After a wonderfully slow breakfast of pancakes no less, Jared drove Emelia, Theresa, Jill and myself to what I can only describe as the most wonderful beach in the world. Turquoise bay is world renowned for a number of remarkable features. Firstly, it's possible to walk out to hard corals just 50m or so off the shore, in crystal clear waters (the colour is in the title). Secondly, there is a rip from left to right that passes directly over these corals so it's possible to swim out and let the drift take you over these with minimal if any effort. As it happened the morning we were there was almost low tide meaning that the larger waves were spent on the outer reef and the bay where we were swimming was almost totally flat calm. The website states the following:
Turquoise Bay Drift Snorkel
Considered to be one of the best snorkel sites in the area, the Turquoise Bay Drift takes you across verdant coral gardens swarming with colourful reef fish only metres from the shore. This is one snorkel not to be missed!
Here is a link to the page giving you more information.
Turquoise Bay Drift Snorkel
Considered to be one of the best snorkel sites in the area, the Turquoise Bay Drift takes you across verdant coral gardens swarming with colourful reef fish only metres from the shore. This is one snorkel not to be missed!
Here is a link to the page giving you more information.
We would have quite happily spent all day here, as it was we did the drift three times, each better than the last. At one point the coral was so close to the surface I felt I had to breath in to avoid it. The only very small caution was that you have to be quite a good swimmer to kick back to the shore to avoid being taken out to sea! Actually this wasn't really an issue as long as we kept an eye out for the current and the spit of sand that marks the end of the bay. I'm not a strong swimmer, not like Jill, but I still managed and would have done it all again but the others were tired and keen to go back to the hotel for a sleep. We did stop at the lighthouse to learn a little about the local history. During the 2nd world war the US maintained a base here under the name Pot Shot which is where our hotel got it's name. For me it was time to relax around the pool with a good book, this time out of the sun as it's fierce here and no mistake.
Before we had dinner (this time in the hotel restaurant) we were driven to a 'secret' location for a sunset drink and farewell to each of us and especially Ana who wouldn't be travelling back with us on the bus. This beach is a well known spot for turtles though we were not fortunate enough to see any babies launching themselves into the blue. There were seagulls on the lookout too but they didn't see any either. Ana seemed more than a little desperate to see them before she left - see the photo below.