It was a big day and we got up early to leave Kevali by 830. We were meeting a taxi at 915 at Brown’s marine. Luther, our driver, would take us to the ferry bridge where we would launch our kayaks to the lazy river. We packed lunch, snacks and lots of water and sunscreen.
We made it to Brown’s on time and parked the boat. Luther arrived for the first taxi trip right on schedule. He hates to be late. Imagine was playing on his radio as we shuttled through Rolletown.
T.T. was already at the ferry bridge launch when we arrived. A small group of women were paddling out. Our kayaks were readied and T.T. showed us the route on an aerial map. We were familiar with it having been there before.
We loaded and headed out . The wind and current helped push us across. The kayaks were easy to paddle if we remained synchronized. We soon developed our rhythm. The water was clear and we could see the white sand bottom through our boat.
We entered the lagoon and headed to the lazy river beach. We beached the kayaks and went for a float. The current was still flowing out. We started on the lagoon side and went around the curve to the ocean side. A sand bar stopped us from flowing out. We could walk out on the bar, across the beach and then do it all again. Everyone enjoyed the float.
After multiple floats we had our picnic on the beach. We then floated out and around and then walked down the beach on the ocean side. We crossed over some rocks and came to a beautiful little beach in a cove with a rock not far off the beach.. A giant Casaurina tree provided shade for a natural rock wall that formed the edge of the cove. It made for a very nice sitting spot.
We snorkeled around the rock and saw some fish and some coral. Sara saw a small octopus that went in a hole when spotted. We had the little beach to ourselves.
We wanted to stay longer but we had told Luther to pick us up at 3 pm. We wanted to spend some time in the mangroves on our way out, looking for turtles. The current had switched and we rode the lazy river into the lagoon.
The tide was coming in but the mangrove tributaries were very shallow. We went down one and came to a spot where we saw some turtles. We wanted to continue but ran out of water. Becca and Mike tried to keep going but we all ended up wading and pushing our kayaks a bit. We got back to the main channel and saw a few more turtles there. One swam under our boat.
We joined kayaks and made a flotilla to float out of the lagoon. Then we paddled across to the boat ramp. It was a most spectacular outing.
Shortly after T.T had loaded the kayaks, Luther arrived to pick us up. Our boat was waiting for us and we easily navigated back to Kevali. The day had worked out better than we could have imagined.
But when we got back to wifi, we learned that something unimaginable had happened. Our country, with Israel, was attacking Iran. We had known of the possibility, but the reality was difficult to fathom.
We had some quiet time. Austin played the guitar. Sara helped us design a boat sign on some driftwood we had found. I baked a lemon cake with a few modifications. Becca and Michael headed to the lagoon. We went to the pavilion for sunset. It was so precious just to be together.
After dinner, we decided to go back to the pavilion to see the moon and the night sky sky as well as all of the boats with their anchor lights in the harbour. We had thought about a hike to the monument but the pavilion was high and we could see the ocean. We walked along the path with headlamps and Michael started seeing sparkles in the sand. The source of the sparkles were small spiders that reflected the light from above. They looked like diamonds.
We later learned that they were wolf spiders. Their eyes have evolved to have a reflective layer behind the retina that helps them have good night vision so they can hunt in the moonlight. They do not need to spin a web to catch their prey. The adults often carry their young on their backs.
The moon was lively on the water and the camera could pick up the blue of the water and the white sand and the green trees. We could see some stars but the moon was bright. We could hear the waves. Becca saw a beautiful shooting star. It was a night of love for one another and for this moment on this small fragile planet under these familiar stars. I am more fortunate than I ever could have imagined.
