TECHNICAL TEAM HEADS TO ANEGADA TODAY

There has been some progress on the situation on Anegada.  I mentioned in a previous post that I had voiced my concerns in an email to the Premier of the BVI regarding the severe erosion and its probable cause, and that he had replied to me that he would "ask the Town and Country Planning Department to look into it as well as make the Minister of Natural Resources aware."  I was not certain at all that he would take action but very much hoped that he was being sincere.  It seems that he took me very seriously and moved to action immediately, according to an article in the BVI Platinum yesterday.  Either that or it is an incredible coincidence. 

My concern, after reading the article, was that the erosion was being attributed to natural causes and, as I do not believe that to be the case at all, I was somewhat dismayed to see that was going to be the focus of the group.

I communicated with a  friend on the island today who has been very concerned about the erosion, believing it to be due to the pumping of huge volumes of sand on the West End, and who has tried to raise awareness and garner some support amongst the locals for action.   We have talked a bit about the issue and so I was overjoyed to hear today that he met with the group that went over and was able to have a lengthy discussion with them about what he has observed over the past year.

Now we just wait to see what the results of the groups observations are.

One thing that disturbs me; I wrote a comment to the editor of BVI Platinum yesterday, when I was first made aware of the article, and after reading it.  That comment has not been published.  Other comments are now there that weren't yesterday so I know they have to have seen mine, yet it is not there.  I do not think that it is right for a newspaper to censor public opinion on a matter by choosing which comments to publish and which to discard.  In this age of electronic newspapers, there's plenty of room to publish them all, so not having space to print all is no longer an excuse.

EROSION OF COW WRECK BEACH

As a continuation of my post from last week:

Here are two pictures that show how much beach has eroded at Cow Wreck on Anegada:

May 2012

October 2012

That is a LOT of beach, gone, in a very short amount of time.  There's barely enough level beach in front of the restaurant for the benches.   The photographer could not get far back enough into the water to match the exact angle on the October pic as the May pic was taken at - that is how much beach is gone!

The current owners of West End Cottages made this claim : We have not removed any plants from the property at any time either.  That claim is a half truth - no, the current owners of the West End Cottages have not removed any plants from the beach there, but the previous owner did and the current owners must know this.  They continue to assert that the erosion was due entirely to hurricane Earl.

Bill, an annual visitor to Anegada since 1979, had this to say: 

The entire northwest and western portion of the point was solid sea grape. And by solid, I mean you could not penetrate it on foot. At least 250 to 300 feet of those sea grapes were dug up before construction began to allow a visual and personal access to the beach. I remember the cottages closest to the sea being back about 300'.. about a football field back. That immediately began shrinking by 50' to 70' per year, depending on northerly storms and swells.  The sea grapes were huge and old and the only protection the point had from erosion. 

Another long time visitor had this to say about the conditions as they sit right now:

(What's) left (is) a deep channel near shore near the West End that has increased the strength of the west-running current along the north shore. I don't know when things will stabilize again to satisfy the new conditions at the West End.

If anyone has a photo of the west point of Anegada before the sea grapes were removed, I would love to see it.  You can send me a comment on here  (they aren't posted unless I approve them) with how to contact you.

WEST END COTTAGES, ANEGADA

Back in May of 2011, when I took a month-log trip to the BVI, I spent more than half of my time in those beautiful islands on Anegada. I wrote a post about a long walk I took along the beach from where I was staying, Neptune's Treasure, to Cow Wreck Beach. Along the way, I came across the West End Cottages that were being claimed by the sea, due to Sea Grape trees being removed from the property* a few years earlier. If you go to that post, you will see photos I took of the ruined cottages.

In the year and a half since I took that trip, the dredging of sand so close to shore, in a futile effort to shore up the doomed cottages, has had devastating effects on the beaches to the east of the West End, on the North shore of the island, to as far as Cow Wreck Beach and perhaps further. My friend posts many pictures of Cow Wreck and it's easy to see what has happened to what was once a beautiful, wide, white-sand beach at Cow Wreck.

Cow Wreck before the erosion

Cow Wreck now

These pictures are of the exact same piece of beach, you can see the shadow of the only few palm trees at Cow Wreck in the 'before' pic.

