I blame it on the Cracked Conch, Key Lime Pie and Rum Punch

There can definitely be too much of a good thing…I don’t know about you, but I go through periods where I think I can eat anything I want and I won’t gain a pound, and then I suddenly wake up one day to discover that I seem to have put on 10 pounds overnight and my clothes don’t fit…well, thanks to Vernon’s homemade bread and Key Lime Pie, not to mention a rum punch here and there, I have once again come to that realization. So, it is back to good eating and exercise…and, speaking of good eating and exercise, that is what we have been doing for the last few days.

The day after Lynn returned safely from his boat delivery mission, we decided to take advantage of a predicted string of good weather days (three in a row, which is long for this winter) and head south to Lynyard Cay, one of our favorite anchorages. It is relatively secluded and offers a lovely place to hang out without lots of other boats around. Chuck came along in his own boat. We had to wait till high tide to get out of Hope Town and arrived at our destination late in the day where we finally met up with Kathi and John on Makani.

I’ll start out with the eating…we dropped the hook, got organized and then had everyone over for dinner on Coyote…and what a meal! It was all conch, starting with delicious conch chowder that I made using a recipe from my latest addition of Coastal Living that just happened to be featuring conch and lobster recipes. John made fabulous conch Polynesian with a twist and I liked it better than my own…MMMMM…so yummy. The following night we gathered again and made a meal of lobster tails with basil butter sauce as appetizers (using lobster caught by Makani and another recipe from Coastal Living) followed by pork tenderloin, fried rice and a salad of hearts of palm. In between dinners we breakfasted on pancakes and had lunches picnicking on shore and at Pete’s Pub in Little Harbour (including the requisite rum blasters). As an aside from eating, in keeping with tradition we all signed a t-shirt (generously donated by Lynn) and left it on the wall of the bar so we will live on in Pete’s Pub posterity. I guess with all of this eating I shouldn’t be surprised by the expansion of my waistline!

Now for the exercise…early on our first day at Lynyard, John and Kathi guided us out the Little Harbour inlet to snorkel on a reef they discovered on the Atlantic Ocean side…it was spectacular. We were treated to incredible coral formations and lots of fish. John spotted a shark and Kathi saw two turtles. I was my usual wildlife-loser self and did not see either species, but was delighted just the same. After getting our fill of the reef, we hopped back in our dingys and headed to conch and lobster territory. By the way, hopping in a dingy is not as easy as it sounds, at least not for me due to my lack of upper body strength…which brings me back to not enough exercising, remember? Boarding a dingy from the water involves me attempting to pull myself up while frantically kicking my flippers and with Lynn pulling on my arms or any part of me that he can grab. There is definitely nothing graceful about it as I grunt and groan and try to get a leg up.

Anyway, back to hunting. We all got back in the water and spent about an hour looking for conch and lobster but were unfortunately skunked. It was then on to another conch hot spot where we did find about six (more conch chowder for us!). Later that afternoon Kathi took me back to look for lobster because it was high tide and she thought we might have more luck, which we did, in a way. First I have to tell you that lobster hunting is not so easy…actually, it’s the lobster finding that is particularly hard, at least for a novice like me. They hide under rocky crevices. Well, they think they are hiding. It is pretty funny because they back themselves in and leave there antennae hanging out rather conspicuously. So, those practiced in spotting these long black things can usually find them fairly easily. As I have mentioned before, my powers of observation are not very strong so I don’t find them so easily. A few times I thought I had a bead on one but it turned out to be just leaves. Anyway, I did finally find and spear my first lobster, but it turned out to be a juvenile and under the size limit. We left him there still alive, but maybe injured, which made me feel bad. I don’t think lobster hunting is for me…I think I’ll just stick to lobster eating.

Before heading back to Hope Town we made an expedition to the beach on the Atlantic side of the island in search of the elusive sea glass. It is becoming more and more difficult to find since lots of people are collecting it and glass bottles are not used as much. It is easier to find beach plastic now, but it is not nearly as pretty. Since Lynn and I have poor memories, we went to the wrong spot to begin with…after hiking along a path all we found was a jagged shore of volcanic rock. It looks cool but is quite hazardous to walk on as it is all sharp shards of rock jutting up…one tumble would cause serious damage. It was then that I remembered the path was actually on the south end of the island. We finally found the beach and spent a while looking for sea glass trophies. We weren’t completely skunked, but our booty was disappointing. Oh well, we’ll keep looking.

All in all it is the most exercise I have had since arriving here. Later that day, in a little floatilla of our three boats, we made the two-hour journey back to Hope Town, our home away from home. I have found that I enjoy the adventure of moving about to discover nice anchorages but I also find comfort in being in a familiar place that I love. Most of all I like experiencing new things and having fun with great people, both of which I got plenty of on our latest little expedition.