Mangrove Creek

Early this morning we drove the dinghy to a mangrove creek. As we rounded a point about half way down the island the waves picked up to about 3 feet so it was a rough ride. The creek is very shallow with a sand bar across the entrance. We had read that you could enter the creek only at high tide and we thought it was close to high tide. When we turned toward the entrance the waves would push us in and we were committed. Once we were in it was like another world. Calm water surrounded by mangroves. We had looked at a map before we left but we were wishing we had brought a handheld gps so we would at least have a track. George carefully steered around sand bars and we made our way through the creek and its branches. We saw numerous small sea turtles (dark spot in photo). Boy, do they ever swim fast! We tried to keep our eye on the tide so we wouldn't get trapped in low water. After about an hour and a half we turned around and made our way back to the entrance. It looked even
scarier than before, with breakers all the way across. I tied all of the loose items to the dinghy just in case... George masterfully made it out (phew) and turned toward Breeze On. We passed 2 dolphins along the way.