May's Bay

Rubber ducky entry and exit is another skill to learn. My skills must be improving though as I successfully negotiated the beach without getting wet or injured. Unlike my Thai experience six months ago. The beach here is small and intimate, and very quickly passes onto mangroves which line the waters edge. These trees really are quite beautiful. The last time I was so up close and personal was a biology trip in high school. The root system is what makes them unique, enabling them to exist on the waterline, yet breath via their network of roots which form a latticework system of breathing points above the water line. As for the salt water, I'm can't quite remember how they deal with that, but given how healthy they look they cope magnificently. Having discussed the potential danger of cone shells I was aware that shell seeking was to be undertaken with care. That and the fact that many beaches within this area would be considered national parks or protected environments. That said, I only found one shell worth investigating, flipping it over to discover it was inhabited by a hermit crab. After he wiggled his claws at me, I gently placed him back in position and left him to his housework. It is the turtles in May's Bay that have most captured my attention. We have sighted a couple each day. They appear out of nowhere, take a breath or two on the surface and go again. Sometimes they reappear further across the bay as they seek food. One this afternoon came up close by our yacht, alerting me to her presence as she huffed out and took another breath of air. The sound so unusual I had to look - and there she was just watching me. An amazing experience. I took a photo on my iPhone, which looks more like the Loch Ness Monster than doing credit to this beautiful girl, but I knew if I left to get the camera, she would be on her way before I returned. I consider myself very lucky to have seen her so close, in her environment, not one of man's making. 13.7.13