Sunsets + Spotted Rays.

(Puerto Real, Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico)

It was nothing but spotted eagle rays and one helluva spectacular golden sunset the other evening as we dinghied around the Puerto Real neighborhood we’ve called home this hurricane season.

Since we finally got that darn dinghy leak patched, it was time to take our rusty girl out for a spin! And low and behold as soon as we splashed the dinghy, hoisted the outboard motor into place, and pull-started the engine, would you believe she purred like a kitten on the very first try? Me neither! ;)) But she did!

So out we went! Cruising along the mangrove-covered shoreline over glassy water where you can easily see the seagrass lined ocean bottom is my favorite kind of dinghy excursion. It was one of those days where the typical afternoon thunderstorm had just rolled through leaving a major calm “after” the storm type effect. The perfect conditions for spotting tons of starfish and sea life!

Jereme has seen spotted eagle rays in the bay several times while paddle boarding, but today was the first time I got up close and personal with these beauties. Luckily, we managed NOT to spook one cute ray with the dinghy and were actually able to casually approach for a closer look…and some photos! Even Oliver got in on the ray spotting, trying to sniff out these majestic sea creatures as we dinghied around. :)))

PS – Witnessing how excited Oliver still gets for said dinghy rides is another hilarious sight to see. Holy moly, it’s as if we fill the dinghy with bacon or something equally delicious. He gets SO excited for dinghy rides. That little guy must just love riding waves on the dink and checking out the sights as a good strong breeze blows his poodle curls back. Ahhh, the life of a boat dog.

Now, how the heck we went out for a leisurely sunset dinghy ride for no more than one hour yet I still managed to fire off approximately 405 photos on the big camera is beyond me. Wish I was joking. I must’ve gotten a little carried away when we spotted that ray because there were at least 50 photos (mostly duds) in the “ray series” of shots, and even more of the sunset view. Lol. It’s a serious problem I have. A holy-crap-I’m-gonna-need-another-external-hard-drive-stat kind of problem. ;))

Anyhoo, here are a few favs from the other day…

^^love those last two of Oliver’s face when we plane the dinghy. Lol. he loves it!^^

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