Yesterday at noon, we got Liz and Pauline to the ferry to
start their voyage home. They returned
by air to Trinidad for a last night with Judy Roy, and will land in Toronto
tonight. They will be together at
Pauline's in Toronto before Liz flies to Fredericton tomorrow.
It was a great visit, with the girls getting in a bit of
shopping, some good meals out, interacting with other cruisers (specifically
our friends Maria and Steve aboard Aspen), some swimming and snorkeling, and
some time to read in the breeze of the harbour aboard Cat Tales. We hope they took home some good memories.
Here are some pictures Dawn took during the visit:
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| Can you find Liz reading on the deck of the starboard side? |
The stern of Cat Tales shows the dinghy hung so it can drain
from the rather regular rains. It also
shows layers of bimini, shade attachments, and sarongs dangling to allow for
some comfortable shade on the boat. The wind is
nice, but without the shade one would be uncomfortable in just a minute or two. If you look carefully, you might see Liz
reading out on the side.
These three pictures show the pool and cabana at the Firefly
Plantation and Restaurant, where we could swim if we bought the lunch. Liz was certain that she and Hugh should rush
back as soon as possible, until she saw the room prices.
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| Pauline and Liz enjoying a cool drink by the pool before lunch |
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| A view from the restaurant of the pool with the ocean in the background. |
The rest of the pictures Dawn took while snorkeling with
Pauline just to the side of our boat.
That is our anchor, the Brittany, nestled in the sand. The orange fish is a file-fish. The snake is actually a gold-spotted
snake-eel, and is super-curious and not at all dangerous. The last is a lionfish.
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| Our anchor sitting in sand with about 100 feet of chain attached and laying on the bottom. We have seen it snuggled in deeper, but it's doing its job! |
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| File-fish |
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| Gold spotted snake-eel along with a spiny sea urchin |
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| an invasive and unwanted lionfish |
The lionfish is a very much unwanted invasive species. Every edge and tentacle is sharp and laden
with toxin. A friend had a little sting he
received while spear fishing them that expanded his finger until it split and
needed stitches along with antibiotics.
The lionfish floats around the reefs and simply sucks young and small
reef-dwellers into its giant stomach; a stomach that can expand to 30 times
normal size. It reaches maturity in one
year, and then pumps out 30 000 to 40
000 eggs every 4 days. There are no
natural enemies here for it, but they are trying to teach other species to eat
it. Some sharks have developed a taste
for them, so we must stop the carnage against sharks. The only good news in all this is that they
are super-tasty. I had one cooked for me
last week at the Firefly Restaurant, and it was amazingly succulent, delicate white meat. I hope to eat them again soon; but will not
be fishing for them myself.
Spear-fishing is the only way to catch them, so the locals won't be
casting nets or dragging lines hoping to catch the unwanted newcomers.
