Island Adventures Part 2

    After touring the lighthouses and the islands from afar, we took the RIB boat in for a closer look and docked at the main island. A few of the passengers were staying the night in the cabins, and the rest were spending the day on the island like us. Stefan helped some of the guests to their rooms and then met us back at the main building, which is used for different events by the companies holding retreats there. From the outside the building looks like an old worn down house, but once you're inside you realize that the whole interior has been refurbished. When you enter the building there is a staircase straight ahead, with a kitchen to the right and a dining area to the left. Upstairs is a cozy loft with candles and over-sized couches. There is even a little nook with a seating area near a window that you have to hunch over to get to.
   When we got done exploring the old house, Stefan had set up a spread of food for us. There was cheese, butter, some sort of condiment that you squeezed out of a tube and tasted like a sweet mayonnaise, and meat that looked like and tasted like a stick of salami, but with a consistency more like pâté. Then he pulled out 2 different herring dips. One looked like a white tartar sauce and the other looked like someone scooped   out algae and pieces of herring straight from the ocean and tried to call it a dip. Despite having a less than appetizing appearance, both dips actually tasted pretty good. I wouldn't go to the store and buy them, but they were still fun to try. 

The 2 different herring dips

    Once we finished our lunch, we decided to go kayaking. We had seen a few seals laying on some rocks as we neared the island, so we decided to try to paddle out to them. As we started paddling toward them, they started jumping off the rocks and into the water. We were still pretty far away from them so it was hard to tell where they went, but soon little heads started popping up around us. We had paddled about halfway to them before they jumped off the rocks and met us. They didn't come up close enough to touch, but they were definitely very inquisitive and kept an eye on us. I had only ever seen seals at SeaWorld so it was definitely an experience for me to see them up so close. Stefan said that normally there are hundreds of seals on those rocks in early June and July, but we were there in late July so we only saw about 20. 

The tiny dark spot that is a little right of the center is actually a seal head. They were so hard to take a picture of because they kept popping up for a second and then going back under the water. 

Marissa and I kayaking. 

Relaxing in the kayaks. 

   After we were done kayaking, we went back to the main island. From there we were able to tour a couple of the lighthouses and go to the very top. There was an amazing view of the entire island from the top. In the late afternoon we packed up and headed back to the harbor. 
    The next weekend, we were invited out on a boat by another one of our teammates. This time we only went about 15 minutes from the harbor and stopped at one of the closer islands. When we neared the island, we threw in the anchor and secured the boat by wedging a hook into a crevice of a rock. We unloaded our necessities from the boat, which included towels, folding lawn chairs, and a lunch basket. Lunch consisted of    slices of flat bread with different flavored cheeses that came in a tube. There were 3 different flavors; bacon, ham and salami. We also had a thermos of coffee and peaches. 
    Our first activity when we got there was to go exploring. It was like a game trying to find the different rocks that connected and would lead you higher up to the top of the island. There were also little paths that lead you down to the water, although we didn't go in. For one, it was very cold, and two, there were red jellyfish all over. We were told that there are 2 different types of jellyfish; red and blue. The blue ones are harmless, and the red ones will sting you. We did put our feet and legs in. The water is so cold and crystal clear that it seems like it is coming from a natural spring. Even when you take your hands out of the water, it doesn't feel salty and dry like it does from the salt water in Florida.

Marissa and I at the harbor after boating to the island. 

   It was kind of strange to see so many boats docked at these rock islands and people sitting in lawn chairs everywhere. It is not the typical islands I am used to where you pull up to a beach and lay out on your towel on the sand; you pull up to a massive rocky island and sit in a lawn chair on top of a giant boulder. Although it was not what I am normally used to, it was still a lot of fun and a cool experience.