Barracuda or not, first order of morning business was to go snorkelling at Carvel Rock and so, right after our coffee, we jumped in and I have to admit I hesitated a tad.... being a "scaredy cat" doesn't really get you where you want to go, so I closed my eyes, jumped in feet first, and prayed for the best.
Phew, I breathed in relief, as I noticed that there were no "bad ass Barracuda" under the boat. Dave made sure he stayed close to me and I felt relief in that (I knew that the Barracuda would just KNOW that Dave's piggy toes would taste better than mine!), however, I don't think he noticed the two of them hovering by my other side as we got closer to The Rock.
I got distracted by the multitudes of large, colourfull fish we saw...
Incredible, a sleeping turtle sways to and fro between the rocks,
and all that distraction made me say, "Barracuda ? Where? pfft..."
Our next order of business was to find a beach and a palm tree for Bob to hug, and a place to to swim and snorkle for Christina, and a place with no charterers for the four of us.
They decided that Savannah Bay (Virgin Gorda) might just be "the place". The cruising guide indicates it's tricky to get in, one has to anchor and the charter marker is strongly discouraged... yay !!
As we entered by Blowing Point, we were on the bow paying attention to any coral heads, and found it very easy to navigate and not a worry at all. We anchored in 13 feet of water, and in sand, absolutely perfect!
Savannah Bay is actually part of 3 bays: Savannah, Pond and Tetor. We stayed in Savannah but saw boats in Pond, and may try there next time, as this is a must-repeat for us ! (Plus we found wi-fi, always a bonus, after a week without!)
Not even moments later, we jumped into the water, saw the rays feeding off our anchor line and swam with the baby fish, before we headed over to the spectacular reefs. Then it was time to come back with the turtles,
Oh, but wait, look what's under our boat,
"Look, what I found" says Christina "it's Hercules, the Hermit Crab"
And then she sang,
"Hercules, the Hermit Crab lives in a shell,
He found it on the beach and he likes it very well.
When he gets too big for it, he'll find another one,
Oh Hercules the Hermit Crab has lots of fun"
And with this type of entertainment, who needs sundowners ?
Magnificent ! A long beach of white sand, palm trees, great snorkelling, "peace and quiet", a night of star-gazing, great friends and great company.
Note: This Ode to Hercules has been brought to you courtesy of Christina's daughter, Amanda, who crab-sat the class pet when in primary class "way back when".