down the street. As if this country girl has never seen a chicken! Things are always more interesting on vacation.
even chickens.......

Dinner was tempting at the pavillion, but decided to treat ourselves to the Lime INN.......some treat! I pulled out a skirt and my 'dress tevas' and off we went. Dinner was suberb, had a great time with all the good folks there>look forward to that again, will try to hit the shrimp night.

Of all the things i watched while snorkling, the only thing that I wanted to snatch was the flounder. Every time i saw one i dreamed of stuffing him! ( i didnt know about the lobster rules then!) No flounder on the menu, but a wonderful meal anyway. Full and happy we bounced back to the camp. My rib had healed enough to make the trip almost pleasant. Planned on a cocktail for desert, but too full, we just flopped and rubbed our bellies like greedy racoons.
counted maybe 3 waves before zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.