Visit to The Bahamas - Part 3

 15 February, 2026

     Today was a lazy day, to hang around at home and do little of anything. Our morning was spent probing through the mangroves and walking up and down the local road.

     Will and Holly came over to watch the Canada/France hockey game from the Winter Olympics in Italy.

     Egg was content to take a nap on one of the lawn chairs and get away from the incessant pestering of her pups.

     Miriam and I often saw a Clapper Rail (Rallus crepitans) which proved extremely difficult to photograph. In the manner of rails everywhere it could disappear in an instant.

     We had salami and cheese sandwiches for lunch - very tasty.

     The tide was out.....

     ..... and Miriam, Caroline and Holly decided to take a walk.

     You do not see Miriam, of course, since she was taking the picture.

     Egg insisted on tagging along.

     This interesting insect is a member of the Canadensis/exclamans group of Paper Wasps, genus Polistes.

     If you are wondering how it comes by the name Canadensis, meaning "from Canada," you are not alone. It was not uncommon for 18th Century biologists to mislabel shipments, and the legacy of their error remains.

     Holly and Will took us to a nearby beach, one of their favourites, a shell collector's paradise.

     This is a Checkered Nerite (Nerita tessellata), a species of tropical sea snail.

     And here is a subset of Homo sapiens, often referred to as happy snorkelers.

     I have mentioned before that I am very much enamoured of hermit crabs and their lifestyle. Here is Caribbean Land Hermit Crab (Coenobita clypeatus) - on my hand.....

     ..... and on the beach.

     These single-celled algae that live on substrates in shallow, warm water are located in the order Dasycladales.

     Sargassum (genus Sargassum) has washed up on the shore.

     Fanflowers (genus Scaevola) were pretty much everywhere.

     You will note vehicle tracks in the following picture.

     We observed people collecting sand for obvious commercial purposes. Perhaps they were landscapers or some such business.

     We returned from the beach and relaxed for a while before dinner. Caroline cooked pasta with hot Italian sausages and it was very tasty. A smooth South African wine helped it along in the most pleasing way.

     Just another happy day in The Bahamas.