Prickly Pear Island, Anguilla
A philosophy (one of many) of Lindblad Expeditions, is to remain flexible at all times in order to achieve the maximum experience available for all on board. With this in mind, coupled with the fact the wind had deserted us, our Expedition Leader, Tom O’Brien, made a decision to rearrange our itinerary in order to enjoy the loveliest of beaches on Prickly Pear Island. What an experience! Arriving early, we were the first on the beach of this uninhabited paradise that is reminiscent of the “Azul” screen saver found on most computers, except it is much more beautiful. With an exciting Zodiac ride through a small channel filled with wild waves, we made our wet landing with a moderate surf running. “Stern to”, we backed onto the soft, almost powder, sand that soothed our feet as we tread on it. Into the water like turtles (well, maybe a little faster) we ran after depositing our “eggs” of towels, shoes, and water bottles upon the beach. The snorkelers swam towards the reef, the swimmers dove into the surf, the landlubbers found the shade, which by the way happened to be at Johno’s Bar. Smart ones these. As if hearing a call, Johno appeared from around the island on his 30 foot launch bringing all the necessities to qualify for the name “bar”. basking in the abundant supply of sea, surf, sand and sun we were all satisfied. Great Decision Tom! The snorkel team reported seeing a large green turtle and scores of little fish. After dinner we had an enthusiastic “sing along” on the Lido Deck. We probably woke the sleepers on Anguilla
By the way, some on board suspect our Leader, Tom, of having “inside information” in his decision making process, as the wind was rising, making it possible to hoist the jibs and sail off the “hook” into the afternoon, towards a lovely evening under sail. Our only problem at this moment, was how to slow the ship so we did not over run our next port-o-call. Such is the luxury of having great wind while on a sailing vessel.
A philosophy (one of many) of Lindblad Expeditions, is to remain flexible at all times in order to achieve the maximum experience available for all on board. With this in mind, coupled with the fact the wind had deserted us, our Expedition Leader, Tom O’Brien, made a decision to rearrange our itinerary in order to enjoy the loveliest of beaches on Prickly Pear Island. What an experience! Arriving early, we were the first on the beach of this uninhabited paradise that is reminiscent of the “Azul” screen saver found on most computers, except it is much more beautiful. With an exciting Zodiac ride through a small channel filled with wild waves, we made our wet landing with a moderate surf running. “Stern to”, we backed onto the soft, almost powder, sand that soothed our feet as we tread on it. Into the water like turtles (well, maybe a little faster) we ran after depositing our “eggs” of towels, shoes, and water bottles upon the beach. The snorkelers swam towards the reef, the swimmers dove into the surf, the landlubbers found the shade, which by the way happened to be at Johno’s Bar. Smart ones these. As if hearing a call, Johno appeared from around the island on his 30 foot launch bringing all the necessities to qualify for the name “bar”. basking in the abundant supply of sea, surf, sand and sun we were all satisfied. Great Decision Tom! The snorkel team reported seeing a large green turtle and scores of little fish. After dinner we had an enthusiastic “sing along” on the Lido Deck. We probably woke the sleepers on Anguilla
By the way, some on board suspect our Leader, Tom, of having “inside information” in his decision making process, as the wind was rising, making it possible to hoist the jibs and sail off the “hook” into the afternoon, towards a lovely evening under sail. Our only problem at this moment, was how to slow the ship so we did not over run our next port-o-call. Such is the luxury of having great wind while on a sailing vessel.
