Coming Home 5/12/13

We’re home, well almost anyway.   We have come such a long way since my last entry.  I have considered writing repeatedly but needed some “space” to reflect on all we’ve been through before I felt right about putting it on paper. 

When we last “met”, we were still making our way to our jump off point in the Abacos.  The slow, easy progress we made under sail took us to the quaint and remote settlement of Fox Town.  Once again, we found a completely new experience awaiting us.  Being that it is not readily visited by cruisers, we got a taste of REAL Bahamian living. 

We were met at the dock by Kirkland who we later found out is considered to be more of the town “pest”.  He led us around, almost pulling us the whole way to introduce us to anyone in the area doing any kind of business at all.  It was kind of cute but ended up being a ruse as he was looking for drinking money in the end!  It was fun meeting the ladies in the little “grocery” there, the guys cleaning the fish and one who sold gasoline.  We ended up buying Kirkland a beer and parting ways at the local bar where the boys ate yet another hamburger before we headed back to the boat.

The next morning, we wasted no time and once again set a straight course for points toward home.  We had decided to “jump” from Little Grand Cay vs. Great Sale Cay as it had a small town and some services in the event we had a long delay before finding our window.  Little Grand Cay ended up being pretty cute.  It had colorful buildings and even more colorful characters occupying them! 

Unfortunately, we just couldn’t find a deep enough anchorage to be comfortable with and ended up moving several times before settling closer to the channel than we (and the locals) were pleased with.  That being said, with Steve missing his wife and Rob always needing to be on the go, all eyes were on trying to make crossing conditions out of weather that didn’t really stack up.

It ended up that we only spent one night at Little Grand Cay.  We checked weather and grabbed a few supplies and settled in for the night agreeing to listen to the cruiser’s forecast in the morning before making a final decision to get moving offshore.  The forecast came in less than perfect but elements of it made it seem like a “do-able” journey with winds strong enough to fill the sails to counter balance the seas that it might kick up.  The wind direction and the scattered squalls forecast promised a strong sail but possible opportunities for a challenge along the way as squall lines passed through.

Of course, that’s not at all how it played out.  I knew from the beginning that this crossing would be pivotal to my relationship to continuing to sail.  I have struggled with boredom, nausea and fear so many times while sailing that I really needed a great experience to end the year.  Being with two capable and strong men to handle the sails in conditions that promised real sailing and a fast passage seemed at least an option – since the boys really didn’t want to wait for calm and motoring the 30+ hours it would take to get home.

The day started out with lighter winds than expected although we were under sail and made it all the way across the Bahama banks in decent time and without a lot of drama.  Unfortunately, when we reached the ocean, the winds shifted, the rain started and things went from bad to worse.  I have to say I did pretty well, considering.  We had to take down the sails because the wind direction was completely contrary to the forecast.  The seas were kicked up beyond any projections and were coming from EVERY direction.  And then when we were fully into the gulf stream, the squalls came in earnest and we battled blinding rain, seas somewhere around 13 feet from all directions and the slower progress that comes with it.

We had hoped to get to St. Augustine as our destination with Daytona Beach being the second choice.  We passed Cape Canaveral at about 4 in the morning in driving rain with cargo and cruise ships plying the waters all around us.  I finally hailed the Coast Guard to inquire if we were better off continuing to Daytona or just turning around and heading back for the Canaveral inlet.  The latter was their suggestion as the storm intensity was centered just north of our position.  We wearily made it in the inlet at 10 that morning and pulled into the fuel dock and a chance to recover. 

Steve left that same afternoon to get back to his life (and wife!) while Rob and I were literally passed out wherever our bodies landed.  He came back a bit later and we all enjoyed a celebratory drink together before he headed back “home” and Rob and I untied the lines once again to navigate the Canaveral locks (another new experience!) and find an anchorage for the night.

So it’s now been over a week since our return.  We’ve motored the Intracoastal , spent two fun days in St Augustine with great friends from our journey (Dan and Kathy from Majiks) and worked our way the rest of the way up the coast to Hilton Head.  We spent one day back on the ocean in calm conditions with the motor on and the rest on the ICW.  We saw incredible scenery, lots of dolphins and made good progress.

