CURRENT LOCATION: On a mooring ball near the reef in Ensenada Dakity
18 17.609' N, 065 16.813' W

This is the first time we have stayed out here at Dakity through a holiday weekend. The boat traffic was incredible. Many boaters come over from the big island and either head into Dakity harbor or further into Ensenada Honda. In either case, the parade of big boats through the cut has had us tossing about in their wakes. We have grown accustomed to the fact that living on a boat means a life of constant motion, so it was no big deal for us; however, there have been a few wakes which threatened to pitch our Porta-bote over sideways. With our brand new engine perched on the stern, I cringe at the thought.

As you can see from the photo below, the visiting powerboats just love to raft up. Fortunately, the participants are usually family-oriented groups and the party is generally quiet and controlled.



We have been anxious to do some snorkeling, but with all this traffic in the area we thought it best to find an underwater locale which was less crowded by spinning props. Therefore, we took the kayaks on a paddle around the 'Fulladoza Loop' and stopped at the halfway point to snorkel at Melones.



It was a beautiful day for kayaking, clear sky and comfortable breezes. Before much ado we had arrived. At Melones we were accompanied by Rick & Debbie from S/V Miss Heidi and Geoff & Kathleen from S/V Gladys. After a short while the others climbed back in their dinghies, indicating the onset of a chill. Sheryl and I felt fine and couldn't be dragged from the water so soon without copious amounts of kicking and screaming. Hence, we agreed to meet everyone later aboard Gladys for a sundowner and quickly dove back beneath the surface.

It was a good day to view a variety of underwater inhabitants. Many we've visited so often they are like old friends, including...

...a tiny lobster:


...a tiger grouper:



...a spotted eagle ray:


...a Nassau grouper:


...a queen angelfish:


...a yellowline arrow crab:


...a high hat:


...a redlip blenny:


...and, finally, a threespot damselfish on a beautiful background of green and brown coral: