We started the morning by taking the dinghy over to the mangrove forest,
but soon ran into a snag. It was really shallow, and we got out by pushing with
our feet. After getting back to the boat, I checked the cruising guide and
noticed the detail I hadn't noticed the night before --- that the area was only
traversable by high tide. We checked the tides and decided not to wait and go
to the Manta Ray pier instead. It was too short to sail, so we motor'd over.
There was already another party by the pier, but that was not a bad thing
--- we hadn't bought any squid to serve as bait. Marcie once again decided to
swim over, but most of the rest of us took the dinghy over, since there was the
possibility of hiking over to the Atlantic side, so we brought hiking sandals
as well.
Once tied to the Pier, we realized that previous visitors had acclimated
the Mantas to human presence, and they would swim over and check us out in case
we had food even though we didn't. The mantas enjoyed bumping their heads
against our legs and ankles and we shot multiple videos doing so. Niniane,
Bowen, and Boen would explore the beach on the sea of Abaco, and discovered
that Mantas weren't very efficient feeders --- there was plenty of dead squid
that were half eaten and Bowen fished a bunch of them out of the sea and used
them to entice/feed the Mantas who would come to visit.
On the shore itself, there were picnic benches, BBQ grills, and even a rope
swing, as well as a sign indicating that this was a public park and not to
leave litter. From there, it was a short walk to the Atlantic beach which was
breath-takingly lonely and deserted. Eager to stretch our legs, we walked along
the beach, once in a while seeing a coral remnant left behind by the millennia.
This trip completely upended my expectations of the Bahamas as being crowded
and full our tourists --- we would discover that nearly every beach we visited
we had all to ourselves! I guess not many people choose to sail and travel in
the Marsh Harbor area.
Upon our return, we saw another party feeding the Mantas. These parties
would dash in on a fast motorboat, spend no more than 15 minutes feeding the
Mantas, and then dash off in a hurry. We took our time playing with the Mantas
again before returning to the Katja for lunch. We would then motor back to Rat
Cay, as now the tide was high enough for us to explore than Mangrove forest.
Niniane had a work call, and Marcie decided not to join us. This time, we
anchor'd further out as the intention was just to explore the Mangrove forest.
The visit to the Mangrove forest was still exciting even at mid-Tide, but
this wasn't bad --- these were opportunities to turn off the motor, raise the
outboard, and paddle and listen to the sounds. We would make use of this
experience later on in the trip.
When we returned, Niniane's work call was over, and we could put the Dinghy
in the davits and motor over to CoCo Bay in Green Turtle Cay where we would put in for the
night in order to make the crossing the next day.
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