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Since we had a late sail last night, we had a late arrival this morning. We docked around 1030 & shortly thereafter, Leana called & asked me if I wanted to go with her & Bronwyn to a beach. Of course!
We left just after 1100 & Leana directed the taxi driver to take us to the Aquarium. I hadn’t been further than Grand Anse Beach, so I was excited to see what laid beyond it! We weaved in & out of traffic, past the airport & finally turned down a VERY steep hill. It was so steep, in fact, that when the driver turned the van to park perpendicular to the hill, I thought surely the van was going to tip over. Of course we exited the van on the downhill side! Thankfully we lived to tell the story!
The Aquarium was BEAUTIFUL! It was a restaurant built at the foot of a rock cliff right on the beach. The waves were quite intimidating, but the water was inviting. We enjoyed some virgin piña colada’s & the scenery. It was a very impressive restaurant – many sections wrapped around the cliffs & trees, earthy décor, and of course, the view was unbeatable!
After our drinks were finished, we found a little tree to put our things under & went into the water. There were only about 6 other people on the entire beach. It was very quiet. Getting into the water was a challenge. I knew getting out would be an even bigger challenge.
We swam away from the shore for a short distance to escape the waves tossing us into the sand – there was quite a little swell for this prairie chick! These were definitely the biggest waves I’ve ever swam in. I’m not too brave when it comes to water, but I’m proud that I managed so well today!
We then swam parallel to the beach towards a darker patch of water where Leana knew there was more coral, thus more sealife. The sealife was actually really good! I haven’t had a whole lot of luck snorkeling from shore & finding plenty of fish, but today was a great exception! We even saw a few seahorses! My favourite! Leana & Bronwyn saw a funky fish that I missed, but I saw plenty of other fish. I don’t know the names of the fish yet, but I am trying to learn! I know I saw Blue Tangs, Sergeant Majors, Butterfly Fish, and those really pretty black ones with yellow tails & luminescent blue dots on their bodies.
We managed to gracefully exit the water & waves without drowning ourselves & Bronwyn caught a little sun while Leana & I bobbed up & down in the waves. We caught the same taxi back & worried about tipping the van down the steep hill – thankfully I didn’t eat anything at the restaurant, otherwise the chain of events could have been VERY different!
The girls did a little shopping in the terminal & then headed back for afternoon clinic. I returned to the ship & took my laptop off to do a little blogging. We were in port with a magnificent Windstar ship – one of the tall sailing ships. They are beautiful with 4 giant sailing masts. They sailed a little before our ship & when they blasted the ship’s whistle to signal their leaving port, I got a little nervous, so I packed up & headed back to the glorious Sea Princess.
The evening proved fairly uneventful. My right ear blocked today while we were snorkeling, so Jaco blew it out for me. It was rather disgusting, but the return of my hearing capabilities to that ear were worth it! In fact, it now feels like the left ear is blocked, as I can hear so clearly from the right ear! Jaco assures me that both ears are clean & clear.
The same ear blocked in 2003 – I was in Victoria with an old boyfriend. We were walking along the waterfront & he said, (or so I thought) ‘The trees sure are pretty’ – it was Autumn & the leaves were changing colour. I replied, ‘Yeah, they sure are.’ He looked at me like I was crazy & started to laugh. He asked if I’d heard him right & I repeated what I thought he’d said. He laughed harder & said, ‘No, I said, ‘Gee, I have to pee’’. Oops.
This should prevent any diving escapades, as well as any miscommunications… I hope.
Yours truly
Nice view!
Bronwyn & Leana
Funky place
Turtles!
