The red sand at Cavendish beach shifted under our feet on that hot summer day. Many people had come to enjoy the water.  Youth played volleyball on a makeshift court in the sand.

The place was busy. We weren’t planning to swim that day, as we sandwiched the stop at the beach between a tour of Green Gables National Park and a visit with our neighbours and friends who had come to the Island to retire.

The first time we had been there, years before, there was no swimming because of the risk of undertow, but this day, the water presented no such danger. Life guards sat in tall chairs watching swimmers. Tall dunes, tufted with grass, bore signs warning visitors to stay off them. Still there was enough sand to play in or just walk the length of the beach, with the water lapping at our feet. We spend little time at the shore,  so we were going to make this worthwhile.

I couldn’t resist taking off my sandals and getting my feet wet in the ocean. My husband and friend did the same. After all, the day had been very hot, so this was a way to cool off just a little.

The three of us walked barefoot in the sand along the edge of the water. Warm water, but cooler than the air above it, and sand that shifted under our feet.  We hadn’t gone far when we saw jellyish blobs in the sand, blobs that floated out of the water and landed in the sand. Jellyfish. Others picked their way around them on the sand and coming out of the water, even as we did on our walk along the shoreline. Apparently there are not always so many of the creatures on the sand. Maybe the jellyfish needed warming up, I don’t  know, but I didn’t think I’d want to try swimming on such a day.

Red sand for almost as far as one can see

Maryann and I cooling our feet

My husband rolled up his pantlegs and enjoyed the water’s coolness as well.

Close-up of a jelly fish. Don’t touch!

Aside from the jelly fish, it was a place to relax in the sand and play in the water. We bade our good-byes to the beach, dried our feet, and set out for our motel and a dinner with friends.