Directly east of the dredging, on the north side of the island, the devastation is immense. I walked this beach in 2011 and it looked nothing like it looks now. When I was there it was wide white sand on a gentle incline from the vegetation to the sea. There was a lovely shallow swimming spot and it was like being in a swimming pool. That is now gone and the water is very deep. The erosion is right up to the vegetation and trees have begun to fall. The coral that makes up the foundation of the entire island is now exposed. That was not visible before at all.

The pictures below are of the this beach, just different perspectives. Unfortunately, I didn't take a photo of the beach from the perspective of the second pic or you would really see the difference. But trust me, it is profoundly different.

The beach immediately to the east of dredging BEFORE it eroded

The beach immediately to the east of the dredging, on the North Shore as it looks now

After seeing the pictures, I felt compelled to write to the owners of the West End Cottages property to voice my frustration and concern as to what their futile efforts have wrought on the island. Below you will see the conversation, and their response which is filled with half-truths and lies:


Sandra MontgomeryWest End Cottages Anegada
18 hours ago near North Vancouver ·
Have you taken stock of the massive damage to the beautiful beaches of Anegada your fruitless recovery attempt has done? Those cottages are NOT saved. No, they are not in the sea where they might have ended up, but they are broken and useless and need to be demolished. Meanwhile, the beach - all the way past Cow Wreck, is eroded and trees have fallen down. Go take a walk down to Cow Wreck and look at the erosion and the roots of the palm trees all exposed. By next summer, those lovely trees will be down as well if you don't STOP this folly. You are destroying the environment of what was a very beautiful and mostly unspoiled island. It is criminal.

West End Cottages Anegada Hi Sandra, we thought about deleting your comment because of it's ignorance but instead we are going to take this opportunity to use it to educate you and any other "experts" out there.

The western half of Anegada is almost entirely a giant sand bar made of sand while the eastern half is almost entirely coral. That said, over time, the coastline of Anegada is in a constant state of flux. In your short lifetime and in your even shorter time of visiting Anegada you might not realize that the coastline changes. This is very well documented over 100 years and continues to be studied. The BVI government has a new development plan in the works for entire island of Anegada that recognizes this and proposes a 200ft set back from the sea on future developments. What is happening to the beach at Cow Wreck is the same thing that happened to our property and is the same thing that is happening at other properties all over the island.

Additionally, our project is a multi year effort which is not complete. The first phases have beenbefforts to stabilize the beach which have been successful and the next phase is to stabilize, the effected cottages and make them habitable again for future enjoyment. To unnecessarily demolish them without trying to rescue them would truly be a waste. For the record, out of the 7 cottages on thenproperty, 3 were completely unaffected by erosion and are used regularly, 3 will be rescued and one was demolished.

The next phase after that will be to landscape the property and make it more beautifulnthan it has ever been.

Just like you, we love Anegada. This property was purchased out of love, in it's darkest hour, with half of it in the sea and everyone saying that it could not be saved. Well, through miraculous effort and two years of blood sweat and tears by all involved, we have kept this property from becoming a disaster zone in one of the most beautiful places on earth. The project is still not complete so of course it doesn't look finished.
Now that you have this information about the property and the natural forces that shape the island, I hope you will look at things differently the next time on Anegada.

Sandra Montgomery This is such a lie. The beach at the West End Cottages only began to erode after the Sea Grapes** growing there were removed by the owners of the property... THEN it eroded. As for the erosion down the beach from you to Cow Wreck - this has not happened over years of time. It began almost as soon as you began dredging and has continued at an alarming rate - it has taken less than 18 months for the beach to be reduced... AND the beaches between you and Neptunes Treasure are now the widest that residents have seen in many years. This is due to sand lost from the pump-out drifting with the current and resting there... also taken less than 18 months for it to happen. And you say this is natural - just a coincidence that it occurred at the same time as you began dredging?

Kimberly Francis · 2 mutual friends
If they removed the (sea grapes) then they are guilty of disturbing the natural environment period

Sandra Montgomery Also, out of seven cottages, only one was completely unaffected. Two were in good shape. The other FIVE were severely affected. I walked through that property in May of '11 and saw this with my own eyes and have the pictures to prove it.

West End Cottages Anegada This is really getting to be a little much. You really should do some research and stop relying on hearsay of you are going to post things like this.