We currently lie in Hilton Head where this original journey began over 20 years ago when Rob first got the sailing bug.  It was pretty nostalgic reentering the area waters as we returned from the adventure that all began here.  We have settled in here for the past few days, connecting with my dear friend, Patricia and her husband Jay.  And it feels like home.  We’ve stayed in their lovely home and cooked and relaxed and caught up and recovered.

It’s taken this long for me to wrap this all up.  It’s been the journey of a lifetime, really.  The countless sunrises and sunsets, the crystal waters, the amazing new friends and experiences – we have memories that will never fade.  I love my boat and could not be more thankful for her safely bringing us home.  I appreciate all I’ve learned about myself and perseverance and have no regrets.  Mostly, however, I have come to appreciate home more than I would have imagined and I’m glad to be back. 

Who knows where this will all lead?  Rob and I have always been adventurers and I’m sure there are many new and exciting things to explore and experience.  For the time being, though, there’s no place like home!

Come and Go 04/30/13

Sometimes you just have to believe that what happens is what’s supposed to happen.  Such has been the case these past few days.

Man O War Cay was a delightful community with a reputation for being more “civilized” than many of the others in the area meaning less partying and more productivity than is seen in the surrounding islands.  Known for boat building and a thriving canvas industry, the island did have an air of efficiency.  We found four women hard at work in their little canvas shop sewing bag after bag in a multitude of colors and sizes.  The boat yard had numerous boats in different stages of creation.

After our evening snorkel expedition the previous night, Steve went out with the boys for s first hand lesson in spear fishing.  All of this was accomplished early and our entourage of three boats up-anchored and headed to the inside harbor to get a mooring for the next night.  Unfortunately, the charts were surprisingly inaccurate – something extremely unusual in our experience.  The harbor was much shallower than reported or rumored and as Rob and I maneuvered Moonshadow through, looking for an available mooring, we crunched on the bottom!  It was not far from high tide and we thankfully pushed our way through whatever was on the bottom and quickly turned tail and exited the harbor. 

After we all headed back to an outside anchorage and subsequently got settled, we dinghyed up the channel and set to seeing the island.  We enjoyed our walk around the town and especially the ice cream we scored along the way.  The community is small and lovely with colorful houses and a beautiful beach the entire length of the ocean side.  Steve busied himself with a load of laundry to add to the accomplishments of the day. 

Once again we spent the evening saying goodbye to our friends aboard Truansea and Providence as Moonshadow had decided to make the push to cross the next day.  A nice meal and lots of hugs and we secured the boat for the next days’ sail. 

Of course, when we woke the next morning, the forecast had clearly changed and our crossing window had closed!  In that we were in the mindset, we still broke rank with our friends and headed for the next anchorage north, Great Guana Cay.  Great Guana was known for its two popular watering holes, Grabbers and Nippers. 

As fate would have it, our goodbyes turned into HELLOS! when we spotted our dear friends Bill and Lori aboard Grateful Red across the harbor!  We can credit Bill and Lori with keeping our cruising dream alive over the past five years or so.  We met them in the Charleston Harbor where they stage their boat for travels to the islands every year.  We became quick and fast friends and looked forward to their arrival in Charleston each year when we’d proceed to talk sailing stories and boats year after year.

We wasted no time in reconnecting and decided to meet for a “grabber” at Grabbers that evening followed by a marvelous dinner of wild mushroom risotto, roasted veggies and fresh key lime pie that Steve and I put together.  Yes, cruising life CAN be gourmet!  It was so fun to reconnect with Grateful Red as we missed their Charleston visit this year with our early departure.

Since we didn’t make it very far, Truansea and Providence moved their way to the same anchorage that evening as well so the next day was back to life as we’ve known it.  We trooped around the island, enjoyed the crowds and craziness at Nippers in the afternoon and planned ANOTHER evening saying goodbye as we were making the passage “around the whale” the next day, putting a significant difference between us as they moved in another direction altogether.

After a final coffee with Grateful Red yesterday morning, we weighed anchor and started our passage.  We managed another beautiful sail despite the big swells and less than perfect winds and were anchored outside Green Turtle Cay by early afternoon. 

Green Turtle ends up being one of my favorite Bahamian communities after all of our travels.  It’s quaint and quiet and the people are delightful.  We found a marvelous bakery and Rob stocked up on cinnamon rolls, a rum cake and an apple turnover – guess he was feeling hungry!!!  I found my way to a cup of homemade mango ice cream – too sweet but still yummy.  The evening found us at “Pineapples” where we proceeded, once again, to consume more rum punches than were needed along with the Bahamian standard bar food of fish and chicken fingers.  Such a healthy lifestyle!!!

