It was time to use another voucher that we purchased for Hopkins Bay Resort and what better time than over Kelley’s Birthday. So we headed over to Hopkins for a few days to unwind on the Caribbean shore and enjoy some beach time.

For Kelley’s birthday, we chartered a boat to head out to a small private island fifteen miles offshore for some fishing, snorkeling, and a day of fun on the water. They had predicted wind and rain for the days we were supposed to be there, but the weather could not have been more perfect for the whole time we were there.

On the way out to the island we saw some ripples from manatees, a bunch of dolphins plus we ended up catching a lot of fish. The fish were not really big, but what they lacked in size they definitely made up for in color. Plus they were a lot of fun to catch.

After a day of fishing, it was time to beach the boat on the island and have some lunch. The captain had brought along some stewed chicken, rice and beans, potato salad, and of course there was some ice cold Belikin’s. I guess he had no confidence in us catching any fish to cook up on the beach, we certainly proved him wrong.

After lunch, it was time to do a little snorkeling. There were so many colorful fish and coral, that Kelley said it looked like she was swimming in an aquarium. She even managed to get a picture of a big spotted eagle ray. His tail must have been at least 6’ long.

In case you missed Kelley’s Facebook post a couple of weeks ago here’s what it was about. Kelley was sitting on the front porch having breakfast when a three-foot bright green iguana ran across the driveway.

As she went to get her camera a Tayra (bush dog) also ran across the driveway. We think he might have been chasing the iguana and was looking for a meal.

Once the iguana ran across the driveway he just sat very still in the grass which allowed Kelley to get some great pictures of him. At first, we thought he might be injured, but after a bunch of pictures and a little tug on his tail, off he ran into the bush.

As for the Tayra, he ran past the iguana and off behind the casita. But before he did he decided to stop and take a look at us allowing Kelley to get a good picture.

On our way back from our little Hopkins holiday there was a family selling plants on the side of the road. Of course, we had to stop to see if they had anything interesting. It just so happens they had a bunch of mahogany trees. So after a good negotiation, we are now the proud owners of 105 more mahogany trees.

The family told us that they planted them about six months ago and that they came from the big mother tree in their yard. Then they went on to tell us that the big mahogany tree in the yard was only about 12-15 years old. It looks like our new trees come from a big healthy stock, so hopefully, ours will grow big and strong also.

There’s been a lot of stuff happening around here the past few weeks. The airport has been open for almost two weeks now and it seems like it’s going well. People are starting to come down and resorts are opening back up. Hopefully, we’ll see you down here soon.