Last night, after we dinghied home after the potluck, Paula decided to rinse out the large pasta sauce pot on the swim platform to avoid clogging the sink drain with bits of food. There were great stars out but the moon hadn’t risen.  It was pretty dark, so she brought the flashlight and laid it sideways across the swim platform to provide some illumination. While wiping bits of rotini and carrots off the inside of the pot in the seawater, she was startled to see a large eye appear in the water next to her left foot. It was a huge fish, a big snapper, snarfing down the tiny bits of food from the pot. If Cambridge wasn’t part of the Exuma Park system (no fishing, no removing anything from the park) Paula would have tried to catch this guy. As it was, she contented herself with feeding him small morsels. He liked it!

This morning we went right at slack tide (7:45am) to the caves on Rocky Dundas (a small island) with our snorkeling pal neighbor. Getting into the caves was easy, if slightly scary, but once inside the first one, the wave action was strong enough even at slack tide to make it hard to avoid contacting the caves side with some force, so we didn’t stay long.

The second cave had a shallower base, about waist to chest deep, and you could stand up, with some effort, and view stalagmites and stalactites as well as a sunlit opening in the top of the cave. The two main stalagmites are called “The King and Queen”. The cave was about the size of a large garage. It echoed, and was awesome to see, but it was very difficult to get focused pictures of the inside of the cave due to the photographer being pushed around by water action, the camera lens being splashed by uneven water droplets, and lack of consistent lighting. We did manage to get a picture of the opening at the top.

Back outside we snorkeled more, as there was a lot of good coral and fish in the shallows between the two caves.  The water was shallower right outside the caves than it was in the Aquarium or by the downed plane, so it was easy to get right-up close and personal with the coral and fishes. We tried not to touch them with our hands or flippers, as there is fire coral and other stinging species. We can’t say it enough, but the clarity of the water was unbelievable. The other cruisers describe it as “looking through air”. You get a good idea of where the term “gin clear water” comes from.

Next we explored other portions of the anchorage by dinghy, walked on the sandbar, and added to the cairns that adorn it. There is a small island with little trees that look like bonsai trees from a distance. The island is aptly named Bonsai Rock.

Then we invited our neighbor and guide back aboard to have coffee and tour the boat. His boat is a Caliber, very similar in design to Island Packet, and he and Tommy had a great time comparing improvements each had made and design features each has wrestled with.

Although the snorkeling did not feel physically strenuous at the time we soon found ourselves both ravenous and tired. We ate some leftover pasta, tortillas, and canned mangoes, and both had a nap.

When Paula got up she made a carrot cake, as we invited our neighbors from the Caliber over tonight for coffee, tea and/or other beverages and Paula wants to be able to offer a treat. Hopefully it will be cooked through as the propane tank ran out partway through baking and the tank had to be changed. We find we are using the propane for the oven/stove at an accelerated rate, since at anchor we do not use the microwave or the electric coffee pot. Additionally, Paula has been making our own bread and soft tortillas since these things were not available either in Staniel Cay or Black Point Settlement, our last two provisioning stops. In fact, our host at the anchorage, Chuck, stopped by today to let anyone considering a run to Staniel for goods that there is “nothing there” as the supply boat has not made its scheduled stop.

Tonight will be an early dinner, as afterwards we plan to go to the “sundowner’s” gathering at the sandbar at 6:30pm, and then return to C Ghost with our neighbors in the Caliber for carrot cake (hopefully cooked through) conversation and libations. Paula plans pan-fried steak, cheese grits, and the rest of the canned mangoes. Tomorrow we plan to do the 2.5 hour hike up and around Bell Rock (featured picture), one of the prominent features on Cambridge Cay.