Somehow it seems that my update from last night disappeared after posting, so I'll try again.
I can't post all the pictures inline, so go see the album of about 40 images from Wed. if you care to:
https://picasaweb.google.com/1004997...eat=directlink
Wednesday on the island is almost in the books. We woke up with the sun around 6:45am after a good night’s sleep. Any intermittent waking moments are greeted by the sound of the waves crashing against the shore about thirty-five feet away. Tanya ran over to a little store one block away for some eggs and made eggs and toast for breakfast. Ooh, it even came with my favorite, Coke. Mmmmm.
Island time has really slowed things down. Work is quiet. Yes, they can still get a hold of me. Plenty of sitting on the beach listening to the waves and enjoying the soft island breeze. Around 9am I caught some pictures from the beach of the morning dive group going out. The dive site was within distant sight of the hotel at a couple of miles up the shore and about one mile offshore. The site is where the shelf drops off into the deep blue. Pretty cool stuff.
Lunch was leftovers warmed up in the microwave from last night’s dinner. Lobster mac-n-cheese and curry beef. Both very good. We sauntered the 50 paces over to the dive shop to get setup with some fins and wet suits for out scuba dive at 1pm. This is a massive difference in dive shop experience compared to Exuma a couple of years ago. It is full service here at Blue Water Diving. Mitch looked at Tanya and I and instantly handed each of us fins and a wet suit. “Hi how are you guys doing today.” Great! “Here, try these on.” Perfect fit. “Excellent, we’ll put those in this bag and they’ll be ready. You’re BC, tanks, and regulators will be assembled and on the boat when you get there.” Wow. Sure enough, the dive boat pulled up on the beach right outside our room, we loaded up and off we went for the five minute boat ride to the dive site. Of course, talking RVs with the dive masters all the way.
Our dive today was perfect for us (me). We had not been diving since Exuma two years ago. Tanya instantly lost her snorkel upon entry, but it was only about 35’ deep there with perfect visibility, so it was easily retrieved. The dive master picked it up and used the right orange top as a pointer for the dive. The super cool thing that we saw was a maybe teeny-tiny ghost pipefish. At least that is what we think it was. Tanya and I were consistently tracking with the same air usage during the first half of the dive. Then she got the shivers (with a full wet suit) and started blowing through air. Amazingly she came up with 500 and I 1k psi. All fun. Sorry, I’m still not a diving junkie like the guy sitting across the table from me right now (Rosie).
Back on shore, we were dropped off back at the same spot, spitting distance to our room. Still amazing ☺. We got a quick snack that we brought with us, triscuits and peanut butter. Yum, as most anything would be after a dive. So, what is the next plan. Beer! Four minute walk to the local store for a case of beer and coke. Major success in less than ten minutes. Can you tell how island time has affected the concept of time, space, and accomplishment?
The usual din was emanating from the pool area, so we made our way to the party with a cold beverage in hand. We told our dive lies and listened to the land-lubbers stories of the day. Then it was time for the mandatory group photo. We lined up on the beach and hoodwinked a newlywed couple into taking the picture for us. They did great. Scott realized the scene behind them and had them pose for what is sure to be a superb photo for their album.
The night dive crew left about 7pm, and the rest of us cruised to the hotel restaurant for a tasty dinner off of a Weber grill and live music from the owner of our dive shop. Well, you know, it IS a small island. After downing another gallon of water among a few of us, apparently the ‘hard stuff’ was too much as a glass of water flowed across the table.
Back to the patio for some more visiting and to confirm that Rosie was all set with his picture uploads.
Headed out for a night dive.
