Category Archives: Self-Guided Tourist Activities

The Manatee Discovery Center, West Palm Beach, Florida, USA

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On Wednesday, May 21, it was a hazy morning, obscuring the colors of dawn.

In preparation for the haul out, Eric spent the morning stowing away gear that normally lives on the deck. Moving it all was quite a project. 

Once school and morning chores were done, we drove over to the Manatee Discovery Center. While the center itself looked like it was relatively new, it was located next to an electricity plant in an older, lower socioeconomic area.

We were pleased to find out that there was no admission fee, though donations were accepted. The upstairs was closed today for a private event, but the upstairs had traveling art exhibits and beautiful views, so we didn’t miss any important information about manatees.

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The Washing Machine, Shroud Cay, Exuma Islands, Bahamas

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Sunrise on Friday, May 9

The rolliness had increased and the anchorage was becoming uncomfortable. Sadly, it was forecast to get worse as the winds continued to shift. We were disappointed because, on paper, it looked like this anchorage should have been calm, as it was protected from the wind direction. But the swell apparently wrapped around the island and got into the anchorage.

The plan for today was for all the families to go to The Washing Machine together. As you can see in the map below, there was an extensive saltwater river system on Shroud Cay.  The Washing Machine was at the mouth of the river next to the red dot, and we got there by taking the dinghy through the river system.

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Snorkeling Thunderball Grotto, Staniel Cay, Exuma Islands, Bahamas

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On Tuesday, April 29, after we finished our morning school/chores and were getting ready to leave Kosmos, it started raining hard — we did not want to be out in that kind of rain.

When it stopped, we checked all the rain forecasts to see if more was coming. They all said more rain, but conflicted with when it would hit and how hard. The clouds in the distance looked ominous, so we played it safe and stayed onboard for the whole day. It did indeed rain hard again, but not until the evening.

On Wednesday, it rained lightly in the early morning, but cleared up by mid-morning. After school and chores, we went to Thunderball Grotto. It was windy, and the ride over was a little bumpy and wet. 

We anchored near the Grotto entrance, got our gear on, and jumped in. We took this video because we thought the sound was funny. We had no idea that it was significant.

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