Tentacatita is a beautiful bay tucked away that offers protection from just about every direction. It is far enough off the beaten path that our Garmin had no data for it. There were no depths listed and the rocks in the entrance were not marked, however it is a favorite cruiser destination. I was very glad we had guidebooks and it was daylight when we arrived because there were rocks right in the middle of the entrance. Central Rock was not on our Garmin and the reef reaching out to it was awash, so we might have chosen a different route into the anchorage which could’ve ended badly. As it was, Tabula Rasa arrived before us and helped guide us in. It is a popular anchorage and there were about 15 other boats there. Several we have seen before in other anchorages. We anchored right in front of the estuary entrance. A long golden sand beach on the right that stretched out for nearly a mile and ended in front of 2 waterfront resorts and rocks and reefs curled around to the left. It was beautiful, cactus mingled with palms and water the color of a neighborhood swimming pool. We made plans to explore the estuary first thing the next morning. The estuary stretches 2 miles inland and ends in a small fishing village that is a short walk from another small cove and beach. As I was lounging in the cockpit, I noticed some dolphins perusing the anchorage. They were going around and checking out the different boats and their anchor chains. We had read about Chippy and his family who are quite social and seem to enjoy the company of cruisers. They have learned to use anchor chains as scratching posts and they enjoy ropes as well and have even learned to untie knots. Apparently if you use rope rode instead of chain, they will sometimes untie the rope from the anchor and watch you float away. I was not disappointed. The dolphins came and played in our chain and I got some wonderful pictures. They rub and twist around in the chain and if one of them seems to be taking too much time or not sharing then the others will hook the chain and swim off with it. It is funny to watch as normally our chain drops straight down from the bow of the boat but when the dolphins were around you could watch your chain go zipping off to the right or left or under the boat. We checked our anchor set daily because of those goofy dolphins.
The next day we all piled into a dinghy. We made the short trip to shore and crossed the bar easily and only had to walk the dinghy a short distance. The water was clear, and you could see the channel as it transitioned from the bay to the estuary. Initially, the water was a beautiful blue green that slowly transitioned to a dark chocolate brown as we wound through the mangroves.
The further we went into the estuary, the narrower the channel became. As the channel narrowed, the trees began to close over us creating these living tunnels. It was enchanting and reminded me of the Little Mermaid when they were singing “Kiss the Boy”. 
I took literally hundreds of pictures and sadly very few of the pictures capture the essence of this amazing place. In some places it was so narrow that we had to push back the plants and pull the dinghy through with our hands or lay down because the plants overhead hung so low that there were only a few feet of space between the water and the canopy. 
We found the fishing village and crossed over to the beach. The water was the most startling blue. They call that place “The Aquarium”. There were only a few buildings there. We had read that the village had suffered heavy damages in a hurricane some years ago and had not recovered. We were busily snapping pictures of the beach and the water. Dave who takes pictures of everything even snapped a couple pictures of some of the dilapidated buildings and within moments a police officer appeared from inside one of the buildings and indicated that he was not allowed to take pictures of that building. We turned away and moved up to a small open-air café and no sooner had we taken our seats than a pickup with 4 more police officers pulled up and parked and remained there while we ate and did not leave until we left. I am not sure what that building represented or who was there but to have 5 police officers in a village of probably less than 30 people, clearly it was very sensitive. We put our phones and cameras away, finished our meal and returned to the dinghy. We came through the estuary on high tide and dallied along the beach clearly not thinking about the return trip. We ended up returning on low tide which turned out to be a bit of a challenge. At one point, we got into a tight spot…so tight that we were using everyone’s shoes to put over the sharp edges of branches in hopes of avoiding a puncture hole in the dinghy while we pulled her through by hand. There is no walking out of a mangrove estuary. Toto, we are not in Kansas anymore and we really need to think through some of our decisions all the way to the very end. As it turned out we made it safe and the dinghy is still floating so crisis averted.Tentacatita offers some beautiful paddle boarding and snorkeling.
Lots of the cruisers have paddleboards and in the mornings and evenings the water was fairly flat and crystal clear. You can easily see 12-15’ down. It is absolutely stunning. I am so glad that I got a SUP. Some days I went out 2-3 times and paddled several miles. I can snorkel from my board and get on and off it successfully albeit not so gracefully yet. There were lots of sea urchins in the tidal pools, but I only managed to get stabbed a couple times. Snorkeling is mind blowing for me and now whenever we go into an anchorage, I am looking for the best places that might offer snorkeling opportunities. 
I had never been much for being in the water and had never really liked to put my face in the water. I have always loved the sound of water but had always been uncomfortable in the water. That sounds funny coming from someone who now lives in a boat on the water. I think I have always loved the water, but I guess feared it and so kept my distance and admired it from outside of it’s confines. Our daughter Jayde who is an excellent swimmer wrote an essay when she was a senior in high school that describes how she feels when she is in the water. I totally get it now and most days I can’t wait to get in the water. Tentacatita was quite a magical place. There were no services, minimal cell coverage, just a lot of peace, quiet and natural beauty.
SV Magic Dragon 