A great day in paradise!

Photos:
1. The family on Foxy's boardwalk on New Years Eve.
2. The dolphins next to our boat (notice our lifeline in the foreground).
3. Eric Clapton's boat - "Blue Guitar".
4. Lara and the girls with Foxy.
5. Lara and Jim on Foxy's beach.
6. The harbor is starting to fill up!

After spending a slightly rolly night, we were glad to see that the anchorage we had selected was holding well. The place was already filling up rapidly in anticipation of the New Years Party at Foxy’s. By the time the party arrived, there were over 300 boats in the harbor (including Eric Clapton on his boat “Blue Guitar” – 2 boats over from us!). For some reason, we were an island of calm in our location with boats dragging anchor and getting tangled with other boats all around us but leaving us untouched and unbothered!

We had a wonderful time in the anchorage with “Cocktails on the Lido Deck” each evening and some relaxing conversations with our ADULT children! It was certainly a interesting contrast with some of the conversations we have had in the past. It made us really glad to see how mature and well-centered they both have become.

We went ashore to look at the shops and do a little hiking. We hiked to the top of the hill overlooking White Bay and were astonished to see more than 30 boats anchored in an area that our check-out captain told us was suitable for about 6-8 boats!

When we got back down to the village, we met the actual Foxy (real name Feliciano Cardwell). He was gracious enough to let us take a photo with him and he shared a few island jokes about his dog (black Lab named Taboo). Most aren’t suitable for publication on this blog! We also found out that his restaurant/bar/store expects to take in over $1M on this one night! We also chatted with the grocery store owner. His name was Fred but he said that everyone calls him “Mr.Lonely” because he “has no luck with the ladies.”

Back on the boat, we tried to take a nap when we were awakened by the next boat over yelling “Neighbor! Neighbor!” to us. We jumped up expecting to find an imminent anchorage disaster only to discover 4 dolphins playing next to our boat in the anchorage! Emily immediately jumped in to swim with them. After some initial nervousness, the rest of us got our snorkeling gear and joined her. She was the only one to get really close to them (about 6’) but we all enjoyed the encounter! Later we talked to some locals who said it was quite rare to see them so close since you might go a year or more between dolphin sightings in these waters.

After a steak dinner on the back deck, we all went in to shore to participate in the huge party. We met up with Neil Perks (our check-out captain) and spent an enjoyable evening regaling him with all of our adventures. He was pretty proud to see his instruction had paid off so well!

The party really got into full swing around 10pm and we watched the dancing and chaos all around us while we played cards waiting for Midnight. A York New Year is NEVER complete without a few hands of cards! Too bad we didn’t have poker chips with us!

After midnight came, we toasted the New Year and thought great thoughts about all of our absent friends and family. We pried MJ and Emily off the dance floor (and away from some of the admiring locals!) and went back to the boat to get some sleep. Finding our dinghy amid the “flotilla” of dinghies was a challenge!

The plan was to wake up reasonably early and go to a few snorkeling spots before returning to Maya Cove to pack up our stuff and turn in the boat. The best laid plans….