Friday, Mar 23

The catchment system works! By morning we could see water back up to the bar in the primary water tank, and while not perfect, the system works and we can catch water! Ginny stopped by and the girls headed off to shore for a little girl time and shopping expedition. After John dropped us a few feet from shore we walked the mile or so to town. The distance not a problem at all, however the hills….that was a slightly different issue. We enjoyed sniffing around the shops again, and looking for a few things, then lunch at the Dingy Dock, where we were hoping for Key lime pie…to no avail! We happened upon some local fisherman there who were off loading their catch and Ginny tried to make a deal for some lobsters, but they were all spoken for from the restaurant today…however, maybe tomorrow. We told them where we were located and hope that they’ll stop by with fresh catch! On our way to our last stop we ran into Charles and Leslie….our friends from Phaedrus (who has a new name) and caught up with them for a short while, then it was off to the grocery store before it closed and then the walk back to the beach. Same up and down hills except now we are carrying 20 lbs. of ice, plus a few sundries, so the walk was a little more taxing! After calling John, who picked us up from shore, and then getting everything back to the boats, Jim and I took a snorkel on the reef that is just off the boat. It was terrific, and we saw great coral heads and more soft coral, fans, etc. that were lovely. We also saw a small lobster hiding under the coral just daring us to pick him up…too bad we are in the national park and NO Fishing signs abound. We also saw a ray just three times behind the boat. This was on of three sightings we have had in this spot. So I guess the rays are happy here! A single Barracuda wanders around beneath the boats as well, but no one comes by when we drop snacks into the water…hmmm.