Day 75: Fruit of the Island

What a wonderful day today was!


First, I've been meaning to do this, and just haven't taken the time. I know my hubby appreciates trees and gardening, so if he were here, he would be all over this. Al has cultivated in their yard some amazing fruit trees. This week, this is how the fruit looked! We have been the grateful recipients of his labors, too, which has been an especially nice treat!

A lemon ready to be picked!

What's especially fun is that my nephew and his wife are expecting, and she just told me this week that their baby is now the size of a mango!!! So every time I see the mangos ripening on the tree, I think of that sweet new baby!

Mango - Bigger than any I've seen at Meijer!!!

Lemons!!

Not sure what these are, but they're all over the place!

We had decided that we were going snorkeling today. We've snorkeled at several beaches around the island and didn't want to miss out on the best one, so we figured the dive shop would steer us in the right direction. I had told Hannah that I really wanted to go back to Carlos Rosario beach, which is quite a hike to get to, but I really like the beach and heard there's great snorkeling there, too. As it turned out, that's where the lady in the dive shop recommended we go!!! We headed over to it, took the mile-plus hike over the top of the mountain/hill and enjoyed a deserted beautiful beach. 

The trip to Carlos Rosario beach...
That's Flamenco Beach in the distance.

Hiking the trail to Carlos Rosario reminded
Hannah of our own lane back home!

A view on our hike

Louis Pena Island in the distance

Hannah brought her underwater camera along, too, that Uncle Mark sent, so we got some fun shots! We saw a lot more than we got pictures of, but it was pretty cool to capture the jellyfish on camera! They're amazing to watch in the water. We completely lose track of time when we're snorkeling, so I have no idea how long we were in the water. Although we're pooped out from it we are in total agreement that it was well-worth the effort!

Under the ocean's surface...

Hannah, looking for sand dollars

Hi there!!!

A fish that captured Hannah's attention

Jellyfish!! Can you see the center??

After our visit to the underwater world, we went home to shower and get cleaned up and then had a treat for lunch by going to Dinghy Dock. It's a restaurant that's right on the water's edge and has ample spots for boaters to secure their rig and grab a bite to eat. There were actually more people there from boats than from land! We sat at a table right at oceanside and Hannah got a kick out of watching the huge fish swimming not ten feet from us.

Late Lunch at Dinghy Dock! Yum!!

Tonight was Hannah's last volleyball match. She hadn't practiced at all this week. That, in combination with our snorkeling adventure, showed her looking a bit weary on the court. They pulled out a victory, though, in 3 games. Then after the game she was introduced to a pro player from the big island! Her coach said he is a close friend, he was asking about her during the game, and noticing some really good things about her abilities. He told Hannah that she definitely has the body of a volleyball player and she should keep playing, so that was a big encouragement for her! 


Tonight we decided to watch a movie together and then head for bed. What a great day!


Thank you, God, for such beauty that we were able to enjoy together!