The Hike - January 2

The highlight of today was a hike around the north portion of Compass Cay.
We left just after 10, headed for 'Rachel's Bubble Bath'. We trekked from the marina to the sound side beach, then began our journey north. The path wove through palm scrub along a jagged coast line swept by waves and wind. The trail was sporadicly marked with various bits of flotsam recovered from the ocean. There were buoys on sticks, fenders hanging from trees and fishing net buoys placed to mark our path. Most of the day we were in the company of curly tailed lizards and hermit crabs housed in empty peanut snail shells. On the rocky north shore we passed a few birds, American Oystercatchers, who yelled at us as we went by.
We arrived at the bubble bath at the ideal time of near high tide. The bubble bath is created by a small inlet between two large rocks such that as the water level rises, the waves crash over the rocks into a calm bay, causing the foam of the waves to settle over the swimmers below. The girls were quite apprehensive about swimming, as the pool just under the overflow is quite deep and the jagged rocks are very menacing.
The swim was short and we carried on our way.
The next portion of the hike was through a tidal flat, and then to the serene bank side beach. Here, our path was much easier to hike, as most of the trail was layered cracked sandstone just off the waters edge. We would hike along a beachfront, then through a short overgrown area before emerging again and carry on down the next beach.
Upon leaving the final beach, nearing the marina, we came to a mangrove flat, which seemed it would impede our progress. But we forged on through the muck, passing a few juvenile lemon sharks and two yellow stingrays in the shallow water. When we reached solid ground again, the sign told us we were entering the 'jungle trail' (we should tell you that every sign on this island is hand-painted on a piece of driftwood and nailed to whatever might be nearby, and was originally positioned to be pointing the correct direction, but very likely no longer is). Sure enough, the cut through the now thicker vegetation was very jungle-esque . It wasn't too long before we came to a stone wall, behind which was a hole and a sign (hand-painted, of course) stating that this well was protected by a pet water boa. After gingerly peering over the side, but seeing no sign of a snake, we again soldiered on.
The next clearing opened up so we could see the marina!! At this point, we had been out for almost 3 hours, and everyone was getting a bit hungry, so the sight of 'home' was a welcome one. We walked the few steps to the edge of the bush and were stopped in our tracks by the mutual realization that now the only thing between us and our boat, was water. Lots of it.
I turned to Greg, asked him to check the 'map' which was merely a picture of the hand painted sign on the marina wall that we had snapped before we left in case we needed clarification while out on the trail. Sure enough, after zooming in, there it was: Bonefish Creek. So, we faced a choice, turn around, and retrace our steps back to the beginning ... or swim. We, obviously, did the only logical thing and began to wade in. Luckily it wasn't too deep, Greg could walk across, and by carefully choosing a path to stay in waist-deep water could hold our backpack over his head to keep our belongings dry. We girls behind him, chose to swim, as the bottom was very silty and would have swallowed our shoes. None of the ladies on this trip are big fans of walking in unknown bottoms. So, now, Greg has crossed, and got the camera out to capture the moment ... we are approaching the sandbar at the midpoint as he gently says "just be aware that once you get past the middle, there are a few big stingrays up here, so be careful". What might have terrified me a few short months ago, now just makes me cringe a little. I must say how impressed I was with my girls. There was a brief wide-eyed look back at me, and then they carried on! We reached the far shore, dried off, and then finished our little hike back, laughing all the way at our adventure.
Following lunch, what to do with the afternoon?
Swim with the sharks, of course!