Wednesday ...Jan. 23

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BETSY!

At about 10am I went to shore to check out the island / cay. I found a path and hiked over to the Atlantic which was all coral. Waves were crashing and throwing spray 30 feet up in the air. Above the coral there was an area where sand had filled in making walking much easier amid the trash that has washed ashore over the years. Most of the trash was plastic...milk crates and water bottles were the most prominent but there were lots of shoes, nets, line, lumber, pvc pieces etc.

I headed to the southern end and worked and then worked my way back up to my starting point. The western or inside of the island was composed of a number small beaches separated by coral outcroppings. The tide was going out and I found my first conch shell that didn't have a hole in it's shell.

"Madcap" arrived around noon and after lunch we went to one of the beaches that I had found earlier in the day. I snorkeled around the dropoff while the others looked around for shells and sea glass. We hiked to the other side of the island and again marveled at the trash.

At about 2:30 we dinghied to the community of Little Harbour, about two miles south of our anchorage. It's claim to fame is that it was settled by the Johnston family in the 50's who wanted to get away from civilization to raise their family. They charted, fished and scrambled to eke out a living. Randolph Johnston, an artist, built a forge and made beautiful sculptures. Today there is still a forge where they make high end jewelry and sculpture, a gallery, and an open air bar. While Kathy and Beth checked out the gallery, the rest of us had a glass of rum punch. It's interesting that all of the bars and restaurants have their our specialty rum punch. At Pete's in Little Harbour it was called the "Blaster" In Green Turtle is was the "Tipsy Turtle". Anyway they are all about the same, but they have their unique blend of fruit juices that make them a little distinctive. They are all very tasty and one is enough ... we sometimes have two.

We made plans with Madcap and Mystique to leave for Royal Island early in the morning.