November 29th
We’ve been stranded on the boat for most of our stay here, but finally had a wind reprieve and managed a full day ashore today..woohoo! Scott wanted to hike the south part of the main island, and I wanted some chill time off of the boat.
We had a choice of two or three beaches to anchor off of, for Scott to start his hike. The first one was a semicircle, with water that was as clear and still as a swimming pool. However, right on the beach was this sign:
What kind of sign is that? What the heck does it mean? Are there aggressive owls? Why the skulls on the sign? Do they claw you with poison talons? Seriously, I wanted to know what this foreboding sign meant! Scott did not seemed phased by the word “Danger,” and the skulls. What did he care, he was going to leave and hike! I, however, did not want to be left on some dangerous “owl” beach, so we headed to beach number two. No danger signs…check.
We anchored off of the beach and waded our stuff to shore. Scott suited up for a hike, and I flopped onto a chair in the sand. I quickly realized that I did not have the beach to myself. Two meaty lizards came over to eyeball me. I’m guessing cruisers who come to use the picnic table on this beach feed them, because they came closer than normal. They were quite persistent, coming right back after I would shoo them away. Lizards skeeze me out. I don’t mind one crossing my path, or getting a photo of one and continuing on my way. What I do mind, is the possibility of falling asleep and being woken up to a creepy lizard on my back…ick!
My “shooing” didn’t work, and neither did the “lizard stick” that Scott had left me. I then decided to give them an unexpected bath. I filled a cup with salt water and splashed it on them. This ran them back into the bushes and held them off for longer periods of time, but they kept coming back. Like I said, persistent little reptiles. I guess the Chex Mix in my bag smelled pretty darned good, but I wasn’t into sharing it. Again, I was having flashbacks of petting zoo, bum-rushing animals!
Eventually, Scott returned. After laughing at my frustration and failed attempts, he fetched the massive water gun from the Princess. He uses it to suck up water that gathers at the stern of the boat, that the bilge pump doesn’t quite get (yes, the Princess has a bilge pump!). When the persistent twosome again appeared, he doused them. I can imaging it equated to opening up a fire hose on them. Poor things, one was running on his front legs, because his back legs were being held up by the water gun stream. Needless to say…problem solved!
The south end of the island gave Scott an even harder time, with overgrown and unmarked trails, but he managed. This end of the island had ruins of the colonial settlement.
He also came upon Pirate’s Lair, located near a hidden anchorage. Pirate’s would come ashore to drink from the well here, and sleep for the night. They left seeds which fell from their sleeping mats, and some grew, leaving a plants not native to the area.
Again, I would not drink this stuff. If I were a pirate, I’d stick to my rum ration!
This main island of the park is named Warderick Wells, because of the many fresh water wells on the island. The word “well” is a stretch. We’re not talking Evian here. These are small, dark, dank holes, that I would not drink water from!
The day was a nice reprieve from the wind and waves at anchor. Here are some great photos of the trails and beaches along Scott’s hiking route.
“Shells Sink, Dreams Float. Life’s Good On Our Boat!”