We are under way again with practically a wisp of wind to assist and are crawling along at just over 2 knots making whatever progress we can get out of the day before the promised system of squalls and bad weather arrive.  This is the batch that spoiled our crossing and the forecast isn’t promising anything positive for the next week.  We’re moving ahead nonetheless hoping to stage ourselves in a position to “jump” when the jumping gets good – hopefully sooner than the current projection!

We’re all ready for home and with the sky overcast and the weather less than ideal, we’re
getting a bit antsy.  The cards are out and Steve and I spend half our time discussing how we’re going to use what we have onboard to make amazing food dishes that none of us need with our complete lack of exercise!!!!!  And so it goes on the slow road home!

Movin' On 04/26/13

Once again, it’s been an age since I’ve sat at this computer.   With a guest onboard, all spare time is filled with conversation or activity.  In the past week we’ve covered a lot of territory – more figuratively than actual but still . . .

I last reported from the shores of Spanish Wells on the northern tip of Eleuthera.  We spent one night there hoping to “score” a fix to our broken refrigeration but had no luck.  We gave in to the inevitable and stocked the unit with block ice.  Our mooring neighbors were a family we met in St Augustine the past two seasons – we continue to see what a small world this sailing community is!

Spanish Wells is unique in many ways.  In addition to it being “dry” (no alcohol for sale!), it’s quite well established with quaint homes everywhere and a full network of little streets and services available.  Almost all of the traffic is golf cart but other small cars were also more plentiful than we’d seen for a while.  The people were almost all white – the biggest difference than all of the other Bahamian communities we’ve encountered. 

We stayed only the one night after deciding that Sunday would give us the best crossing opportunity to the Abacos, our next destination.  We headed out the “back cut” which is rumored to be very difficult and not suggested without a local guide.  After looking at the charts and talking with several well ingrained locals, we decided we’d give it a go.  Although it was nerve-wracking for all of us aboard, we made it through perfectly – not one incident other than a lot of racing heart rates!

The crossing was pretty unpleasant, unfortunately.  Right after leaving the cut, the ocean swell hit us and, with winds directly behind our intended course, we had a very rolling and nauseating ride.  The boys did great and even managed to sail 3 out of our 8 hours offshore.  I, on the other hand, spent the day fighting some serious nausea and the emotional trauma that comes with it for me.  BUT, we made it across unscathed and anchored soon after we passed into the harbor. 

Since then we’ve had several really great days of sailing, the first being that next day where we sailed 17 miles in a ziggy zaggy pattern, having to maneuver our sails at every turn.  It was a great day for learning more about the mechanics of our boats and her sails and we put less than ½ hour of time on the engine for the whole day!  We anchored outside of Hope Town where we found all of our cruising buddies from our journey within 10 miles in just about every direction in the area.  It was a great treat to hear them on the radio and subsequently being able to connect with them one by one!

We moved into the Hope Town harbor early the next morning and grabbed a mooring ball right next to Bill on Providence and our buddies aboard Truansea.  REUNITED!!!  Hope Town is an absolutely delightful community with quaint cottages all around, a gorgeous ocean beach stretching for miles, a working kerosene lighthouse, an active community with services and activities at every turn.  We haven’t seen anything even remotely like this anywhere in our journeys to date so we were quite taken aback but didn’t waste one minute, taking long walks, swimming at the resort pool, playing bingo at the harbor bar and finding some internet access. 

With our refrigeration gone, we needed to get some stored meats cooked up and Steve made an amazing spaghetti sauce that we shared with our solo sailing buddies aboard Providence and Slow Flight.  The evening activity brought hundreds of people to the lovely Hope Town Lodge ocean deck.  A movie highlighting the Bahamas National Trust’s effort to save the ecology of the Bahamian seas and wildlife was shown just after the sun set.  It was well received and provided great entertainment and inspiration.

Before moving harbors with our reunited boats, Rob and I took off the next morning to walk up the lighthouse.  It was a fascinating structure dating back to 1864 and still in perfectly kept condition.  It requires constant attention to be of the service it provides – the lantern is lit every night and has to be checked and adjusted every two hours it operates.  It shines a beautiful light over the harbor with its prismed paneled slowly circling the flame.  Just beautiful!

