Adventures of a Tribe

Adventure Day continued…..

Posted on October 28, 2015

Our time at sea yesterday was spectacular. Their wasn’t much wind for sailing but it was so simple and peaceful. I think that is what draws me to it…the perfect simplicity of nature.

I showed Mommy a great place to sit while underway, and it soon became one of her new favorite places to be. In fact, what makes it so perfect is that one can be pampered with a first class foot massage at the same time.

We hugged the coastline watching for new places to explore, and found many beautiful little beaches for bonfires and coral reefs for scuba diving.

We also saw many beautiful little homes nestled in the palms too, and I thought of my sister, Denise and her husband Shad, and how much fun they’d have remodeling and decorating some of the homes.

We finally rounded the corner, and headed back East on the leeward side of Isla Bastimentos again, and came into the Marina. Jude captained a good chunk of the way.

Back in the marina, many jellyfish had drifted back in. In this picture, most are males.

They eat small plankton, like mollusks, crustaceans, fish eggs and other small jellies,  and grow up to 15″ in diameter. You can often tell what they have been feeding on because their color changes accordingly. Adult male moon jelly releases strands of sperm from their 4 gonads which can be clearly seen through their transparent bodies, and these strands are ingested by female moon jellies. After fertilization has taken place, larvae settle down onto the seafloor and develop into polyps. They live for up to 25 years and their juveniles are called ephyrae. The males have short fringe like ‘tentacles’, or cilia, where as the females are much smaller and have long cilia which sting when touched. I have been stung several times and for the first couple hours it feels like you’ve been burned with extremely hot water and after that the welts that form become extremely itchy.  It’s quite invigorating.

When we were in Bocas the other day, I bought what I thought was yucca, but when I peeled them it was obvious that it wasn’t. The yucca I’ve peeled in the past has been covered in a slimy covering and these felt more like a sweet potato, but raw it tasted like jicama.

I cut it into chunks and cooked it up and once tender, covered it in butter and salt and pepper. It was really dry but quite delicious. The creatures put brown sugar on it and loved it that way too.

At the close of day, the marina looks so beautiful as it darkens and rests for the night.

I am so grateful for yet another day of life.