Scenic rocks
View from other side of hill
View of Cateran Bay
Cateran Bay
We headed out after SKEDS and motored from Butterfly Bay to Cateran Bay which is off of Border Island. The seas were VERY rough and many times as we came off of a wave it felt like we had hit a rock in the water. Fortunately, the trip was only about 2 hours long and the rough seas only lasted about half of that time. We did see some beautiful scenery, including Pinnacle Point Rocks which had a lighthouse on it as well.
When arriving at Cateran Bay, we had to anchor the boat since there was only one mooring that would fit our boat and it was already taken. Michael had read that there was good snorkeling in this bay, so Danny, he and I took the Tender over to the beach and began snorkeling again. Almost immediately Danny yelled that there was a Sting Ray in the water near him, so we swam over and had a look. We stalked him for a few minutes and then he took off thru the murky waters. The water here is not as clear as some of the other beaches, but the corals are equally as beautiful. The number of clams is amazing and it is VERY usual to see a large flat coral that has 8 or 9 clams imbedded in it.
We realized that the boat that was currently on the mooring was leaving, so we scurried back to the boat, lifted the anchor in record time and moved the boat over to the mooring.
From this position, we could easily snorkel off of the back of the boat, so Michael and I headed off again for another hour of swimming. The highlight of this trip was seeing a huge clam that was about 3 feet across. It was absolutely gorgeous!!!
In the afternoon, we napped, and read and relaxed until about 4:00. We then hopped in the Tender and motored across one of the other beaches and started on a hike up to the top of the hill. I realized that I wasn’t interested in trying to come DOWN the hill walking on the rocks so I let the others go on up and I moved back down to the beach and had a wonderful time exploring that area. Michael, Danny and Ruth walked to the top and Michael took some wonderful photos looking down at our Bay and also across the other side of the island.
I had a fun interaction while I was on the beach……A man came snorkeling in and I commented that I had thought he was a turtle when I first saw him. He laughed and said “Actually, I am Bond…James Bond.” My next comment was “Do you have a tuxedo under that wet suit?” His return was “Yes, but give me a minute to catch my breath”. When Michael came down the beach I introduced him as James Bond, and Michael shook his hand and said “Mr Bond, you look different that you did last time I saw you.” He laughed and said “Yeah, I have a bum knee!!”
We returned to the boat, had dinner of Chicken Kebabs and had an early night to bed.