The next day was another great sail 8 miles across the Sea of Abaco to the town of Marsh Harbor – the “big city” of the area.  We anchored not far from the dinghy dock and headed straight in to try to get our cell phone reset to accept internet again.  I swear, being out of contact is far too taxing for this girl!  It ended up that Rob and I spent the good part of the day at the Bahamas Telephone Company and never did get my newly acquired phone to work.  The big score of the day was a top notch cinnamon roll from “Da Bes’” bakery!

Yesterday brought a fun morning of snorkeling on the Mermaid Reef just outside of the harbor.  It was teaming with fish of all sizes and color and had lobsters and eels hiding everywhere among the rocks.  Being that lobster season ended the 1^st of April, we went home empty handed (sad face).   After another passage across the “Sea” to the outside anchorage at Man O War Cay where we spent the balance of the day walking the ocean beach, snorkeling just off the boats and soaking up the sun.

We’re all enjoying being together again and joined forces for another amazing meal together.   Neither  Truansea nor us sports refrigeration now so our meals are getting more and more creative.  Of course having just come from the best grocery store (Marsh Harbor) any of us has seen in four months, a little fresh food was still on the menu.  We had grilled brats, veggie sushi rolls, a green salad and fruit courtesy of Truansea and we contributed a big potato salad and the always well received fresh baked cookies.  A FEAST!!!

The big decisions of every day come with the forecast in the mornings.  In that they change every day, we just can’t seem to get a good feel for a crossing date and we’re pondering once again this morning how to best navigate the balance of the miles yet to go.  For today, anyway, the plan is to stay on our current course with an expected arrival to our “staging” area early next week.  Unfortunately another big weather system has entered the equation that may push our crossing back up to another week.   But that’s how this all goes and for now, we’re staying the course and hoping for a window to open somewhere in our projected timeline.

We’re missing home, have a broken frig, Rob has an infected knee, Steve’s anxious for his first big overnight crossing and we’ve all got our minds occupied and distracted.  But every day brings some new treasure that somehow balances the equation.  Steve just returned from his early morning first spear fishing expedition with Mark and family where they scored two nice groupers promising another fine meal to come.  And so the story goes!

and the way Steve handles a rainy afternoon . . .
yup, I baked cookies and we opened midday wine.

New Orleans and Back Again 04/16/13

 Well, it’s been a while since I’ve sat in front of this computer!  Since we last “talked”, Rob and I enjoyed a few days in the Nassau area enjoying the company of new dock neighbors and furthering our knowledge and familiarity of the area before catching our flight back to the states for a great reunion with family.

Before heading home, we had one particularly fun day in town with Nia from Boundless where we hiked endlessly in and around Nassau.  We visited a fort built in the 1700’s, walked the Queen’s Staircase and had midday “Sky Juice” from a local restaurant.  Sky Juice is the beverage of choice here in the Bahamas.  The concoction is made with gin, coconut rum, coconut water and a drizzle of sweetened condensed milk all blended together in a yummy but deadly slurry!  Needless to say, that day didn’t end up being our most productive!

The big event of the past two weeks was our journey back to the states to visit my Mom in New Orleans.  The French Quarter Festival is an amazing event.  21 stages throughout the Quarter have live, local music with a new band every 1.5 hours for 12 hours each of 4 days.  Hundreds of bands in just about every style perform surrounded by food and beer like only New Orleans can provide! 

My mom’s been holding a brunch for over 100 of her associates and friends during the French Quarter Fest for the past 12 years.  She lives in the heart of the Quarter and the event is always a big hit.  Our family converges on her place throughout the preceding week to help out in whatever ways we can.  My brother and Rob handle all kinds of miscellaneous household projects while Mom, aunt, sometimes sister and the rest of us chop and cook feverishly.

We all have our favorite bands to catch and always enjoy just wandering around the Quarter people watching, catching the opening parade, eating the amazing food and enjoying the music.  There’s always something new to see or hear but, with my mom’s influence, we all generally gravitate to the Cajun/Zydeco stage and dance ourselves silly!  If you’ve never witnessed Cajun music or dancing, all I can say is that you haven’t lived until you give it a try.  Of course this wouldn’t be legitimate at just any local Cajun Festival!  A visit to Louisiana would be in order!  Anyway – you get the idea.

