This is a place they can’t always go, but the wind and waves
were right, so we anchored early in the morning. Last night I had a hard time sleeping- the
margarita I had after the hike did not play nicely with the wine I’d had at
dinner. I should know better by now.
I met my group for the 9:30 AM hike and found that many had
been imbibing generously the night before and were still not quite back to
normal, so I was in good company. This
was a hike up to a ridgeline, with a steeper ascent and descent but easier
footing than yesterday. We got a
beautiful view of the tombolo (land formed between two islands from a build-up of
silt and erosion of the islands). The
square cuts in the tombolo were created by people who harvested the salt. At the end of the hike Sarah showed us a
“halophilic” (salt-loving) succulent and invited us to eat it. It was very good- it would have been great in
a salad. When she mentioned that it
would help replace electrolytes I had a few more pieces.
The hike was steep but the views at the top were worth
it. I was feeling my acrophobia a bit,
especially with the wind. A few people
were photographed jumping, but a little acrophobia set in and I settled for a tamer pose.
 |
Niko, my masseur, displays another of his talents. |
As we got to the peak we rested, took lots of pictures, and
then Sarah suggested that we all sit in silence for a few moments and take it
all in. It was a great idea.
After lunch I set out for the “beach party” the crew had set
up on a nearby beach.
I wore my wet suit and brought my snorkel gear along with everything else but the kitchen sink- camera, a layer of clothes for afterwards, hiking shoes and socks. It wasn’t pleasant immersing myself in the cold water again but I stayed in for half an hour and it was worth it. I made ANOTHER note to myself to get the brand of underwater camera carried by most of the crew; as usual, it was a real challenge to remember what I’d seen so I could look it up later. Partial list: a guineafowl puffer in the spotted phase (or else a female spotted boxfish), a few other puffers, many of the fish I’d seen on the earlier trip, a beautiful little purple fish which might have been an Acapulco Gregory, Cortez rainbow wrasse including juveniles, an almost completely white fish (possibly Pacific Creolefish), needlefish and a Gulf sun sea star.
I wore my wet suit and brought my snorkel gear along with everything else but the kitchen sink- camera, a layer of clothes for afterwards, hiking shoes and socks. It wasn’t pleasant immersing myself in the cold water again but I stayed in for half an hour and it was worth it. I made ANOTHER note to myself to get the brand of underwater camera carried by most of the crew; as usual, it was a real challenge to remember what I’d seen so I could look it up later. Partial list: a guineafowl puffer in the spotted phase (or else a female spotted boxfish), a few other puffers, many of the fish I’d seen on the earlier trip, a beautiful little purple fish which might have been an Acapulco Gregory, Cortez rainbow wrasse including juveniles, an almost completely white fish (possibly Pacific Creolefish), needlefish and a Gulf sun sea star.
By the time I’d warmed up they were starting a walk to
explore the nearby tidal pool. It was
amazing how much was there when you looked closely and turned over a rock or
two: a small octopus, a sea star, a sea cucumber (which I once ate at a Chinese
coworker’s wedding banquet and didn’t like very much), a small shrimp, and
numerous creatures that darted out of the way as soon as you approached.
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