Snorkeling

Today I got up early and watched the sun rise from our deck. The family met for breakfast, and then we boarded a boat for an ocean adventure. Sarah and I were going to do a three tank dive, and the rest of the group was going to snorkel. We got as far as the next island over before the boat broke down. They pulled up to a dock, made a few calls, and decided that for safety, they needed to cancel the trip. We were all disappointed as we headed back to our island, however it was better than getting stuck in the middle of the Caribbean.

 When we got back, one of the members of our party got Thatch Caye to comp us a snorkel tour. We went out to a reef called the Aquarium, and snorkeled for an hour. We were going to go to a second place but had to cut the trip short due to one person getting sea-sick. The time out there was fun, however, and the boat ride was a good sight-seeing tour. 

Once we got back, we had lunch, and then I decided to try paddle-boarding around the island. The west side went just fine, and I was at the northern point in no time. However, the wind was kicking up around here, and paddling was difficult. I eventually had to kneel on the board. As I went around the northern point to the east side of the island, the wind really kicked up, and I had to start dealing with chop. It was a struggle making it from the north point to the south point on the west side, and by the time I got there I was exhausted. I jumped into the water on a particularly white sand-bar, and cooled off before hopping back on the board, standing up, and traveling back to my starting point.

To celebrate my exertion, I went to the bar and had a Zombie. Omar, our bartender, liked the idea of the drink so much that he made it the drink of the day. I have a feeling that relaxation is big in my immediate future. I have a good book and a hammock that I intend to make use of. Perhaps I’ll share that hammock with another Zombie.

Thatch Caye

Although technically this is the same day as my last post, that day was today. Since one post is travel, while the other is our new home, I hope that my readers will forgive me for creating a journal entry starting with our arrival at Thatch Caye. We were greeted at the dock by Sarah. This was an easy one. It didn’t take me long to learn that by the end of the day, everyone that I dealt with would know my name, and to keep from sounding like a complete fool, I made a strong effort to learn their names. By the end of the day, I learned our host’s name, Sarah (think Mr. Rourke from Fantasy Island), our bartenders, Omar and Clarence (think Isaac from The Love Boat), and the head grounds keeper Indie (think–er., the head grounds keeper, Indie).

We have a thatch-roofed hut over the water with slate floor, and a shell faucet. There are hammocks hanging on our porch, which we promptly fell into. Sarah took a nap while I went out exploring. The island is nine acres. Our Enumclaw property was 8 acres. It is a one-mile walk from one end of the island to the other. The north end is still pretty undeveloped, and needs some cleaning, but it also provides the most private beach. The power comes from a combination of a wind turbine and solar power, with a gas generator to take up the slack. The toilets flush with salt water from the ocean, while the shower runs on recycled rain water. Every meal so far has been gourmet.

  

 At night, the weather got a bit stormy. The hammocks were sideways, one chair was blown against our deck railing, and we could hear the sea getting rough. The side of the hut was battered by rain. It was a very comforting thing to fall asleep to.