A Perfect Day, With Pictures

Williams Cay 

It was another gorgeous day in the Exumas. The waves calmed a bit overnight, creating a great opportunity to explore by dinghy. We followed the crew of Paradigm Shift north to Leaf Cay. The approach to the island reveals all the important colors -- water in multiple shades of blue, white sand, and green foliage. The beach allows for gentle lapping of the waves and the sand is clean and soft. No people live on the island, but it has a large population of another creature: the pink iguana.

We were all anxious to see how one-year-old Cooper would react to his first encounter with the natives. Many of the iguanas were bigger in size than Yorkie, but they all lacked his spirit and energy. Glenda kept Cooper on a short leash, but he still made a great effort to force a face-to-face encounter. Four-year-old Jaxon, on the other hand, has been here before and was happy keeping his distance. 

A tour boat came about the same time we saw King Iguana lurking in the rocks. Shortly thereafter, we headed out for another beach that was a bit more peaceful. Only nature's scenery could be found here. The boys were let off leash and had a great time running the sandy beach and swimming in the shallow water.

A small group of mangroves grew at the northern end of the island. Once the boys began to tire, we departed and headed back to the anchorage while looking at showers falling in the distance. All the rain skipped over our location. The sun returned and intensified the blue hue of the water around Paradigm Shift. 

It was then time for the girls to drop the paddle boards in the water and have some fun. We started off on our knees, but were soon up and moving right along. The current was formidable, but we had a great time making our way from boat to boat and to the beach and back. An eagle ray glided by below us in the shallow water. Barry and Greg both captured the shenanigans in pictures. You can tell we are getting more confident because we broke out the camera for selfies. (For the record, I went in once and Glenda stayed upright and dry.) The smiles say it all! Great friends. Great times. Great memories. How special it is to be able to cross paths with dear friends.

We joined Betty and Wayne (Bright Ayes) aboard Paradigm Shift for appys and dinner. The girls ate inside while the boys ate in the cockpit. We watched the sun go down behind Crossroads and then sat around talking about anything and everything. Jaxon was more than happy to accept some night-time scratching and rubbing.  

It was a perfect day and there's no doubt these photos will make us smile for many years to come.