The prevailing current on the north coast of Anegada flows from Cow Wreck towards the West End. Not the other way. (let me just interject here that this proves my point; of course the sand would be removed from the north coast if the current flows from there to the West End - a point I made later on their FB page that resulted in them banning me) That entire portion of the coast has been eroding for many years as evidenced by what has happened on the west end. Do you think the erosion was only on our property and not on either side or anywhere else?

As far as the buildup on the Neptune side, what happens in the summer and spring months the wind blows from a more southerly direction which builds sand up on that side of the property since there is many square miles of shallow sand area and no barrier reef to block the sand flow. In the winter, which is approaching, the beach will shrink again. At the same time, more sand will be replaced on the cow wreck side and at cow wreck as the winter currents flow. The entire coastline changes constantly. When one area builds up another shrinks. This is a process that has happened for thousands of years. You are only noticing what has happened in a very small snapshot of time.

For example, construction on sandbars in north Carolina an Florida face the same issues. People built on property that may not be there in another few thousand years. So let's enjoy it while we can. We hope that you will be able to enjoy the beaches of Anegada with the rest of us in peace.

Additionaly, There are no mangroves on that entire part of the coastline as that is not their native environment. We have not removed any plants from the property at any time either.

West End Cottages Anegada As for your last post, thank you for admitting to illegally trespassing on our property on Facebook.

That's funny you have this documentation, if you you look through our photos on our page you will see the interiors of the three cottages currently in use.

Anything else you would like to say?

Sandra Montgomery I was walking from Neptunes to Cow Wreck along the beach. The only way to continue that walk, when vegetation grew down into the water rendering the beach impassable, was to cut down a small road and then through your property. A long-time resident of the island told me to walk that way and to ignore the signs saying otherwise. So I did.

And the changes in beach that you claim are seasonal have never happened until you started dredging. The beach at Cow Wreck has never been so low that the roots of the palm trees were exposed until now. There are mature trees between you and Cow Wreck that have fallen down. Are you claiming THAT happens every year?

Sandra Montgomery And YOU may not have removed any plants from the property at any time, but the previous owner DID.

West End Cottages Anegada Have a blessed day...

And so that is all they have to say about my final points. Not surprising.

I also wrote to Orlando Smith, the Premier of the BVI, to voice my concerns. He replied today with assurances that he had no idea this was happening and that he would "ask the Town and Country Planning Department to look into it as well as make the Minister of Natural Resources aware." I was very pleased with this reply until I found out that a Minister in the BVI government is (allegedly) a part owner of the company that is doing the dredging. Talk about a conflict of interest!! If that was happening here, it would be all over the news and there would be a huge backlash. But, apparently, that is the way in the islands and no one is surprised by it.

I am so sad and frustrated. I am sure my feelings are miniscule compared to those make their home there. They see the devastation every day they walk out onto the beaches. If I lived there, I don't know how I would handle it.

Taken in July 2012, just a few months ago. And the owners claim that the operation has been a success.

*Although I never saw the property, or pictures of the property, with the Sea Grapes there; I do have it on good authority from several sources that indeed there were Sea Grapes and that they were removed by the previous owner. If I can obtain photos of the area before the removal, I will share them with you on a future post.

**Earlier I wrote that the vegetation removed were mangroves. This was due to information I received from those who saw it before it was removed.

MEETING GOOD FRIENDS FOR THE FIRST TIME IS FABULOUS

Even more seagrass was dumped on the beach after the storm came through yesterday afternoon and last night. Linda Soares, the other sibling that runs Neptune's Treasure, knowing I wasn't very happy that my beautiful beach (yes, I think of it as 'my' beach now) has been so ruined, sent me a photo of what it looked like after hurricane Earl had passed through.

The beach now.

The beach after Earl - the guys are rebuilding the dock that blew away. All docks on the island except for the big gov't dock blew away.

Here is a video of Earl while it was raging at Neptune's Treasure.

I lay down for a nap at about 11:30 because my eyes won't stay open while I am trying to read. I wake up an hour later and check my FaceBook page and there's a post from a couple who's blog I have been following for two years. They have arrived in Anegada on their PDQ catamaran, Zero to Cruising, and hope to meet me. As I have been following their travels, in the past month or so it seemed to me that we might end up in the BVI's together. Sure enough, we arrived at almost the same time. They have been over at Jost Van Dyke and Virgin Gorda and Tortola for the past couple of weeks. I jump up from the computer and go outside and try to spot their boat but can't be sure which is theirs. I head into the bar at Neptune's and ask to use the radio. I hail them and they reply. I am so excited. They are going to have some lunch and then come over to the dock in their dinghy. I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas morning for the half hour or so that I have to wait before they arrive. I keep my eye out as I sit and try to read a book on the porch of my room, and when I see two people get into a dinghy and start to head over, I hurry to the dock to greet them and it's like meeting old friends.

