Sunday, February 8 was a fun day. In the morning, Eric and Keith played D & D with Blue Heeler. In the late afternoon, Eric and Keith played D & D with Tiki and Zimovia. In between the D & D sessions, all four sets of kids went to the beach together. There was no adult supervision onshore, but Leanne, the mom on Blue Heeler, spied on them with binoculars from her boat.
After playing onshore for a while, the group went back to Kosmos to play on the platform. Here was Fynn from Tiki ferrying the rest of other children from the beach to Kosmos.
Continued… The next stop was Erica’s Store and Bakery in Clarencetown. Much to Eric and Keith’s disappointment, the bakery portion was closed, so they yet again struck out on buying bread.
Next was Dean’s Blue Hole, the deepest saltwater hole in the world with a depth of 202 meters (663 feet). Blue Heeler and Kosmos met up with Tiki Tour and Zimovia there. The hole was a random deep spot in an otherwise shallow area that was surprisingly close to shore. There was a platform anchored there, and people dove into the hole using the line to help them descend/ascend. Everyone in the cruiser family group snorkeled, adults and kids. They saw some fish. Eric said it was his worst nightmare — a deep, dark abyss. Keith said it was cool, though it was eerie to look down into the hole. Afterwards, the kids played in the sand.
Saturday February 7 — Tiki Tour and Zimovia were also in the anchorage. Diane from Tiki organized a family outing to Dean’s Blue Hole. Diane arranged for us to rent minivans. The people renting out the vehicles met the group at Tiny’s to collect the money and hand over the keys. Tiki and Zimovia shared a minivan, and Kosmos shared one with Blue Heeler.
Kosmos and Blue Heeler took full advantage of the vehicle to do some shopping and sightseeing. The first stop was a farmer’s market, which was not far from the anchorage by car, but too far to walk. The market wasn’t all that big, with a small selection of produce, eggs, and some artisan goods. Eric wasn’t sure if it was normally small or if they’d just come too late and the majority of goods were already sold. But he was relieved to have finally found eggs.
Next was the Hamilton Cave Tour, which was a privately owned limestone cave in Clarencetown. The owner had a small storefront on the road. Eric called a number listed on No Foreign Land, and thankfully the owner said there was a tour starting in a few minutes. They went to the store, then followed the owner about 1/4 mile or so to his property (which would have been hard to find on their own). There was a fee for the tour, but Eric couldn’t remember what it cost. They joined some other tourists, and the group went down a staircase to the mouth of the cave.
We’d read that the statue was hard to see while snorkeling because it was kind of deep, and they recommended going at low tide, when it was only about 10-feet down, for the best views. While they could see it, it was tough. Low tide meant a strong current, and it took a lot of strength to stay in place over the statue in order to get a good look at it. From what they could see, it appeared the statue was a 1:1 scale of a person and a grand piano.
January 17 – 24 –On Saturday, Dad made French toast for breakfast. We met a boat called Bogumila for lunch at Emerald Sunset. I was feeling better, but not back to 100%. On Sunday, Mom woke up sick. Dad and I went to shore for lunch. We ate at a buffet, and I think their ranch dressing was bad.
On Monday, we moved to a place called White Point. Tiki Tour, Zimovia and Mellow Puff were there. I went to the beach with the boys while the girls hung out on Tiki Tour. On Tuesday, it was rainy and high winds. I went over to Tiki Tour and played card games. On Wednesday, the weather forecast said it was supposed to be nice, but it lied. I went over to Tiki Tour in the afternoon. Everyone was moving to Rudder Cay, but we couldn’t get there because you had to go through a really shallow spot that we could only cross at high tide. Tiki and us ended up at an anchorage near Rudder, but on the other side of the pass. In the evening, I went over to Tiki Tour.
Snorkeling the statue in Rudder Cay
Samedi, papa a fait du pain perdu pour le petit dejeuner. On a mangé le déjeuner au Emerald Sunset avec un bateau qui s’appelle Bogumila. J’allais mieux, mais pas à 100%. Dimanche, maman était malade. Papa et moi sommes allés à terre pour le déjeuner. Nous avons mangé a un buffet, mais leur sauce ranch était périmée.
