Cloudy morning at our anchorage. Solar input about 1/2 on a cloudy day but slowly trickling in. We dinghied to Peanut Island Park, charged our electric motor in a picnic shelter and had FaceTime with Michael and Becca and Banks. They are going to ski on Christmas but it is warm in Montana, in the 40’s.
While we were sitting at the shelter, some people spotted an iguana in the mangrove tree. It was orange/brown in color to match its branch with brown leaves.
We walked the 1 1/4 mile path around the island and then headed to the beach area near the rock lagoon. There were snorkelers out so I decided to try it mainly for a swim. I could not believe how great it was. About 15 yards off the beach you could swim around these rock jetties and see all kinds of fish. There were blue and gold damsel fish, parrot fish and this beautiful yellow, black and white striped small fish that were in tight schools on the back side of the rocks. A few small barracuda were also in the area. It was cloudy but the colors were beautiful and it was really fun to snorkel there; a pleasant surprise in the harbor of a busy city, right off the beach!
We decided to do our cookout for Christmas dinner so we went back to the boat to pack up our picnic. We grilled steaks in the picnic shelter and watched the happenings at the harbor: jet skis, paddle boards, hydrofoils .
After we reached the boat, we heard a ship’s horn and the cruise ship Margaritaville was leaving port.
We had a bit more Christmas family time on the phone, some route planning and bed. Tomorrow we move to the marina in West Palm Beach to pick up packages and our mail. W also will provision and get as ready as possible for trip to Bahamas. Since we can not find a marina in the Miami area, we are going to be as ready as possible here.