11:00am: We've just left the marina and are on our way
to Hoffman's Cay, which is supposed to be fantastic for snorkeling. A beautiful dolphin swam along with us for
a while, and was joined by a larger dolphin for a few more minutes. The larger one had a pink nose and a lighter
underbelly and would turn sideways and look up at us ever so often.
I really liked being at the marina; nice people and
a vibrant community. Every night,
there's something else to do with others at the docks. We are missing the Potluck night tonight,
then Bingo, then karaoke, etc. Elliott
has been visiting other boats, spending time into the late hours eating Spam
pizza and enjoying making new friends.
We visited the beach yesterday, Sugar Beach. The sand there is amazing, like none I've
ever seen. It's like that stuff we used
to get to make drip sand castles; I seem to recall something like that from
childhood. Gary said that because of the
shape of the bay, the sand gets ground up over and over again, thus the
consistency. Almost feels like wet clay
but much less dense. We walked up the
beach and found a little spot to eat, The Beach Club, but since they didn't
take credit cards, and we had little cash, we ate on the cheap. Still a nice place to just sit and enjoy the
view of the gorgeous beach.
At the marina, we noticed a manatee next to a huge
catamaran drinking the fresh water pouring out of their boat as they were using
their watermaker. I had never seen the
underside of the manatee before and it cracked us up; he'd swim right up, push
his nose back, open his mouth, and take big drafts of the water. So funny and cute.
So, in learning about the history of the Berry
Islands, it seems that they used to be quite the hot spot for the kings and
queens of Hollywood. The Rat Pack
enjoyed good times there and there's a beach named Bardot Beach for the lovely
Brigitte. Lots of money came in and out
of there and you can see the remains of grand clubs and houses that have fallen
into disrepair and ruin. The big club
house right up from the marina supposedly is home to a lot of bats, but I
wasn't able to get in there to explore before we left. Brambles and trees block the entrance and I'd
have had to suit up appropriately.
The drug trade was huge there, too; there's wreckage
from a drug plane that didn't just quite make the runway. That trade was cracked down on by authorities
and the last vestiges of real wealth probably took their business
elsewhere. It is a quieter place now and
on the beach side of the island, there are larger homes and condos (some for
rent), so while the heyday is probably over, a few people get to share in the
wild beauty that is the island.
On our way back to the marina on foot yesterday, we
got asked if we wanted a ride; we declined, but how nice is that? We also ran into Tony, whom we'd met at the
Chill and Grill. He is the former cop
and nurse, and is now learning about island medicine--he was in search of the
beach, but also of some Neem plants that are used to make a healing tea. His wife, also a former cop, is into
homeopathy and natural and alternative medicine and they hope to parlay that
into post-retirement career. Their
skills would be very welcome in the islands, many of which do not have a doctor
or health care facilities.
He told us a funny joke about why there are so many
Tonys in New York; he said that when the Italian immigrants set off from Italy,
many of them wore signs that said "TO NY." Yeah, heard that one before?
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