Thunderball!

Tuesday morning, March 21, 2017

We got up early today, intending to leave for the short trip to O'Brien's Cay in the southern part of the Exuma Land/Sea Park.  But it was bright and sunny and warm, and several boatloads of tourists showed up and jumped in the water and swam into the grotto.  We looked at each other and said "You know if we don't do this we'll regret it!"  So we quick changed into our swimsuits, got our snorkel gear and underwater camera, and jumped in.

We were a little past low slack tide by this point, so there wa a tiny bit of current, but it wasn't anything we couldn't cope with.

And it was worth it.  There were large numbers of fish everywhere, and the grotto itself was impressive.  Unfortunately, we afterwards discovered that the camera accidentally got set to macro mode at some point, so some of the pictures came out blurry. :(

Swimming under the rock entrance at low tide

Looking back out

The main dome

Another way out on the back side

Lots of fish

Seargent Majors

Queen Triggerfish

I noticed the current through the grotto was getting stronger, so I signaled Joanie that it was time to go.  The narrow entrance was funneling the current into the grotto, and it took some effort, and a bit of time,  to overcome it and get out, even with swim fins!

Once out, we had no trouble swimming back to Dolce Vita.

So, after this unexpected and thoroughly delightful bonus, we decided we still had time to get to O'Brien's Cay, so we cleaned up, hauled up the anchor, and set our course north for the short  3 1/2 hour trip.

Life is good.