HAWKSBILL AND SHROUD

From Cambridge Cay, we took an unconventional path (John is getting into taking backwaters it seems) and headed north towards Hawksbill Cay.

Ultralights overhead - these islands must be gorgeous from the air!

Molly just being...Molly!

We had heard from several people that Hawksbill was great so we were really looking forward to it.  We found yet another great beach and in to hike we go.  
The trail started out great but faded quickly leaving us wondering which way to turn?  We did see some new animals and decided tomorrow was another day.

Can't get enough of these beaches...

This snail looks like it is made of wood?

This guy had a blue belly!  Saw lots of them here.

Trail when it was good...

The next day John was bound and determined we were going to get to the Loyalist ruins that this island is known for.  The Loyalists (who were loyal to the the British Crown) were peoples who left America and called this island their home and sought refuge here after the American Revolution.  That is what we were trying to hike to yesterday and to give up on.  There is another trail that we could only get to at high tide so we waited and made our appearance onshore accordingly.  It was only a short hike up and we came upn the Russell Ruins.  

John found a hand forged stake

Storage cellar

These conch shells are "really" old

In stark contrast, we watched the helicopter land on this mega yacht anchored nearby.

We had been watching for the elusive and declining White-Tailed Tropicbird. Was so happy to actually spot one!  They are one of the few birds who actually drink saltwater.

Next morning it was time to move to Shroud Cay.  When we got there it was HOT!  We were doing all we could to combat the heat on board and as soon as we got anchored we started covering and tenting Free Bird with anything we could find to shield her from the sun - tarps, sheets, it didn't matter if we looked like the Door County hillbillies (and I think we kind of did), but it was HOT!

Then we got off the boat and took the longest dinghy ride yet, like 5 miles. Friends had told us about taking a ride through a mangrove river and coming out on the ocean side.  It was really cool and unlike anything we had done to date.  I kept praying that the engine didn't die because rowing all the way would not be an option.

Mangrove river

Opening to ocean

 

Awesome bird, still not sure what he is?

 

It was really beautiful!  The tide was rushing in so we parked the dinghy and walked out the sand spit, got in the water and it carried us back in.  Really cool and of course, our faithful Marley got us safely back to Free Bird!