Once the decision making about the early wrap up of our cruising season was completed, we decided to enjoy every second of our remaining time. We joined Jim and Jeannie onboard Estelle for a lovely dinner – tender steaks and chops from the Bulk Gourmet BBQ’d to perfection by Chef Lea, accompanied by stir-fry veggies and sweet potatoes from the galley. It was a wonderfully relaxing evening after a day of busyness and anxiety.

Because we didn’t have to leave until midday, we piled the snorkel gear into the dinghy and followed J&J to the prime snorkeling spot by the reef. And oh my goodness, it WAS prime. After the beautiful coral gardens at North Long Cocoa in Belize, I thought I had seen the best. But this was just incredible. I have never snorkeled a wall before (Jim has – the lucky fellow) and I really didn’t comprehend how magical it is to have coral and fish alongside and about 10 feet below, and then be able to see it all drop off into nothing but blue. And the blue here was the most amazing blue – well – like the picture! Schools of fish would swim out of the blueness and swarm up over the coral – maybe stopping to feed, maybe just cruising on by. There were lots of parrotfish and sergeant majors and angelfish and filefish (Those are stunningly beautiful) and neon blue ones and sort of lavender purply ones and yellows and stripes and spots and, and, and. Oh my – what a perfectly wonderful way to spend our last few hours of the trip. I could have stayed another hour, but Jim Lea – that conscientious man kept saying, “It’s time to head back now.” “You have an hour before departure.” And then it really was time to leave…