Time for an island tour! We pulled anchor early to sail about 3 miles south to be closer to the government dock. Very windy! Passed this cool boat as they were hoisting sails. I'm not quite sure what it is - maybe a barque or a 3-masted schooner.
Anchored in the rolly anchorage - Meshugga picked us up on their dinghy so we wouldn't have to bother to put ours down.
We'd arranged with Henry Nixon to meet at the dock at 10AM for a tour. Henry is the principle warden at the Iguana National Park.
We piled in his crew-cab pickup and headed north.
Approaching the Morton salt flats.
The terrain looks a bit other-worldly.
Henry explained how they pump/flow sea water into the evaporative ponds.
Getting out for a closer look. The wind has whipped up a foam on the roadside.
Our first glimpse of a couple of flamingos in the distance. (See the tiny pink dots?)
The saltworks in the distance.
We'll loop back by here for a closer look at the salt gathering operation on the way back.
You can see the clear saltwater intake canal.
The actual grounds were off limits to visitors.
A ship loading salt from a conveyor belt. Henry says it takes about 24 hours to load.
Then we headed out onto a narrow dirt road. There were mud-puddles alone the way so the windshield got a bit covered.
A flock of flamingos on the run.
Other birds were in abundance also - I believe these are some kind of egrets.
And we happened upon a wild boar rooting in the mud for food.
Back towards the saltworks.
They were harvesting salt. Once the water has evaporated and the salt is 3-6" thick in a particular pond, the motor-grader piles it in "hedgerows" like you would see snow on the side of the road.
Then a conveyor picks it up and piles it into trucks.
I picked up a couple of crystals - very large!
This truck was filled in just a few minutes!
And then a truck with a hopper-trailer took it's place. Another was waiting in the wings to keep the operation moving.
Back towards the enormous piles over at the saltworks.
Fascinating process. Looks like a snowy landscape.
Next up (after a brief stop at a grocery for some bananas and tomatoes) was the lighthouse.
Up we climbed. The lighthouse is unlocked - and only one step is missing so not that dangerous!
It's powered now by electricity but the old kerosene works has been left in place.
The view from the top.
Dee climbing carefully out onto the windy top round.
And Jenny too!
Nicholas inspecting the inner light. (Duane chose not to climb up as he'd seen this one before.)
The original mechanism is a huge steel turret. The old rotating fresnel lenses are long gone and a LED light is it's replacement.
Dee happy to be back inside out of the wind.
Next stop was just a few paces away - the apt-named Lighthouse bar and grill. Good service and a yummy huge meal - curried chicken and fried plantains.
We pulled anchor as it was still rolly (yes, I'm whining about that!) Had a nice sail about 10 miles north back to Man O'War bay.
Passing the saltworks from the ocean side - you can see the same ship still loading from a different angle.
We were stuffed from lunch so no dinner....although I did get a container of ice cream out of the freezer for a snack....
Hey K,
ReplyDelete...that salt works tour was pretty fascinating...we don't really ever think about where our salt comes from...
Love,
T