This morning we woke up and moved the boat from the south end of Shroud Cay up to the north end where the main mangrove river starts. Today’s activity is to finally paddle that river so we tossed the canoe back off the deck of the boat and headed out!

I know I’ve said a few times that Shroud is my favorite island but my favorite spot on this island and the reason it’s so special is the pool and beach on the ocean side of the river.

We’ve never seen any boats anchored on this side of the island because the wind is usually from the east but since it’s been west for so many days this side is calm.  When we made it across there was a group of around 20 boats anchored! They were part of the “young cruisers association” and they had started to raft all the boats together. Probably just because they could and because it looks cool but also probably for a giant party later in the day. It was interesting to watch them get after it!

We hiked up the trail a ways for a better view!

Truly an exceptional place.  The color of the water in the pool where it enters the ocean is an amazing shade of electric blue.  We were here closer to high tide but at low tide the sandbar dries out and you can just sit and hang out in the warm water.

We did head back to the beach in our dinghy later that afternoon to check out the party and see if they got all of the boats rafted together. Amazingly enough they had 14 boats all tied up, which was cool to see. Less cool to a pair of introverts was the massive group of people hanging out, playing frisbee, and partying. Not our scene at all so, completely overwhelmed by the commotion even watching it from the sidelines, we headed back to the safety and silence of our little sailboat home.