Today was one of those fun unplanned but full of plans kind of day. We didn’t have to do anything in particular but there were lots of things I wanted to do. So we started out at the House of Fry Jacks for breakfast and a little ride through town. The wind was calm and the weather perfect so we decided to do some kayaking. We returned home to change and invite John and we all 3 set out to the split. Once we had our kayaks, we headed through the split up the less inhabited and totally off the grid north end of the island. Hurricane Hattie is said to have caused a small slit in a very narrow part of the island in 1961, so instead of trying to build the land back up, the local authorities decided to dredge the gap out wider to allow easier access from one side of the island to the other by boat. Even now the north end is only accessible by boat and although power is in the works there will still be no water. Right now the few houses on this end use either solar panels or generators and must have some type of rain catchment system for water. We kayaked first up the western side past mostly mangroves with the occasional spot cleared for a house and dock. We explored little natural coves formed by the mangroves and looked for seahorses (which are known to attach themselves to the roots). We saw a variety of fish hiding in the mangroves and large conch shells were clearly visible though the shallow crystal clear water. After going part of the way up the long western side we returned to the split. From there we found a sandy spot on the north end where we could pull the kayaks up and explore some by foot. There is a trail leading roughly up the middle of the island, and in some narrow spots we could see the water on both sides. There were more very small houses scattered around the island than we’d expected (since those were more inland and couldn’t be seen from the water). We continued up the path until some very loud, unhappy dogs began barking. Not being sure if they were restrained we decided to turn around. Once back to the kayaks John decided that an hour and a half was enough for him while Christian and I headed up the eastern (reef) side to explore a little more. We found several giant starfish along the way and once again explored a few of the little coves inside the mangroves. I was having a great time until Christian asked if I knew where the crocodiles were fed? Wow! I’d almost forgotten about that, there is a little lagoon on this side where boats enter with tourists to see all the crocodiles. Of course they aren’t actually enclosed, and we were getting closer to the lagoon entrance. Suddenly every bump on the surface of the water became crocodile eyes to my mind. I was ready to turn around. Maybe that had been Christian’s plan all along since he was doing most of the paddling and we were going against the current! But we turned and let the wind push up most of the way back while enjoying the view of the turquoise water and waves breaking over the reef in the distance. Once back across the split we floated around the small bay before returning. We spotted John sitting at the new gelato place on the beach with the incredible views of the water. We turned our kayaks in and headed over to meet him. The gelato place (along with the pizza restaurant adjoining it) is owned by friends of John’s from Italy. Anna let us sample her delicious gelato before deciding on a flavor. They import all the ingredients from Italy and make it fresh daily and we couldn’t get over how rich and creamy it was, the best I’ve ever had (and of course the spectacular views at the table doesn’t hurt).

After kayaking around the north end we decided to bike around the southern tip of the island. John warned us that some people have spotted crocodiles on the path so we should have our camera ready. (Although I personally don’t think I’ll be worried about my camera if I come upon a crocodile.) The southern tip of the island is less developed and also completely off grid with no plans in the foreseeable future for either electricity or water. There is a small, poorly groomed bike path that reaches the west side of the island we intended to follow. Of course we came to a place where the path was almost nonexistent and we took a wrong turn that landed us in trees so thick we had to get off our and fight through the thick undergrowth back to the path. There are actually some nice houses along the way here. They are off the grid but the views of the Caribbean and reef are unbeatable. There was one large house with a sea wall made entirely of conch shells. It includes 9 acres and is right on the ocean with a long pier. It had a for sale sign that tells us the house is called Hamaruba (dumbest name I’ve ever heard I think) but they also claim to have a website Hamaruba.com (someone else told us it was .net but we couldn’t find either).

Parts of the path were under water deep enough that a small crocodile could’ve been hiding in it and we never would’ve known. So once again every bump on the water became crocodile eyes to me. I’m not opposed to seeing a crocodile from a boat but meeting one up close from a kayak or bike doesn’t sound fun to me. So while Christian walked his bike through the water, I rode mine until the mud got so deep I all but fell over and had no choice but to walk through the thick black mud. We finally reached the western end of the airstrip and made our way back to our apartment.

This had been a somewhat tiring day so we sat out by the pool to relax for a while. We were eventually joined by John and then another friend of his named Lincoln who was on his way home after a day of diving. We rode our bikes to Bahia, a neighborhood on the west side of the island to see Lincoln’s home. Dinner was at a place around the corner (owned by a man originally from Georgia) with the reputation for having the best burgers on the island. After good food and conversation it was time to return to our apartment. Today turned out full of excitement. But really there are no bad days here.