Monday, May 7, 2012
While anchored near the Pig beach, we picked up a few flies. We have been fighting them since then and thought if we moved closer to Staniel Cay Yacht Club, it would ease off. It didn’t. I think they are multiplying daily. I have been doing the fly dance with two pillows working them from the V-berth to the companionway, giving them no choice to go anywhere but out. They come back in. I do believe everything around here is on Island Time except the flies. Fast little guys. A fly swatter just doesn’t cut it. This brought to mind another thing. We were discussing fly paper with Al and Sue, who are having the same problem and Fred said at one time he had flypaper on his boat and nearly hung himself. Al said some caught his hair and he had a hard time getting it off. Then the idea came up I thought may be brilliant! While shaving my legs a few weeks ago, I got one leg shaved and the razor quit. So I have been walking around with a shaved leg and a natural growth leg. I know...odd as it may sound, it doesn’t bother me. I have seen worse things. Love me for who I am, not what I look like. Fly paper! That’s the answer. I bet that would be perfect to stick on my non-shaved leg and give it a nice strong but quick pull...then my legs would match., sort of. So, I have been brainstorming of the different uses for fly paper. Heck, it may even work to patch a few leaks on the boat. I have never seen fly paper for sale in these islands, all the flies, I am convinced, hitchhike on vessels on the sea. Actually, I can’t blame them, being on a boat is amazing! Pretty smart flies eh?
Fred and I are going to do a lot to Casa Mare’ when we get back home. We will completely redo the inside as well as the outside. I am trying to talk Fred into leaving the teak natural out side. That would be so much easier to care for. And...it’s a boat for Pete's sake. We will probably take it apart, piece by piece and do it as we have time. She’s a great boat just needs a little attention where there water damage and the varnish is peeling off. We have nearly got the leaks taken care of, now to get the hatch gaskets and we should be good to go on the leak category. Then we will pull her on the hard and take care of the bottom. It is our hope to do this again, sooner than later. When God gives us a window in our lives, we will then take it.
It is going to be a big day for us. We are leaving at 10:30 and head for Rocky Dundas where there is a big cave we are going to snorkel. From there on to Cambridge Cay and explore the sea aquarium. It is not an aquarium as one would think but a natural reef, filled with all the glorious treasures below. I am excited. I don’t know what happened to the fear of sharks, probably eased out of fear factor because I have never seen one while in the water. I can assure you, it I do see one though, I will be the first one out, probably looking like I walk on water to the dink. So today is a day of snorkeling. We will be spending most of the day snorkeling and staying in the water with a little sailing in between. I am excited and can feel my heart beating fast already as excitement raises up to the top of my throat. Mercy, this trip is full of fun and excitement! I ask God why he feels I am so worthy of this beauty and he says, the best is yet to come. I know exactly what he is talking about without saying. I believe being a Christian is the best life insurance one could have and it’s free. Jesus already paid for it. Anyone can have it.
The voyage here to Rocky Dundas was breath taking. I stood at the bow most of the trip mexmerized by the oceans bottom. It dawned on me as I floated above all that beauty that it wasn’t only about the destination but the beauty one can capture along the way. I compared that to people in my life, that if one would take the time to look deep enough, the beauty is always there, somewhere as I hovered over one sea garden after another. All the works of God. Everyone is a work of God, everyone has inner beauty. I had a long moment with God, about an hour of it, talking and thanking him for bringing me over these glorious waters to witness the beauty not many even know to look for, even when it is all around us. ‘Pause’, I thought, ‘take time to thank each and every living organism in these oceans for coming into my life’. Not one thing is the same, not one although all is a special beauty in itself. Mercy this is beautiful! We are anchored at Fowl Cay aka Chicken Cay, right across from Rocky Dundas and although this is a private island, anyone is allowed to go to any beach water line and explore the beaches on these islands. This will be my last opportunity for shelling because anything North of his little Island is considered Exuma Park and NOTHING may be removed from anywhere in the park. Normans Cay will be the next beach combing and who knows when we will get there. I think we may just anchor here for the night since there is a cave here to explore as well as a coral garden on Cambridge Cay within eye distance from where we are. What’s the rush? Off we go!
Wow, what a day! The first thing we did was go to the beach we are anchored near. Fred picked out a few conch shells appropriate to make a conch horn. I picked up a few things, nothing big. Then we headed on to the cave. We didn’t know there were two caves and that was a treat. Fred said we could take the dink in there but I disagreed strongly. It looked entirely too low to get in. He said duck and I knew I had a choice and had to make it quickly. I either ducked or gashed my head to pieces on the coral above us. I ducked. Inside was like a wonderland, colorful and huge. The opening above allowed the sun to cast rays into the cave to light it up. Colors were amazing.
We just sat in the dinghy and silence fell upon us as we studied that amazing little secret place not many can get to unless you have a boat. There were stalactites and stalagmites, everywhere. The inside showed off their brilliant colors of yellows, blues, magenta and greens. It echoed with drips of moisture and swell of water hitting the inside walls, raising the water level temporarily. A wonderland of beauty. When we came out another couple there told us there was yet another cave a few feet away. Al and Sue hopped in our dink and we went in the other cave. It too was fantastic. We noticed a sailboat across the way that had run aground that was not there when we came in so we all dinked over there to make sure they were okay. They had just run aground and were waiting for the tide to come back in. All was good so we went to the coral gardens. It was spectacular and lots of pretty fish and caves to explore, although we passed on the caves. The most unusual thing happened though. At the opening of one of the caves the water was hot. Like bath water hot. Al thought it seemed to be at least a 20 degree difference. I had never experienced anything like that and the first thing I thought was ‘Wow, maybe this is the remnants of an extinct underwater volcano. What ever it was, it was constant, not like just a stream that came and went. It really felt good there. Coming out of it actually made me feel like the water was freezing. It was an incredible experience. I should google that cave on Cambridge Cay when we get Internet again. We came back to Casa Mare and Fred and I thought it would be fun to explore the beach near where the sailboat ran aground. It was there I found a beautiful Scotch Bonnet, North Carolina’s State shell, even though I have yet to ever see one on the beach in North Carolina nor do I know anyone who has. It was quite a find. This is the last beach for awhile I can actually take things that wash ashore. This evening before sunset, Fred made me a conch horn. I can see this is going to take practice, and I was never a horn blower so to speak. I have to admit, there have been numerous times I can make the sound of a horn blower minus the horn. Tough getting old isn’t it? All those muscles seem to fail on us.
This day is one for the books, seeing all the sea life, still another way to look at people in our lives. You have to look deep to see the beauty in everyone and I assure you, they have it. A great lesson for the day. Thank you God for this day you have made.
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