John was disappointed to be sure. He watched as his family headed away from the dock on a speedboat to go waterskiing. It had been a tough decision to stay behind. His recently broken arm prevented him from participating in the excursion (as it was called on a cruise ship) but it would cost the same whether he watched or participated.
He had decided to save the money for other purposes rather than just watch everyone ski. There had still been room on another excursion that was much cheaper that he decided to attend. It was simply a drop off on a beach island. Having never been on a beach and needing to wind down from all the excitement over his broken arm, the beach trip really appealed to him.
His arm throbbed in pain as if to remind him of his condition. He had broken it on the last excursion. It had been a beautiful hike up a Mayan temple. The view from the top had been breathtaking. On the way back down he, and his boys, had gotten silly and raced down the massive stairs. He slipped on a loose stone and landed his full weight on the arm. He had never broken an arm before and was surprised at how limiting it really was. Luckily it was his left arm but even so, the pain and weight of the cast was a constant reminder of his foolishness.
Now watching the boats load up with excited, and oily, people he felt a little down. It was made even worse as all the boats filled and there was no room left for him. He had a ticket so he was sure they would fit him in. But soon the boats began departing the docks. He stood there wondering what to do when a local man told him in broken English that they were getting another boat and he should not worry. The boat came idling around the ship just then. It was a not at all like the other boats. It was clean enough but obviously a personal boat brought into service for this "emergency" rather than the normal passenger excursion boats that held fifteen each. This one barely had room for four people including the "captain". The captain was an older man who seemed a little nervous about something.
He apologized for "the oversight" and helped John aboard. It took a little while for John to realize that the oversight was the excursion had been overbooked. The operator had quickly grabbed his own boat to pick up the last two passengers. The second passenger that had been left was running up the dock now. Obviously panicked about being late, she gushed on and on thanking the captain for waiting. Soon everyone relaxed and the captain promised they would not be sorry for being the smaller boat. He told them he would take them to a much less crowded beach if they would prefer. The rest of the excursion would be fighting for their blanket space all day while John and Lyn (he learned) would have wide open spaces, white sands and tranquility.
The only downside, the captain explained, was that there were no food and drink vendors. To make up for this downside, the captain's wife had packed a large cooler for whomever he took there to use. He would leave it with them if they would like to go. John looked at Lyn and said, "I would love some quiet time so it's up to you". Lyn nodded enthusiastically; all she really wanted was to work on her tan and to get some time away from the ship.
It was agreed then, the captain smiled broadly and they were off. The trip there was breathtaking. The captain knew the waters very well and his boat was considerably faster than it looked. In no time at all they were away from the busy port and working their way to a secluded inlet. The captain arranged to pick them up in four hours right here or he would find them if they moved down the beach. He said he would simply look there first then circle the island until he spotted them. That way they would not have to hurry back to a particular location. After all, the island was small and had very few visitors; the big red cooler would be easy enough to spot.
John and Lyn said their goodbyes to the captain and started to get to know one another. John, it seems, was from a small town in Wyoming while Lyn was from Ohio. John had never set foot on a beach before and Lyn had been to many. Soon they learned how much they had in common, both were married and their spouses were on the cruise. John's wife was on another excursion while Lyn's husband was in the casino. It seemed her really enjoyed that aspect of cruising and frequently left her to fend for herself on the excursions.
They continued to get to know one another as they followed the signs from the pier to the beach. John's held one cooler handle with his good hand while Lyn took the other. They soon had a rhythm and could walk quite well balancing their towels and bags on the cooler as it swayed between them. Their first view of the beach was spectacular: waves rolled onto the white sands. The only other people were a bunch of local high school aged kids playing soccer on the beach. As they looked around for a place to stop they realized that most of the beach was the soccer field for these kids. They could either break up the game or move further away. In the meantime they had stopped the game by standing on the "field". The kids all just stared at them while they made up their minds.
Soon they decided to just move on and without a word they continued up the beach in search of some place else. The beach curved towards the ocean with trees almost to the water on the further down the way. It looked like there was more beach beyond so they headed that way. After working their way beyond the trees to this second beach they spotted a dead sea-lion on the shore. Its massive carcass was bloated in the sun and covered with scavengers. Most of all, the putrid stench filled the little cove and made the idea of stopping there unbearable. They continued on.
The next beach was wide and beautiful so they decided to stop there. The waves rolled into the sand in a perfect view. As they set their things down they looked around and walked a little closer to the water. Lyn warned John and pointed to the hundreds of jelly fish gathered in the cove. While the beach was beautiful the water could be very painful if they swam there. They decided to move to the next beach.
This one was surrounded by what appeared to be a man-made hedge. It was obvious that they had come in a way not normally traveled but the view was breathtaking. The beach was perfectly clean without the slightest trace of jelly fish or dead things or anything. In fact it looked like someone had recently raked it clean. It was perfect.
They set their cooler down and laid out their things around it. They both were hot from their hike so they decided to go for a swim. John removed his shirt and applied sunscreen while Lyn removed her buttoned up shirt to reveal a white one-piece. Then she took off her shorts showing her long tanned legs and the matching bottom. John peaked at her through his sunglasses; admiring the shape of her ass. But as she stood up he almost gasped getting his first full view of her breasts barely confined in her top. Even though he did not actually gasp he was caught ogling her openly. Luckily she only smiled and began to walk down to the water.
John liked his swim trunks a little loose but always had to fiddle with the string to keep them up while swimming. This was made all the more difficult with his recently becoming unable to use one hand. Somehow he managed to tighten the string and just for good measure double knotted it. "No embarrassing mishaps would happen now" he thought as he waded into the water.
There were no mishaps at all. Lyn and John swam in the water and looked around for a while before finally tiring and both waded back up the beach to the blanket where they finally took a look at what was in the cooler. There were cold beers and cheese and crackers of a wide variety. Even fresh fruits and water were in there. There was plenty of everything they could want; they ate and drank their fill.
Soon Lyn spread out her blanket and lay down in the sun. John did likewise after making sure his all-too-white skin had enough sunscreen. They laid side by side for a few minutes when they heard the sound of a four wheeler coming slowly up the beach.
John and Lyn both sat up on their elbows to watch just as the constable got off of the four-wheeler and began walking towards them. He was dark skinned and wearing tan shorts and crisp shirt with a badge. He smiled broadly and said hallo with a strong French accent. It came out as "allow".
"He said something in French and much to Lyn's surprise, John just nodded and replied back to him in French. The officer nodded and said "I will speak English then if you prefer. Are you from the ship?"
"Yes" John replied for them both. "The excursion was overbooked and the owner brought us here as a favor. It's a beautiful island and this beach is perfect."
"Yes, it is" the officer agreed. "However, this particular beach is privately owned. I saw from your footprints that you came up from the seaward side. The signs are on the other end by those bushes."
Obviously disappointed, Lyn and John looked at each other. John spoke first "I'm sorry, we did not know, we'll pack right up."
"As they started gathering their things, the officer spoke up "Well the owner does not mind visitors but I'm afraid if you wish to stay you would have to obey their rules."
The officer looked uncomfortable as he continued. "Well, this land is owned by an exclusive club. They practice naturalism." Seeing their puzzled looks he added with a conspiratory whisper "Nudists".