Yesterday, we ventured to the leeward side of the island for respite from the wind, snorkeling at Smith’s Barcadere, otherwise known by the family as Karen’s Cove. It was one of the locations we snorkeled in 2014 which served as inspiration for a number of paintings. The reef was in better shape than when we visited earlier, due I suspect to lack of tourist activity from Covid and the island not allowing cruise ships. There were some nice examples of elkhorn coral and decent sized schools of blue tangs. We also happened upon a scorpion fish, pictured below, which was a nice surprise. We also noted places where coral frags were attached in hopes of rehabbing the damaged coral heads.
Today, I got up to see the sunrise, with spectacular cloud formations as adornment as the sun broke over the horizon. Later in the morning, though the surf was rough, I snorkeled for a bit to see who was around and active. Visibility wasn’t good for photography, so I enjoyed floating with the surge of the waves, swimming between coral formations as the denizens of the reef scurried about. Knowing this was likely to be my last snorkel, I left the reef and headed towards shore and as I did so, a spotted trunk fish came by to bid me adieu. It is sad to say goodbye to the inhabitants of the reefs we’ve visited and gotten to know but look forward to our next briny adventure, destination unknown.
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Surging surf, watercolor
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| Sunrise, North Point beach |
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| Clouds at sunrise, North Point beach |
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Moray eel, trapped in tide pool
waiting for high tide
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Smith’s Barcadere, Grand Cayman
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| Blue tangs, Smith’s Barcadere |
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Scorpionfish, Smith’s Barcadere
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| Sargassum weed, washed ashore during a storm |
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