Zero to Cruising is the second boat from the right.

Rebecca and Mike, in the flesh - finally!

I arrange for us to have dinner together with Gary and Beth, as I think they will all get along really well. We have a wonderful time together and I have to say, today has just made this trip even more fabulous than it already has been.

Gary and Beth.

Me (looking like crap), Rebecca and Mike.

They wrote about meeting me on their blog today. If you like, you can read about it HERE.

DIRTY BEACH!!

The stormy weather over the past few days has pretty much kept me in my room. If there is one thing Neptune's Treasure really could use, it's a common lounge area. When my daughter and I were at Fischer's Cove on Virgin Gorda two years ago, we made a lot of use of their fabulous common area. It overlooked the beach and was open on three sides (the fourth side housing a restaurant). There were couches, rocking chairs, tables to play games on or have your laptop at with a very strong wifi connection, there were bookshelves with lots of books to take. Even though we had the best weather the entire time, we went to that lounge every evening to watch the sunset while enjoying a drink and a good book until it was time to go to bed. Here at Neptune's Treasure, there's the indoor bar and that is it, and I do not enjoy being perched on a bar stool for two hours. Once Happy Hour is over, it's back to my room alone, and during the day, when it's raining, same thing - in room, alone. And there's no comfy chairs in the room so I am sitting on my bed which, maddeningly, keeps sliding away from the wall when I lean back. The bed needs to be on one of those boxes that most hotels use. They serve a double function; keep the bed from sliding AND keep you from inadvertently leaving something behind under the bed.

I heard talk of them putting in a pool by the, at the moment, unused outdoor bar right out front. But as far as I am concerned, the ocean is amazing here and more than good enough to swim in. The money would be far better spent on a lounge area and more people would use it.

Shonah enjoying the lovely lounge at Fischer's Cove.

Yesterday I decided to go for a walk and take a swim in my favourite spot that I found and have only been able to use once, due to the weather. How very, very disappointing. As soon as I stepped on to the beach, I was shocked at the change. Huge amounts of seagrass washed inland during the storm and has been deposited on what was pristine white sand and huge amounts more of it floats in the waves right at the shoreline making it impossible to go in and swim. I continued walking the 10 minutes to my spot and found it to be the same the entire way along.

My favourite swim spot - ruined.

I decided to keep walking to around the point to see if it was any different where the wind would have been blowing in a different direction. On the way I came across huge clumps of another kind of seaweed.

Different seaweed closer to the point.

Remember the picture I took of the waves coming in from different directions at the point? Well this is what it looks like now. UGH!

When I get around the corner, sure enough, the beach and water are clear BUT there are fairly large, churning waves breaking on the sand. It's too rough to go and swim in unless I am into body surfing, and I am not. I prefer all of my bones in one piece.

Clear water - big waves.

I decided to video the waves after an especially big one came in. It took a minute or so before more eventually came in. Looking at the video though, it doesn't do them justice. They looked a lot bigger and violent in person. I think the sound gives a much more vivid idea of how strong they were.

So I walk back along the messy beach without setting more than my feet in the water. It's a super muggy day again and I forgot to take along a bottle of water so I am parched by the time I get back.

On the walk I pass a house under construction. It belongs to Kenzie, the man I met while waiting for the ferry over to Anegada from Road Town. It will easily be the nicest house on the island when it is completed, and will be the only house with a (two car) garage. It's been under construction for two years because, in the islands, people build as they have the money. They don't take out loans. Apparently, according to Walker, it should be all done by this winter.

Kenzie's new house on the beach.

After I guzzle down half a bottle of water, I walk a few yards behind my room to Pam's Bakery. Pam is married to a Soares, one of three siblings who own Neptune's Treasure. I have been buying a brownie each day for the past few days as I can't eat anything much and so it fills me and they are yummy and soft, without any nuts, more like a chocolate cake. Today I decide to try the fish sticks. They are home-made from marlin that Mark, her husband, has caught. Mark, along with Dean - the other brother, have a boat moored out front and they go deep sea fishing once a week and supply not only their own restaurant, but several more throughout the islands. They also catch lobster and conch.

