The plan today was roughly to hang out at the beach in the morning, and then take a boat ride this afternoon.
Sabrina and I decided to go into downtown St. John's, so we dropped everyone else off at Dickenson Bay Beach, near Salt Plage where we had dinner the first night, not far from the house.
I wanted to check out the gift shop at the national museum, so we parked near there and then walked a block or so. The roads downtown were narrow and disjointed, and the stop signs seemed somewhat optional; it reminded us a lot of Castries in St. Lucia.
It was hot and sunny, but there was a nice breeze coming off the ocean.
The museum was closed, of course, because it's Boxing Day.
Having struck out at the museum, we walked around Heritage Quay but all of the stores were closed, either for Boxing Day or because there were no cruise ships in port today (or both).
Remnants of yesterday's partying were still on display. It was oddly desolate, with only a few local residents and a few other tourists wandering around.
I have no idea if $70 is a reasonable price for braiding a full head of hair, but the Hair Braiders Stand was still set up.
This is where one of the cruise ships would be (or will be, tomorrow), but today it was empty and tranquil.
This small group of tourists out for a ride on electric motorcycles was almost the only sign of life at the waterfront.
We also wandered through Redcliffe Quay, which is where the other cruise shop dock is attached to land. Everything there was closed, too.
I think we spent maybe 20 minutes walking around downtown before giving up and driving back to the beach. I don't think we were gone for 45 minutes, total.
We found the rest of our crew, by the beach bar, in front of which they had secured a few chairs and an umbrella,
We lazed around for a few hours; eventually, we ordered lunch from the beach bar (Ana's on the beach) and ate it literally on the beach.
Just before 2 PM our charter boat arrived (early) at the beach, so we loaded everything into the van and climbed aboard.
Captain George offered us a few options; we chose to go up to Prickly Pear Island. The boat had a bluetooth-enabled sound system, so he offered that we could play music from one of our phones; we opted for his music, instead. He sang and danced along as he drove.
The ride was a bit rough. There was a lot of railing-holding and definitely some mild screaming from the front of the boat.
We disembarked on the tiny island around 2:30 PM, to spend an hour or so snorkeling/beaching with the other daytrippers. There's a bar/restaurant on the island, inexplicably, but we'd already eaten and the cooler on the boat was well-stocked.
I climbed up the short, rocky path (barefoot) to the top of the hill that encompassed most of the small island, but there wasn't much up there except a slightly better view.
The reefs were clearly visible from the hill top. It's remarkable that these tour boats are able to find the narrow channels through the reef, in each location we visited today. I didn't see any channel markers/buoys (except in one place) the entire afternoon. It would be incredibly difficult to DIY it with a rental boat, although they are available.
After wandering around a bit, we decided to don snorkels, masks, and fins and explore the view below the waves. Lauren and Jeanne opted out, choosing to stay at the beach.
Steve and I followed the channel outside the reef, then got a bit lost trying to find the way back in. I thought there was a path around the rocks Steve ended up roughing it through very shallow water over the reef, straight to the boat, while I backtracked all the way back to the way we came through.
At one point, I saw a sea turtle but it darted away quickly. Steve noticed a very odd fish, resting on the bottom. We have decided that it was some sort of Sand Diver.
Once we all made it back to the boat, Captain George drove us back along the northwestern coast toward St. John's.
Once we all made it back to the boat, Captain George drove us back along the northwestern coast toward St. John's.
One of the first things he pointed out was a statue of Richard Branson, to commemorate his trip into space.
As the sun went down, the temperature dropped quickly. Some people felt that it was cold, in the wind out on the water.
We had a lovely (if late) Boxing Day dinner at the Airbnb.
People were partying hard at some of the fancy rentals along the shore. This one is apparently the Rock Cottage, which (if I'm looking at the right listing) is somewhere between $3000 and $4000 per night, depending on the season, with a five-day minimum.
Just past the opulent Rock Cottage, there is a secluded beach where someone is camping.
Our boat captain had a lot to say about various rock formations. I think this is the one that he said had fallen into the ocean during a magnitude 7.5 earthquake in the 1970s.
He asserted that this is Toad Rock, although I can find no corroboration evidence at the moment.
As we motored down the coast, the captain stopped in several locations to point out various resorts, villas, rock formations, a ship wreck, and other vessels.
When we reached Pinching Bay, Captain George dropped us off for a walk on the soft sand while he checked something with the engine (or fuel filter? it wasn't clear).
At the other end of the secluded beach, there was a natural saltwater pool created by some rock formations in the bay.
We went for a quick swim in the calm pool before strolling back to the boat.
Steve and I polished off the bottle of rum punch, and Captain George suddenly exclaimed that he had a fresh coconut if anyone wanted it.
Sabrina tried drinking directly from the hole that he hacked in the top of it with a machete, but nearly drowned in the deluge of coconut water contained within.
Captain George gave her a cup, and she poured probably 15 ounces of liquid out of the coconut.
As we motored around the Jolly Bay area were treated to a beautiful sunset. This is where we're planning to go, tomorrow.
This hilltop villa was allegedly Eric Clapton's property at one point, according to our captain. All I can find at the moment is a different, 45-acre property that he apparently owns elsewhere on the island.
This was another natural formation that he pointed out; it might've been "a sleeping giant", but I think I'm confusing that with a different one that he talked about earlier. There were lots of stories about rock formations.
Sabrina preferred the calmer ride in the back of the boat, but not everyone had that option because we needed weight in the front to balance it.
Captain George pointed out "the second best restaurant on the island"; when we told him that's where we have a reservation for dinner tomorrow night, he insisted on taking us in for a closer look so he could point out the exotic waterfront features. There was something about a service where your food was floated over to you, I think? I was only half listening.
On the ride back to Dickenson Bay, we stopped to wave at this floating party boat. Apparently they have a water shuttle service to bring customers to and from shore.
It was getting well and truly dark by the time we returned to the beach. As with every other stop today, we hopped out into the water and carried our bags/towels/shirts over our heads to keep them dry.
It was well after 6 PM when we got back to the van. On the short drive back to the villa, we stopped at the First Choice supermarket to pick up some additional supplies, then returned to the house to cook dinner.
Tomorrow, we're heading down to the Jolly Harbour area for some additional beaching and adventure.
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