Today was sign up for regatta events. We are not planning to stay for all of the events but we are interested in learning to make a conch horn so we wanted to go to the sign ups. It was windy but we went over. We found Ronaldo who runs the conch shack there and asked him about getting a shell. “You just pick the one you want from the pile and then I will cut it off the stringer for you, “ he said. The shells he is referring to are the used shells from the conch shack. After he harvests the conch, he puts them on a stringer in the water. There is a large pile there.
“Can you give me advice about picking one?” I asked.
“No maam,” he said, “because beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It has to speak to your heart.”
We approached the large pile of shells. We looked for the deep pink color and some color on the outside of the shell. Finally a conch spoke to us. It had good color and fit nicely in our hands. Another cruiser was there and told us how to patch the holes and cut the top at the 4th crown.
We saw Jeff and Deb at the sign ups. They are doing well. They brought us a mangrove shirt via their friends who arrived recently. So nice.
When we got back, the crew arrived. The plan was to dinghy back to the reef and beach for more snorkeling. We first stopped for gas at Brown’s marine. David bought some more fishing lures. There was a beautiful vegetable garden at the marine store.
We snorkeled the reef. I was exploring a grassy area and found David who had sighted a sea turtle eating tufts of grass from the edge of the grass beds. We headed back to the spot and he was still there. I stayed with the turtle while David swam back to get the others. The turtle would stay on the bottom eating grass for 5-6 minutes, then would make a trip to the surface for air. Once up, he would surface several times before going back down for another stretch. He did not care that we were there. One time, I felt I had to get out of his way when he was surfacing. I have never watched a sea turtle like that before.
Some people swam around to the beach after snorkeling and David and Miles brought the dinghies around. Some of us played a game of Chauncey on the beach, keeping score in the sand. Hanna augmented her shell garden. Some napped.
A small rodent, rat like creature came out on the beach. He was definitely in search of something from our picnic. He was very bold and once crossed over Miles when he was sleeping. At the end of the trip, we did not see him. I had concerns that he was in a bag for return to the boat.
The girls cooked dinner tonight on Josie. Hanna made a vinegar slaw and we put pesto orzo over that. There was fresh Parmesan cheese. It was delicious. The boys put away the leftovers and did dishes. Kevin, Marina and Hanna all played the guitar and sang for us. Lovely evening.
There was no sign of a stowaway rat on our boat through the night.