Crabs And Sunburns - A Typical Day at the Beach

Today I went out to explore the island in search of a not too crowded beach. There are only a few very small actual sandy beaches here so on the weekends finding one that's not overrun is a bit of a challenge.

I did manage to find one with no one on it on the industrial end of the island. I don't know who's been hanging out there but it was covered in trash and then there was this:

You don't see that everyday, and I'm pretty glad about that.

I saw lots of crabs today. I saw more than I was able to get pictures of but here are a few:





These white birds are everywhere.

I've heard them called Fairy Terns and White Terns but the story is the same, they mate for life and they lay their eggs right on the branch, no nest, just a crook in the branch. Sometimes they roll off. :(

I tried really hard to keep covered in sunscreen. I'm still pretty white. I'm not Montana white anymore but white none-the-less and I need to keep covered. I did pretty good but I have a couple of odd, random burns in spots I missed. It's inevitable with me.

Here's me enjoying the sun before I got burned:


And here is a random shot showing the wind on the ocean side of the island:

Ocean Fishing

Last weekend was a busy one. After the snorkeling and the sailing I also hopped on another boat the next day and went fishing. If you get together 4 or 5 people, a half day of fishing isn't too expensive and it's a lot of fun too. If you also catch fish it's really worth it.

In order to get out of the lagoon you have to go through SAR Pass which is a really rough section. I couldn't get any pictures because I had to hold on tight to keep from getting tossed out of the boat.


Here is the boat we rented

Chuck showing off one of the lures we were going to use



Fishing

We were surrounded by rainclouds and saw several nice rainbows

After 4 hours we only managed to get one fish in the boat!

It's called fishing....not catching.

The fish is called an Aku. I have no idea if I have that spelled right....feel free to correct me in the comments. Even though we only got one fish this time, it was fun. I love being out on the water.

Suffering Temporary Insanity (Hopefully Temporary)

I'm in that in between stage where my brain thinks the vacation should be over and it's time to quit screwing around and get back home again.

...Sorry brain, it's not a vacation, we're here for awhile...

It's been all of 18 days now and I like it, but a lot of things are starting to sink in. Like, maybe JF won't get to join me....something I've taken for granted this whole time. Boy would that turn this into a depressing human experiment......

There are times lately when I feel like all is well, I'm fitting in great and then I run across someone that can crush my spirit; just like that. It's no different than anywhere else, I just knew what to expect in my old world.

Mostly I am very grateful to the wonderful, friendly people I have met and appreciate the kindness and openness I've received. I still feel disoriented though, it can't be helped.

I have to admit I'm a bit jealous of the folks that are here with their spouses and significant others, it would make this whole experience completely different.

I miss my boy.

Busy Day Snorkeling and Sailing

Wow was today a ton of fun!

I started out by joining my new snorkeling buddies for an early outing. We went to what they call the Japanese Pools. Back in World War II the Japanese blasted the coral with explosives in order to harvest it for building material. What is left is a series of deep holes (very large holes) close to the shore that you can explore during low tide.

What a great experience. It was so beautiful and the two pools we explored were quite different from each other. At one point I got a little weirded out when I found myself surrounded by pipe fish. They were practically invisible and sort of materialized around me and I had to get out. I couldn't take a picture because they were so hard to see. Maybe it was just the fog on my goggles.

Here are a few shots from the snorkeling adventure:




After that, I hopped on a sailboat and joined in the monthly Beer Can Sailboat Race. The race was about 7.5 nautical miles long and involved some fun and interesting sailing. Oh yea! Our boat won!


Boats on the dock before the race begins.


View from deck while sailing.
JF and I plan to learn how to sail when he gets out here. I really enjoyed myself today. I got to help a little but for now staying out of the way was my best help.