Cayo Espanto Day 7: Our Final Day in Paradise

<Chad> Today is our last day in Cayo Espanto and I would be lieing if I said that we are not a little sad. The mood has been just slighly more somber than previous days. The silence between conversations has been just a bit longer, the gazes at the water, horizon, and each other, just a bit more focused.

We got started EARLY this morning, almost subconsiously, to take advantage at every waking moment of the day. I caught two bonefish by 7:00am, much to the chagrin of the other early fisherman, I had found the school and laid stake to the dock to cast ever so precisely, slowing down to really relish every moment of it. I had a goal of landing two today to make a total of twelve for the week. So after my second catch I left the dock for the next guy… a guy with more time than I left on the island. I’m not sure that he caught anything, I am also not sure why that brings a smile to my face.

<Marci> Since the wind was so calm, we wanted to do a beautiful morning kayak ride. We set sail about 7:30AM with the morning just beginning. We do this often at home to beat the morning heat, but had not taken the opportunity to have a morning kayak trip yet. Today, the breeze was perfection, we really savored the salty air and the quiet reflection on the water. Since the island is only four acres, our trip was fairly short. We pulled around the last leg of our journey to see Casa Solana, our home for the past week. What a great place!

We decided to order our favorite breakfast from this week, we both chose the eggs benedict. As Alex cleared the table, he told me that any recipe we wanted, he would let the chef know – and Richard would make a copy. I certainly wanted that Hollandaise sauce for the eggs benedict, it was fantastic. With breakfast cleared and a whole day at our disposal, Chad quickly set to fishing and I to reading. I kept peering over my book to check out the view – the sun was starting to rise and the day was certainly set to be a perfect one.

<Chad> After breakfast I found my way out on to the flats, chasing glints. I found some of my little friends relatively quickly, made a backcast up wind and connected with another little 1-2 pounder, that makes three for the day… lucky thirteen. The heat was really crankin’ up on the day and the sun was probably the most intense it had been all week. I needed to shelter my sun soaked skin. I came back to the house where Marci was having so much fun finishing the entry for day six, totally cracking herself up. I love that laugh, the one that she has when she is laughing so hard she starts crying. You just can’t help but feel happy when you hear that.

I found shelter from the sun in a shady spot under the umbrella and polished off a Belikin… at 10:30am. I studied Marci’s sweet face, unbenounced to her, as she quietly typed. I said a little prayer to thank God for my wonderful wife and this awesome final day of our honeymoon. My eyelids got heavy and I almost fell asleep right there but, told myself to get up and enjoy every minute of the day.

<Marci> I finished my log of day 6 and looked over to find Chad almost asleep on the lounger. I took a pic without him knowing….

We read the story together and both got to laughing about all our crazy adventures together. Chad loves it when I read to him, and I could barely keep it together as I read to him. I cry at the slightest bit of emotion, happy or sad. This cry was happy, but also a bit nostalgic – we were recounting our days together and there were many stories to tell.

Lunch came a bit later, it was a huge Club with handmade chips. We were in heaven. Those darned Wave drinks will put you in a mood, we both landed on the backside of lunch with a bit of a buzz. James Taylor was playing in the background. We made a pact yesterday that each time, “Something in the Way She Moves,” plays, we have to dance to it. Well, right in the middle of lunch, we dropped our sandwiches and had a twirl on the deck. Chad makes me laugh, we really do have a good time together.

<Chad> Actually, we danced once to “Something in the Way She Moves” before lunch. Then, because the CD was on loop, stood up from our lunch when it played a second time. We are doing pretty well with our pact.

After lunch we had a dip in the pool, I soon spotted a school of bones and was back at it. Sunburn be damned, I’m going in! The wind had all but died, so I sweat to death in my long sleeve shirt. Suncreen burning my eyes, I slowly stalked the school. It took about 20 minutes to finally postion myself upwind of the school to make the cast. The school was spooky, scattering with even a glimpse of the fly line. After several tries, I landed my fourth of the day, totaling 14 for the week.

The sun was relentless. Marci was still quite happy in the pool, nice and cool with an umbrella shading her. Back to the pool for me for a beer and my bird. Fishing is fun, snuggling is better.