Pam in her bakery.

Yummy!!.

I haven't ever had marlin before so am not sure what to expect. It turns out to be delicious. It's a thick, non-oily white meat with the dark fatty meat around the edges (kind of like the darker meat on a salmon). I don't like that part on salmon and always pick it off, so I pick it off of the marlin and it separates easily. I seem to be able to chew on the right side without pain, although I am taking it easy. But it feels like progress is happening with the nerves. Yay!!

At happy hour I meet up with Gary and Beth, just as they return from a walk down the same beach, and she declares that it was a 'dirty walk' and I agree.  It's a shame that the water won't return to it's beautiful clear self until after I leave the island.  No more skinny dipping for me!

Gary and Beth's sailboat.

While we are all sat at the bar a man arrives who I haven't seen around here before.  It turns out he is the brother of the man who built and ran this place (but is now in his 80's and pretty much stays in his house on the property).  His name is Roderick Soares but is known throughout the islands as Captain Fishy.  He is in his 70's and has been in these islands for over 40 years.  The man can talk!! He immediately regales us with stories from his past and most of us listen intently.  His family was originally from the Bahama's but his parents moved to Cuba, before Castro took over.  When Castro was taking over, he and his brothers and father were thrown into jail.  They eventually were set free and moved to the BVI's.  He settled in Tortola and his stories of how it was back then, when there were no roads and Road Town was a tiny hamlet (I picture it as much like The Settlement here) are nothing short of fascinating.  He owns property all over the islands and in Britain and France.  He owns a lot of property all over Tortola and he got most of it without paying a dime for it.  He said that most of the businesses he started, he sort of fell into due to seeing a need.  For instance, when he first imported a small car to Tortola for his own use, people wanted to borrow it all of the time so he imported a second one to loan out.  Before long he had 60 of them on the island that he rented out.  He was friends with all of the locals and when more visitors started to discover the islands, they wanted to buy property, so his friends would call him up and say "I have some land, I don't know how much, but I want to sell some of it.  Can you help me?"  So he would go see the land, survey it and then say "Here's a parcel you could sell."  They'd ask him how much it should sell for and he'd say "To an islander, maybe $5000 but to a visitor?  Maybe $8000." and so the person would ask him to help them sell it.  When they'd ask how much commission he wanted he said, "No money.  But give me a lot sized piece of your land, 100 yards by 100 yards." and they'd gladly agree.  He did this over and over until he owned huge amounts of land, and some larger pieces that I assume he bought and has condo's, houses, and hotels on.  Some he reclaimed from the sea.   He told me of a house he bought in Bermuda that a friend was trying to sell and couldn't.  He bought it 20 years ago for $300,000 and it is now worth nine million dollars.  In England he bought Sir Lawrence Olivier's childhood home, in New Milton which is in the south of England, looking over the Isle of Wight.  He fixed it up and uncovered the gorgeous beams in the ceiling, a huge stone fireplace, and more.  His wife complained for years that he owned all sorts of land and houses and she didn't have a single one with just her name on it so he gave her that house as a gift.

Captain Fishy with a grand niece and a grand nephew.

Apparently, someone is writing a book about his life and I really hope they are because I will buy it as soon as it's available.

Today another storm front has moved in and as the clouds moved in closer, the wind started blowing and then the rain came. I am ready for the sunshine again!!

Stormy skies.

The storm is moving in.

You can see the wind on the water here, before the waves start to kick back up.

Today is my last full day here. I hope the weather clears up enough to allow the ferries to run so that I can go to Tortola tomorrow, as planned.

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A LONG WALK PT. 2

...Continued:

On my way down a dry sandy road to see something I have always wanted to see with my own eyes...

I was surprised to come across this little basket tucked into the bushes that lined the road.

The sign says 'No Trespassing' but I was told a day or so ago that I could ignore it and walk through to continue along the beach. Regardless, I have wanted to see this in person for some time now, so there was no way a sign was keeping me out. During a particularly rough sea storm, the beach front washed entirely away and the ocean waves have been eroding the land that these rental cottages are built on ever since. I have since heard that the previous owner, who built the cottages, removed masses of sea grape trees which grew on the beach, protecting it from the surf.  As soon as he did this, the beach began to erode at the rate of about 50 feet or more a year.

