Seahorses!

Hatchet Bay is just two miles from a large saltwater pond (technically a blue hole connected to seawater) called Sweetings Pond. We had heard from other cruisers two years ago that Sweetings Pond has seahorses. I have always loved seahorses and have never seen them in the wild. Yesterday morning George and I put our bathing suits on, loaded our snorkel gear into the dinghy, and went ashore. After tying up at the dock we talked to a nice young man (JoGo) and asked if there was anyone who could take us to Sweetings Pond. JoGo said ,” You mean like Uber?” We said yes and he went to talk to a friend (Keno) who agreed to drive us for $30.

While Keno drove us to the pond, he and JoGo pointed out the sights. We never would have found the unmarked, overgrown road to the pond by ourselves. They dropped us off and gave us a number to call when we were ready to be picked up.

George and I put our snorkel gear and went in. Near shore it was so murky I wasn’t sure we would be able to see anything. Once we were farther from shore we could see more clearly. George eventually saw a seahorse but I was too far away for him to get my attention. After he saw a smaller one near where I was—but I didn’t—we went back to the area where he found the first one and pointed it out to me. Success! After about an hour we got out of the water and put dry clothes on. As we were finishing up Keno and JoGo arrived and took us back to the dock. We thanked them and paid them both. It was well worth the money. One interesting tidbit we learned from JoGo was that Hatchet Bay was man made. JoGo’s grandmother told him that when she lived here it was a low swampy area. Dynamite was used to blast the opening through which we came yesterday and the water flowed in to make it a bay.