A Day Of New Experiences

Black Point to Oven Rock  |  1.5 Hours  |  9.2 Miles   

The cool temperatures and calm seas allowed for some good sleeping. An orange sunrise soon gave way to a bright blue sky and strong sunshine. The water was a beautiful mosaic of every blue imaginable. We raised the dinghy, then the anchor, and were underway at 10:00.  

We moved a short distance south and stopped at Oven Rock -- a new spot for us. Following a quick lunch we headed to the shore for some exploring. Crossroads was left sitting pretty in eight feet of crystal clear water. We beached the dinghy just north of Oven Rock and walked a short distance to find the trail head, thankfully marked with a buoy hanging from the cutest dwarf palm tree. 

We crossed the island on a rocky, but well-traveled trail, to the entrance to Gemstone Cave. Inside we went.

A large pool of water awaited below the stalactites. We came. We saw. We continued walking the trail to the beach on Exuma Sound. From a high point on the trail we got our first view of the cove.

A makeshift bridge took us over a swampy section of trail. Soon we were crossing the small sand dune where sea oats waved in the light breeze. I had high hopes of finding more sea beans, but no luck. I did find two small sea urchins and a really nice shell. 

The mound of plastic trash is now expected and commonplace, but none the less disturbing. The cove itself was stunning. It was a great first adventure for the day.

We returned to Crossroads and prepared to go snorkeling at Little Farmer's Cay. We had such great memories from two years ago and hoped to see more of the same. We ventured back to the same spot, hopped into the water, and were immediately disappointed to find all the coral heads dead and no fish at all. We did see two small turtles, but couldn't convince them to stop for a picture. We tried the second spot off the southern end of the island and received similar results. All dressed up and nowhere to snorkel, we returned to Crossroads. Barry decided it would be a good time to clean our stern zincs of crusty buildup. He stepped off our swim ladder and quickly completed his scraping. I asked why he was back so fast and he proceeded to tell me of the two large barracudas munching on our hull. So much for fun in the water. We showered and got ready for the third stage of our day.

Back in the dinghy, we zipped across to Ty's Sunset Bar & Grill (a new spot for us) on the western side of Little Farmer's. We met two other couples at the bar and enjoyed chatting with them over beverages while waiting for our meals. Harvey was our host and bartender and took great care of us. We enjoyed dinner on the deck and watched as the sun lowered in the sky. We were back on Crossroads with the dinghy up in travel position in time to watch the final moments of the evening's colors.