<Marci> As I watched Chad stalking his beloved bones, I noticed I was closing in on the end of Condoleezza Rice’s biography. Two books in one week – have not accomplished that since I was a kid in the summer! I, too, was attempting to dodge the blasted sun. My skin has had enough – my arms are roasted and toasted! Chad and I spent some time in the pool together, enjoying the view and taking in our last day. By about 3PM, my skin was cooked, so I headed for the shower. Chad headed for the dock to stalk a barraccuda, intent on using his popping cork to catch one of those ugly little rascals. No avail, but I did watch him cast for a while, really enjoying his progress this week.

Once I was showered and clean, I started to pack our things. Since we packed so light for this trip, it really didn’t take too long! Chad came back in and broke down all the fishing equipment, then showered and packed. We were all ready to settle in for our last sunset on the beach.

<Chad> The sunset was simply stunning tonight, as if to wish us off with one last glorious orange kiss. This place is magical, full of adventure and romance. Marci and I talked yesterday about the experience of snorkling on the world’s second largest barrier reef. The amazing feeling of “flying” over this rich stock of diversity and life. We both agreed that it was a humbling experience and it really makes you think about how there has to be something bigger out there. Tonight as I watched the sun, as big as I have ever seen it, sink below the horizon, I thought about the same thing.

Alex and Rick delivered cocktails along with shrimp cocktail, and Chef Richard brought the dinner menu. Lobster Ravioli for Marci and Cashew Crusted Snapper for me. As we enjoyed the happy hour, we decided to sit down and document our final day in Cayo Espanto. Creating a journal of this trip has been very fun and we have enjoyed sitting down at cocktail hour to do so most evenings. Marci and I both agree that it is something we want to continue even when we get back home.

<Marci> Dinner was set at 7 sharp, Alex led us to a magrove tree filled with twinkle lights and lanterns. A beautiful table was set under the stars for us. Alex asked if we wanted champagne, since we had not ordered it all week and it was part of the honeymoon package. We, of course, said yes! Alex took a great picutre of us at our candlight dinner together.

We spent the evening laughing and talking about our week together. We also seemed to fall into the everyday conversation of our neighbors, our families, and the ordinary things we discuss on a regular weeknight at home. We were starting to transition our minds back to the real world. The tortilla soup was fantasic – we both commented on the quality of soups all week and I vowed the winter, more soup for us in our meals! We had a garden salad, then sat back to enjoy some of our champagne. The light breeze, the bubbly champagne, the great love sitting next to me, what heaven! Alex and Ric then brought out main courses, we both savored each bite. The ravioli was hand made and was topped with two lobster tails. Chad’s snapper was encrusted with cashews, we both decided that would be a great addition to our weekly fish recipes. For dessert, my favorite, KEY LIME PIE! The chef prepared a mini key lime pie topped with piped merangue, a mini key lime souffle, and a key lime shooter of margarita. The shot was set in frozen ice, it was so cool!

Dinner came to an end, we took last sips of champagne and thanked Alex for his hard work this week. We were given a guest book to sign and a survey to complete as we left the candlelight dinner. We walked along the dimly lit trail back to our villa and both started to get a little sad. What a week! What an experience! We readied for bed and called it an early evening. As we lie in bed, Chad and I talked about the week more and how much fun we had. This week was MAGICAL!

DEBARKATION

<Chad> We woke up early Monday morning and packed up our remaining things. Marci and I walked out to the end of the dock as the sun just started to rise up over the tree tops. The school of bonefish that were so easily found at the end of that dock were curiously absent this morning, nowhere to be found, as if to NOT tempt me to unpack the fly rod. We ordered Eggs Benedict for breakfast, it was our favorite of the week and seemed right for our final meal on the island. As breakfast was cleared, we settled our bill and spent the remaining hour just looking out at the amazing view. The last hour seemed to drag by, we knew what was ahead. At about 8:45, my little friends appeared en masse. Four to five hundred bones lined up no more than 30 feet from our house, as if to bid us farewell.

Marci and I talked about how it felt like we were saying goodbye to an old friend. As Alex and Ric accomponied us to the dock where our boat waited, the entire staff lined up on the dock to say goodbye. Such class! While it was very difficult to say goodbye to our magical island, I told Marci, I was not sad that I was leaving because I was taking the best part of the trip home with me, my wife.

<Marci> Honeymoon of the ages, I must say. You cannot top that one, it was one for the books. Well, how about one for the blogs.

We head back to Orlando as Mr. and Mrs. Helenthal, two peas in a happy little pod. To soften the blow, we have already planned a kayak trip this Saturday…. fly rods included. : )