As you can see, there are huge sandbags in place to try to keep the sea out - except for the cottage that is too far gone to save; it is well into the sea on the outside of the bags.

Seeing this reminds me of a song we used to sing in Sunday School: The foolish man built his house upon the sand...the rains came down and the floods came up...and the house on the sand fell flat.

The barge out in the water has a loud pump working on it that is pumping sand back onto the beach to try to shore up the cottages that are listing.  That is going to take a lot of sand. 

Apparently it is costing the owner $3,000 a day. I think it's a fools errand, throwing good money after bad. The sea will win this one (or so I believe).   And I wonder if it is an ecological issue... where will the sand come from ultimately as sand isn't created by the ocean in a day.

Walker took this photo of the cottages from the water.

Continuing on, I found the best piece of beach of the whole walk - there was no waves and hardly any current...

...the water was warm, shallow, and crystal clear. I was HOT after walking the road, so I got in and floated around for 15 minutes. Refreshed and wishing I could stay all day, I moved on to my new goal of walking to Cow Wreck Beach, where Hidden Treasure is, and where there's a bar and grill - I was looking forward to a much deserved drink and lunch.

See the flock of birds in flight? They were all over the sand and as I walked closer they would move down the beach a few yards...

...settle in, and then repeat the process as I got closer. A couple of them got really pissed at me for this and started to fly behind me, squawking and swooping at me, trying to scare me away.

After three and a half hours of walking, swimming and resting - Hidden Treasure is finally in view!

Finally at the Cow Wreck Beach Bar and Grill, I sit down and enjoy the view while I wait for...

...a CHEESEBURGER IN PARADISE!!!!!

And again - for the second time in a week, for most of this walk, I heard no noises - nothing but the sounds of nature. BLISS!

Arial View of Anegada, and how far I walked. Click on it to enlarge and get the full scope of how far it is. Photo taken by Walker Mangum

Note: The cheeseburger was okay (not well done like I asked for, but the fries were home made and fabulous) and have I paid for it since. I should not be eating stuff like this yet I guess because now I have a tooth that is giving me so much pain I can't bear it unless I am popping Ibuprofen every three hours. I wrote to the dentist about it and he's chided me thoroughly - so it's back to only soft food for me for the foreseeable future.

A LONG WALK ON A LONGER BEACH

I walked 5 miles of beach today. It took me over 3 hours because I took my time, looking at everything, taking pictures, stopping for a swim, and one other surprise I will tell you in pictures (with comments).

In fact, let me just tell you it all in pictures:

Where I've just walked from, the white buildings in the center of the picture.

The point ahead, as far as I originally planned to go (I am over halfway there).

So that wasn't really the point... I keep going.

Looking back, wow I've walked a long way - that's where I started way in the distance.

Now I am at the point.

See the waves coming in from two different sides? I decide to walk on. It's too pretty up ahead to stop here.

After about an hour or so of walking on, I became overwhelmed by the beauty of the place and the wonder that I was here to see it...

...and I wept...

...and wept.

I want to keep going so I will walk to that point.

Beach art along the way. Front...

...and back.

It was so sunny out I couldn't see read the screen on my camera at all so had no idea I was in this.

This little guy led me along for a ways before walking behind me and following for a bit.

There was a pelican sitting on a branch but as I got closer...

...he flew away!

About this time I had been walking for two hours and was ready for a rest but I knew if I sat on the sand, I would have a hard time getting up with my bad knee and was wishing there was a lounge chair nearby when... I saw this poking up from the sand from afar and thought it looked like the legs of a lounge chair and as I got closer I knew that was what it was but I figured it would be a ruin and there would be no slats.

I pulled it up out of the sand, washed it off in the sea and not a slat was missing. It was perfect! So...

...I got to relax on a lounge chair for half an hour or so...

...and then a big cloud came and it started to rain. I got up and started walking again and it stopped raining right away - I only got sprinkled on. But it's a good thing it happened or I might never have moved from this spot!

I came to a place where I couldn't keep walking on the beach, there were trees and shrub in the way because the beach had washed away in a storm.

I cut inland on this road and away from the breeze on the beach, so it got very hot very quickly.

The road came to a 'T' and I turned left. Up ahead was something I have wanted to see for myself for some time.

To be continued....