Exumas
I'm not sure if this is reported to landlubbers, but Tropical Storm Berry came across Florida yesterday and brought high winds even to us, 250 miles away. So, once again, Kaleidoscope was weatherbound.
The idle time was wisely used. We checked out a plane wreck in the water from the Bahama's days as a major stop for drug cartels. The drugs were no longer there, but in it's place hundreds of fish had made it home.
In search of dinner, we dove down on a reef. Brad was able to shoot a grouper and we landed it after a tug-of-war battle with a moray eel who wanted the fish for himself.
The next day, in the cold (yes, sometimes it gets cold here) and rain, we set out in search of another snorkeling hole. We found no good reef, but at one point we were passed by a school of about 8 enormous spotted Eagle Rays. These are beautiful and harmless sting rays that have a wingspan of about 4 feet with a tail that extends another 5. One played the role of "schoolbus" in "Finding Nemo".
A short while later, I spotted the largest sea turtle I've seen yet. He was moving slowly at the bottom, so I decided to swim down to him. He barely seemed to notice when I grabbed on to his shell and enjoyed a free ride. Eventually, I became nervous about clinging to an animal that could easily bite my arm off, so I let go.
It's now June 3rd. Kaleidoscope is underway to Nassau, the capital and only real city in the Bahamas. It will be the last stop before the United States. I think I speak for all of us when I say we'll be relieved to finally be home. Only 200 miles to go...
The idle time was wisely used. We checked out a plane wreck in the water from the Bahama's days as a major stop for drug cartels. The drugs were no longer there, but in it's place hundreds of fish had made it home.
In search of dinner, we dove down on a reef. Brad was able to shoot a grouper and we landed it after a tug-of-war battle with a moray eel who wanted the fish for himself.
The next day, in the cold (yes, sometimes it gets cold here) and rain, we set out in search of another snorkeling hole. We found no good reef, but at one point we were passed by a school of about 8 enormous spotted Eagle Rays. These are beautiful and harmless sting rays that have a wingspan of about 4 feet with a tail that extends another 5. One played the role of "schoolbus" in "Finding Nemo".
A short while later, I spotted the largest sea turtle I've seen yet. He was moving slowly at the bottom, so I decided to swim down to him. He barely seemed to notice when I grabbed on to his shell and enjoyed a free ride. Eventually, I became nervous about clinging to an animal that could easily bite my arm off, so I let go.
It's now June 3rd. Kaleidoscope is underway to Nassau, the capital and only real city in the Bahamas. It will be the last stop before the United States. I think I speak for all of us when I say we'll be relieved to finally be home. Only 200 miles to go...
posted by Dan Schlauch @ 10:30 PM
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