Recovery Tour trip report: The Shock and Awe Phase

[mindehankins]

Shock and Awe phase
(Thursday)

We woke again at 5:30 and were both engrossed in our books now, so we didn't leave the cottage until 7. We didn't need breakfast because we were still full from Fabian's dinner last night. We packed our cooler and took off to try Waterlemon again.

It was calm! We hiked in (I believe it's the Leinster Bay Trail?) on a really nice and easy trail. Blaine's back was appreciative of that...probably the other parts, too.... As we got our snorkel gear out, we chatted with a couple who'd just climbed out of the water, and they reported seeing a Nurse Shark. Yay! Maybe we'll get to see a shark on our first trip! Before we could get in the water, the skies opened up with rain, and we all backed into the trees. I asked "is this the trail that has the Manchineel Trees on it? No one knew what I was talking about. I said "the ones you're not supposed to stand under in the rain?" And we all had a good nervous laugh. I guess we weren't under a Manchineel tree, cause nothing bad happened. As soon as the rain lightened, we went in. It was more difficult getting in on the rocks here. I had to be reassured that this was not coral, it was rock. The trip over to Waterlemon Cay was the deepest I've snorkeled in, and I am not a swimmer, but I wasn't afraid. Blaine was way behind me. He had difficulty keeping up with me, and I had difficulty going slowly. I was kinda proud to be better at something for once!

The snorkel around the Cay was just amazing. On the East side of the Cay, I heard Blaine holler and sort of jump out of the water. He said a fair sized barracuda swam from right to left, about a foot from his mask. With no peripheral vision, he didn't see it coming. We tried to find it for me to see, but no luck. We did see a bunch of beautiful needle shaped silver fish, some gold spotted sort of gar-looking fish, and a long silver fish with an orange "beak," that stayed right near the surface. They weren't on my fish ID cards. We got out and rested on the sandy end of the cay for a little bit, then went back in and saw sea stars! These are shaped very differently than the ones I've seen in Florida, and were much bigger.

We snorkeled back to the shoreline, and Blaine got out. I was enjoying just floating around in my new favorite alternate reality, when all of a sudden...... It was the ladies on the beach that noticed it first. "Your wife's panicking! I wonder what's wrong?" they said to Blaine. I think I might have exited the water horizontally and flew to shore. I had been looking sort of straight ahead. Something made me look down a bit, and I was about 3 feet from a Barracuda that I swear was almost as big as me. He was not a thin Barracuda. He was a thick, well-fed Barracuda. I had caught his eye and he was turning to check me out, and of course doing that disconcerting mouth thing. I exited the water and was done with that snorkel. I know they aren't known to attack humans. I didn't care! I am not easily creeped out, but..... Yes, Joshie, I remember that a barracuda was one of the first things I'd asked you about. And I trust you, but...

We went back to Waterlemon Beach and I snorkeled again there, finding a nice snorkel to the right. I had a real strange moment where I realized that, prior to this trip, I'd take a big breath and then enter the water. Here, I enter the water and then take the big breath. I liked that.

Hunger hit and Blaine had been thinking of conch fritters non-stop, so back to Miss Vie's we went Where oh where was the sun? It was again very windy at Miss Vie's. We were the first cutomers of the day, her daughter told us, at 12:30! We talked about how the economy was hurting everyone, while she prepared our food. We shared a rice and beans with meat sauce, and each got an order of conch fritters. Yummmm.....

We stopped at the mini mart on that end, and asked about skewers for our shish-kabobs and was told only Starfish would have them. We were feeling pretty confident about that drive now, so we ran in and got them, and then went to Caneel to park for a walk to Honeymoon. Much easier walk in, for Blaine!

We entered the water on the left side of the beach, and into a watery wonderland. It felt like we were snorkelling in a much better version of our home aquarium! The corals and sponges were so beautiful and you could go into little areas and be almost surrounded by coral. We saw stingrays with their remora. It's beautiful the way they move in unison. We saw a lobster, but Blaine wouldn't go down and get it for me. This was undeniably the best snorkel so far. If only the sun would come out, it would be even more spectacular. This snorkel really filled our hearts up and we left wishing we'd come sooner.

Back at CBC, I strung up my shish-kabobs. Mongoose dem had snatched all of our monkey meat. I ducked into the cottage to wipe my hands, and the doggone thrushies were trying to make off with our kabobs! I am a nature lover, and a camper. Wildlife is part of the allure of camping. Raccoons, bears and all sorts of wildlife will steal your food if you leave it out. But they don't swoop in and take it right in front of you. The thrushies made cooking outdoors difficult.

Same bedtime routine: read about tomorrow's snorkel, fall asleep in peace. We're loving this place, and already starting sentences with "Next trip....."

[Ron in South Texas]

Love those thrushies. The seagulls at Trunk will steal your burger from you right out of your hand!

[Berlingirl]

Minde...love your story telling ways.

We were at Maho last trip and a thrushie came out of the bush and took my Vienna sausage sandwich right out of my hand before I got to taste it. It was too heavy for him so he dropped it and out of the bush came a Mongoose and took what he could carry in his greedy little paws. That hurt, I don't ever eat Vienna sausage sandwiches except in STJ. It was to be my "first" and I could just taste it followed up by a nice cool beverage! Oh well, made the day exciting and kids liked watching me get all "upset" about a foolish sandwich. Leaves us with another story to tell.

Waiting for your next installment!

[Robin in NC]

Yes, it's one thing to be copacetic when reading about barracuda, but another thing to come face to face with one! I think I'd have had just the reaction you did, and taken the same action.

Really enjoying your snorkeling description. Very vivid.

By the way, did you see the teams eating starfish in China on the Amazing Race? They (the starfish) were deep fried, and the people ate the inside of them. Crazy Chinese.