We were up early (no idea what time it was) for breakfast and coffee. Remy got to special order some pancakes, while the rest of us were stuck with plain old toast, fried eggs, avocado, seasonings, and cheese (sarcasm for those who are not attuned).
After we ate we packed up for our morning excursion and headed north along the coast for a short hike. We disembarked at another beach and walked into a canyon and up into the hills. This particular canyon was previously home to an army base, and then later a fishing camp. There was still an old well sitting up in the hill where the fort used to be. The trail wound through boulders and rocky out-croppings, and we had to use our hands almost as much as our feet to keep our balance. Remy of course was a champion, sliding on his butt down the rocks while talking almost the entire time. We spotted several lizards, some butterflies, a very interesting fig tree that seemed to grow right out of the rock, and a special endemic toad that our guide said was so rare that most of the other guides had never seen one. We ended our hike in an open area with a rock overhang, a spot previously used by early native explorers of the island as a ceremonial gathering area. There continues to be new archaelogical finds all over the island.
With our hike competed we hopped back in the boat to go look for sea turtles. There is a particular cove where the water is quite shallow and a variety of sea grasses grow. The black sea turtles love this spot as it provides an abundance of food. Turtles can be hard to spot as they only just pop their head up out of the water for a second or two before diving. We were fortunate to see two very quickly. We were also doubly fortunate that the university had a boat that was catching turtles to count and measure them. They had five in their boat when we stopped to talk with them. We also spotted another turtle floating just near the surface not too far from our boat, and we were able to watch it move around a bit before coming up for air. It must not have noticed us floating nearby.
Our last morning stop was at a reef a few coves over from our camp. Everyone donned their snorkel gear and hopped into the water. There were fish of all sizes and color, as well as coral and other undersea life like conches and clams. Remy was reluctant to hop in the ocean, but eventually warmed up. He wasn't very keen on the big snorkel goggles but he did try using his regular swim goggles to get a look at some of the fish. He also swam with fins on for the first time.
By the time we wrapped up snorkeling everyone was getting quite hungry so we headed back for lunch. The chef prepared an amazing fish taco bar for us, featuring two different kinds of tortillas and breaded sea bass. Remy had steak of course. We stuffed ourselves full of fish and then took a brief siesta on the couch with some books. Once we had digested we hopped into the provided kayaks and set our around the point to explore the estuary and mangrove forest in the cove next door.
Remy and Mom were in a tandem kayak (we'll let you guess who was doing all the paddling), and Dad and Paulina were in singles. The water around the point was a bit rough, but we powered through and were quickly in the much calmer water in the shadow of the cliff. The entrance to the estuary isnt accessible at low tide, so we were fortunate to be able to go right into the narrow channel. The temporary waterway wound back and forth through the mangroves, and in many spots it was only and few kayaks wide. On top of the very narrow passage the water was moving inward swiftly along with the tide. Dad got himself stuck up under the mangrove branches while trying to take a picture and had to wrestle his way out without capsizing himself. He proved victorious. Everyone got spun around once or twice (Paulina excluded) as the water swirled to follow the river bed.
The mangroves were home to an abundant number of fish and birds. We came face to face with a night heron that was hunting (hunting fish, not us), and saw all sorts of smaller birds jumping and hopping in the exposed roots. The river ended at a brackish pond where we floated and listened to the cracking and snapping of the mangroves. When we had taken in enough sights and sounds we turned and headed back the way we had come, making sure this time to take our time around the corners and giving ourselves plenty of space to maneuver.
When we arrived back at camp it was almost happy hour. Remy had an early dinner (leftover steak) and then an early bed time as he hadn't slept well the night before and had been out in the sun all day. Getting to sleep in the tent proved to be a bit of a challenge but eventually calm was restored to the to our camp. For dinner we had chicken enchiladas followed by homemade strawberry ice cream. That's right, we had strawberry ice cream hand cranked at a campsite with no electricity on an uninhabited island. It was delicious.
The wind picked up intensely just after we finished dinner. This necessitated taking the rainfly off of our tent. The moon light at camp was so bright that you could walk around at night sans light with no problem. However, we worried that the early sunrise was going to wake up certain persons that need some additional sleep. There wasn't much we could do though as having our tent picked up and blown into the ocean in the middle of the night didn't seem like a great alternative. We ditched the rain fly and hoped for the best.
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