Great Guana Cay

A beautiful day greeted us at Treasure Cay yesterday. Morning swimming and paddling with our buddy boat friends and then off at high tide to Great Guana Cay just across the Sea of Abaco to swim on the Atlantic side and snorkel on the ocean reef.  Absolutely beautiful beach with white pink sands and large rocks scattered around. I took the children snorkeling while Kelly enjoyed the beach. We’ve done a lot of snorkeling and generally creeping around the shorelines with faces submerged (especially Che) but this was special. Big underwater rocks with caves and fissures hiding all manner of fish, coral and life. White sand bottom. This was truly swimming in an aquarium. What lucky children!

Of course the Walling adventure is never without its challenges. Traveling with 3 children is complicated. Snorkeling with 3 young ones in the ocean is like an “I Love Lucy” skit. Everyone is trying to get my attention to show me what they’ve discovered at the same time. Getting frustrated if I’m attending to another kid and keeping me scrambling around if they’re too close to the reef or looking like they need a rest.  Gherty found some beautiful orange coral teeming with tiny blank and white striped anglefish with bright yellow fins. They would not swim away when you reached out to touch them. So she did. And touched fire coral….which sends pain shooting from your fingers up your arms as if you just put your fingers in the flames.  Cue the screaming. Snorkeling done.

I put her on my back, herded the boys to shore and Kelly put every salve known to man on ghertys hand. White vinegar and a little time did the trick. Oddly our most thoughtful and conscientious child is the one who has had baby sea urchin spines pulled out of her foot and fire coral on her fingers. Go figure.  She will not be deterred though.

A fun time swimming in the pools at Nippers bar on the bluff above the beach and tacos in “town” with our friends. Back on the boats anchored in Fischer’s Bay for kids movie night. Miss Lori baked chocolate chip cookies and the kids watched a Harry Potter in the salon while Kelly, Lori, Jared and I enjoyed the sunset from the cockpit.

Our friends weighed anchor after dawn to head back towards Florida and real life. We’re easing into today at anchor still. Kids sending emails, Kelly’s cooking breakfast and I’m sipping coffee on deck looking to see if the 3 loggerhead sea turtles that swam around our boat yesterday will be back. Great weather, great forecast and a mellow sail to Marsh Harbor are on the agenda. When we get around to it.

Thanks again Roth family for a super fun week. Looking forward to sailing with you again!