Captain Ted's Boat Adventure

Well, I am back at Treasure Beach for the Easter Weekend.  Kate, Irina, Tim, and I drove up on Friday morning arriving at about noon. 

For those of you who are not familiar with Treasure Beach, see my blog of March 3, 2012 , "Treasure Beach Weekend", for pictures of the beach, surrounds and Rose Cottage in which we are staying again at the Golden Sands.


Have the same wonderful time reading, napping, swimming, and eating delightful fresh fish as we did a month ago.  However, this time we decided to go on a boat tour on Saturday morning.  We had a bit of a mix-up on Friday afternoon, with us confusing Captain Allan for Captain Ted and mistakenly booked with Captain Allan. Apparently, the Golden Sands is Captain Ted's "territory". After dinner on Friday when met Captain Ted and Richard, manager of resort, we were rather embarrassed to confess what we had done.  All was made right by a phone call from Richard to Captain Allan and we were assured that we would be going with Captain Ted in the morning.  Though I think Tim worried all night that Captain Allan might accost us with some kind of weapon when we tried to about the wrong boat in the morning . . . . 
All was well in the morning and after my favourite breakfast of calaloo omlettes, off we went for a memorable three hour cruise  on the Di Evil Tings. Yes, that is really the name of the boat.


We were back by noon for curried fish lunch, followed by reading, naps, and more swimming. The day ended with a fine - if a bit tardy, "soon come" - conch fritters and lobster dinner at Frenchman's Reef restaurant next door. 


We will head back on Sunday afternoon, rested and relaxed.  Easter Monday is a holiday here, so we have day back in Kingston before work beacons on Tuesday. 

Flora is the 11 year old dolphin spotting companion of Captain Ted.  She is never far from his side and waits anxiously for him to bring the boat in so she can hop in and show us all where the dolphins breach. She is one of the few long-haired dogs I have seen in Jamaica. And one of the oldest!

On our way along the coast to Black River there were some lovely estates . . . 

. . .  and some lovely fishing villages.

Didn't someone tell these people that you should not build your house upon the sand? 

Local fisherman pointing out where the dolphins are breaching. 

Just as Captain Ted said she would,  Flora was on her feet looking for dolphins - hearing them long before we could see them.

Dolphins beside the boat (with Flora's head in the foreground).

Tim and Flora. The black plastic bag is to keep Tim's camera dry. 

I know, I know . . .  more pictures of the dog than the dolphins . . . 

Entrance to Black River, the longest river in Jamaica, known for its crocodiles. 

Entering the Great Morass up the Black River

Fishing in the Great Morass

Still on the Black River, now heading into the mangroves

Irina taking a picture of me taking a picture of her; Kate on the right; Captain Ted on the tiller. 

Flora is as keen on spotting crocodiles as she is dolphins.

Pelican Bar, perched on a reef about 500 metres off shore. 

Here is me getting off boat at the Pelican Bar: note the strange angle of my left leg - due to arthritic knee that mostly works but I don't take chances and am very careful (particularly after 2 hours of sitting in a boat); the fact that the boat was drifting from the stairs; and that I was last of the boat! Note that no one was offering assistance; but Tim was taking pictures :-)

Kate posing beside the bar, which was not open, and pointing to an Ontario licence plate - Kate is from Ottawa. There is a collection of memorabilia from all over the world in the Pelican Bar.  Kate is fairly new to Jamaica and we all thought of her as a rather sensible girl. However, when we left the Pelican, she announced "I forgot my flip flops!" - so back we went for them; leaving for the second time, she said "I can't find my camera!" - so back we went for it; leaving for the third time, someone came running out with her clothes which she could not even remember that she left behind (I would note that she was wearing her bathing suit). We pointed out that even Usain Bolt doesn't get a second false start. 

Deck at the Pelican Bar. The water is very shallow so falling off after a few beers will likely get you a bump on the head rather than drowning. We went snorkeling from here, though there was not much to see except a few small fish.  However, the water was warm and very clear.  We did see a large stingray as we were leaving.

This Canadian flag was on the ceiling of the Pelican Bar. It is lined and stitched, me thinking that it is quite old.

Just before we left the Pelican, the owners - operators?  - arrived to set up for the afternoon business. They brought coolers of beer and assorted things to cook - can you imagine open fires in the middle of this driftwood edifice?  Of course, no bar in Jamaica is without music. Difficult to discern in this picture, but this chap was climbing to the top of the hut - note that it is open so that the smoke from the cooking fires can escape - to place a small solar panel that was attached to a car battery (resting on the counter) which was attached to a stereo system. Never mind connecting it to a fridge or a stove; the music was the priority.

Thank you, Captain Ted!