So we are full on into our morning routine of getting up, making coffee, scoping out the weather, sitting with our coffee and then having some breakfast before deciding what we will do for the day.
Today we decide to head out to Leinster Bay to snorkel at Waterlemon. This is listed as one of the best snorkeling spots on the island but requires strong swimming skills, I assume because the main snorkeling area is in front of a small cay just off the main island.
This bay is at the eastern end of the north shore so we have a little drive ahead and the sun is out so we decide to stop at a few of the lookouts to take some pictures. What's this? Even though today I remembered the strap, now my stinking camera won't turn on...crap, another day without pictures....Oh Well.....on to the real adventure.
When we get to Leinster Bay, we first need to hike an easy flat trail that's marked as .8 miles to the beach. We actually hike a bit farther to a spot where there is no real sand beach but it is a good place to get into the water a bit closer to the cay, so it is probably at least a mile hike for us.
Getting ready to snorkel is always an adventure for Dave and I. This year we bought rash guards to help with keeping us burn free and maybe just a little warmer too. So, on goes the rash guard. Then for me, I use a buff to help keep my hair out of the way because it is so thin that it always comes out of my ponytail and floats around my head. Next are the life vests, they are blow up bright yellow vests and no one will miss us floating out there. Finally it is the real essentials of fins, mask and snorkel. After what feels like forever, we are finally ready to get in the water. There is coral and rocks close to the shoreline so immediately we begin to see a few things but as we head out to the cay, we find there is a strong current and now we know what they mean by you have to be a strong swimmer, it's not because of the length of the swim but the current between the main land and the day. Dave's not comfortable with the current so he decides to head back toward the main land where it is calmer. I was going to stay out but I hate snorkeling alone and I don't want Dave to head back alone so I start to head in too. There are still some things that we are able to see and I see what looks like a huge barracuda swim by on my right. Once we get back in, we decide to head out to try another beach and get some real snorkeling in.
The next bay on the way back is Francis Bay so we stop here. The parking lot is quite full and we see three deer grazing, one is right in the middle of the lot while the mom and another baby is hiding just inside the woods. They are not very scared of us so it's neat to see them just carry on their business.
Dave and I head to the far right of the bay as we want to snorkel along the right hand side of the bay but first we hang out in the water for a while because it is soooo warm, clean and is on a nice sandy beach.
Finally we get all geared up to snorkel and we are not disappointed. Along the right side of the bay are hundreds of thousands of fish, everything from small fries to the larger yellow tails, jacks and everything in between. Also of note along the edge here we see some sea cucumbers, barracudas, squids and even an eel. A small sea turtle is hanging around the rocks here and we watch him float around a bit before he finally takes off.
Once we get to the end of this section, we decide to head in and take some time to venture into the open areas where there is a little coral here and there but mostly grass. We are rewarded by spotting four sting rays, a turtle that had a fish trying to clean him off even though he wanted no part of that and kept trying to swat him away and then we see a larger turtle that just swims around with us a little and we follow him as he keeps popping his head up out of the water as well.
Back on shore we recap everything we've seen while having our celebratory after snorkeling beer....there's nothing better than this.
Even though we didn't snorkel the left side yet here, this is our favorite place so far.
Back at the villa we get ready for dinner and head to a place called Morgan's Mango and had a great meal with a grilled shrimp app while Dave had the Pappa Pickapeppa Ribeye and I had the Grouper done Voodoo style....yummy. No room for dessert tonight.
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