Thursday, 2/17:
After breakfast, we headed to rendezvous with the kids in West End. It was a perfect morning weather-wise: clear, calm and warm. The angry ocean had calmed down to a purring kitten. All was back to what it should be. The kids had access to kayaks so we met on Half Moon Bay for some water fun.
Half Moon Bay is ideal. It’s an almost perfect half circle with clear water and a nice sandy beach. It’s deep enough to snorkel but shallow enough near the beach to be able to swim safely. We took turns going out. Near the mouth of the bay is a shallow reef where small waves break. The submersible is also kept there. We found out quickly that that was where the fun was. Clay and Jean and I rode a few waves. Nicci was quick to notice the fun and headed out there herself. When she came into shore a short time later, she was sporting several bloody cuts on her leg. She had gotten broadsided by the wave and crashed on the reef. It looked gory but after a day of swimming and snorkeling, it looked a lot better, and now she has a story to tell!
When we were done kayaking, we headed back to the house to clean up, eat lunch and get ready to snorkel and dive at Clearwater. Once again Clearwater was handling a lot of both due to the inclement weather on Monday and Tuesday. As a result, we were scheduled to go out at 1:30. Clay and I went out with a young couple working on the Open Water. There were four other divers and a few snorkelers in addition to our group. Katie and Matt opted out of this afternoon’s excursion. They had decided to get a massage and get super relaxed (can you ever get too relaxed?) and their appointment conflicted with our trip.
Dive 6: Bikini Bottoms:
Our dive trip started out at Bikini Bottoms again and with a new dive instructor on her first day, Sarah. Kind of went round and round in very shallow water. Highlight of the dive was spotting and videoing a cream colored snake, a juvenile sharp-tailed eel? Saw some Crevalle Jacks, Trumpetfish, Cornet Fish, a huge school of Blue Tangs, a Queen Angelfish, Triggerfish, a Hawksbill Turtle, Banded Shrimp. Because it was a shallow dive, we were in almost 56 minutes. Got chilled!
After diving, the girls bailed on the second snorkel opportunity. Turns out, that wasn’t such a bad idea. There was a lot of people on our boat and it was crowded and crazy enough without a few extra bodies. Their plan was to explore the dock to search for seahorses which apparently live under there. After that they headed up to the house to clean up with the idea of coming back to the dock to watch the sunset. Clay and I went out at 3:30 with the plan to be back by 5 pm. We dove at Mandy’s Eel Garden, just a quarter mile offshore of West Bay. The number of fish is astounding, a steady never-ending train of Creole Wrasse, a Hawksbill Turtle, a Giant Puffer, large Groupers, a very cool eel garden, and, at the end of the dive, a small herd of Goatfish feeding together on the sandy bottom.
We returned to the dock, dunked our gear and said our sad goodbyes. I must say Denisse is amazing at what she does. She runs the business, touches all of the clients and takes care of all of their whims and needs; schedules the dives; schedules her crews and everything else that needs to be done to make the business run. Plus she is a great personality with good humor and knowledge who makes everyone feel welcome. The other dive masters and helpers were great as well: Sophie, Katie, Junior, Sarah and Denzel were memorable people. We’ll miss them.
By the time that we had returned to the house, the person to do our COVID testing was already there. So we all took our turn getting the nose swab. Everyone negative! Got showered and dressed and headed for dinner in West End.
On Guy’s recommendation, we decided to try Blue Elephant, a Thai restaurant. It’s a really cool two-story open dining venue with high ceilings and plenty of space. The food was really good and the drinks were amazing. I started with a very refreshing margarita, Clay had a Bombay gin and tonic and Susan had the local favorite beer, Salva Vida. “Life Saver”, Interesting name for beer. It’s either literal or ironic. But Nicci had the smash hit of the night: the Thai Basil. Gin(?), a healthy dose of ginger and, of course, a big sprig of basil. That punched all of our buttons! Too full for dessert, we waddled down the street just to shake it down a little bit and then, satiated and tired from a long, good day of outdoor activities, we drove home and hit the sack.