Waterlemon Cay and Salt Pond Bay

After we went to Annaberg on Wednesday morning, we did the short hike to Leinster Bay (where we ended up at the end of our hike on Tuesday) and snorkeled out to Waterlemon Cay.
The snorkeling out at Waterlemon has ALWAYS been incredible. This time it seemed like many of the coral heads and been overturned in recent storms, but the life there is forever adapting and rebounding.

The hike to Waterlemon along old Leinster Bay Road, which used to be a cart road associated with the plantations. (Check out pictures of the Leinster Bay Plantation from 2007)

View of Waterlemon Cay from Windy Hill the day before.

And a view of it during the swim there.
As soon as we got in the water we were treated to a friendly and curious sea turtle.


And lots of fry.

Visibility could have been better, but it was still a fabulous snorkel.
Christmas tree worms on a coral head.
Flamingo tongue cowling on a sea fan


The elkhorn here is enviable.
Closeup of the elkhorn.

The "back side" of Waterlemon Cay.
Lots of juvenile fish

Featherduster
Another sea turtle. This guy had a gimpy fin and was so intent on eating whatever he was eating that he didn't care about us.


Flounder


And when we were ready for a break we just climbed out on the small beach that has formed at the edge of the Cay.
View looking up one side . . .
and down the other . . .


Toes in the water, @ss in the sand! :-)
On the side of the beach closest to Mary Point, the rocks have been somehow cemented together to form a solid, continuous shelf.

The views from the beach were just spectacular.


We went home for lunch and a nap and then headed to Salt Pond Bay to lay on the beach and relax.

One thing about being there in September that was fabulous is we had almost every place we went to entirely to ourselves.

Fun little whelk (I think?) that we found. He was mad that I had been holding him for a while trying to get a picture, and was flailing his foot to try and flip over.


After Salt Pond, we decided to attempt to find the Tektite Trail in Lameshur Bay, which was an adventure in itself and requires a dedicated post. We found it on Wednesday evening, but didn't hike the entire thing until Thursday because we were losing light and didn't want to find OURSELVES lost!