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So we had a marvelous week.  I was able to enjoy my Mom’s company, talk freely with my kids on the phone, have a long, hot shower every night, get an amazing amount of business caught up and all the while thoroughly enjoy my family and the fest.  Not bad!

The time to say goodbye again came quickly and we returned to the Bahamas meeting an good friend, Steve, at the airport on the way.  Steve has joined us for the return leg of our journey.  He and his wife live aboard their sailboat and plan on beginning their adventures this summer.   Although they have a lot of sailing experience, none of it has been offshore so Steve’s along for the experience for the next few weeks.

We spent our first day together re-provisioning and preparing the boat for the voyages ahead.  We checked the weather, got things in order and were ready to go the next morning.  First order of business was just to get back off the dock!  After living afloat for so many months here, being tied to the dock felt stagnant!  We left bright and early yesterday morning and made our way around New Providence to Rose Island where we enjoyed an afternoon snorkel and a short but nice beach walk.

Unfortunately, the anchorage was well protected from the wind but not from the offshore swell and we had a very long night with the boat pitching nonstop from side to side making sleep all but impossible!  Although we were all barely coherent, leaving the poor conditions was much more favorable than trying to rest and we headed out early today to cross over to North Eleuthera.

It was quite a day of sailing.  With winds somewhere around 20knots – we’re guessing a bit higher – we tried every sail configuration available to Moonshadow.  We saw speeds most of the day over 6 knots but some gusts produced speeds of well over 8!   The boys were endlessly challenging themselves and each other to trim the sails to perfection – leaving me to hang on for the ride! 

Despite no sleep and an exhausting day, we cleaned all the decks and restored order before launching the dinghy for a trip ashore.  We caught a ride with the owner of the local shopping store here and did a bit of restocking and bought some beautiful fresh grouper from “the guys” on the dock.  We prepared an amazing dinner with fresh fish and veggies while we listened to the VHF as a may day rescue transpired.   Rob helped out by relaying messages between parties and, last we heard, at least one person was recovered okay. 

Rob and I hit town again after dinner to “score” on the local ice cream rumored to be here.  We reunited with a great kid, Travis, we met earlier on the dock and all had ice cream together – big double dips for $2 each!  It was the perfect finale for an already eventful and memorable day! 

So we’re BACK!  We’re aboard and sailing and doing what we do.  And I can’t find internet, the frig has gone down, the phone isn’t working and things are back to the way they are!  It’s all just a good thing!

Storm Prep 04/05/13

 We currently are sitting aboard the boat in the middle of the only major thunderstorm we’ve experienced since our departure.  The lightning is flashing all around and the rain pouring.  That’s actually why we’re here today.  This storm moved from the US coast and we’ve been watching it for almost a week.  The reports were undecided as to if it would affect our area but the conditions were too serious to ignore.  So we left the Exumas early to head for our intended dockage in Coral Harbor, near Nassau.

Weather is really the single determining factor for having a safe and happy life aboard.  It consumes at least a portion of every day’s conversations.  Being AHEAD of the weather makes life much less complicated.  So as we discussed our options for weathering this storm, we played it safe and crossed the Exuma Bank yesterday for our “safe house”.

The past few days since arriving from Eleuthera were not what we expected.  After the great reunion with Truansea and a night of cards and popcorn and stories, we said our goodbyes the next morning as they headed out for their next destination.  We filled our day in the beautiful anchorage at Normans, going for a long hike on the island where I found the most exquisite beach for a midday cooling swim. 

Norman’s was a drug haven “back in the day”.  There’s a sunken plane to snorkel that remains from a defunct drug run.  There are crazy winding roads to the water in different places and other signs of unusual, now deserted, activity.  The drug
scene is something the locals here are not happy to discuss and it stays in history as the islands have moved on.

Off of Norman’s is a tiny little island with one palm tree that has been dedicated to a cruising couple by their family.  With a bench and a couple of memorial plaques, it is a peaceful reminder of how precious our days are.  After a stop on the island, we snorkeled the crash site before weighing anchor and
once again making our way.

We anchored the next two nights at Highbourne Cay with the intention of finally being able to connect to long lost internet that we found there our last visit.  We found that not to be the case and were feeling pretty frustrated not to be able to connect to our weather sources and family.  On top of that, our dinghy motor broke when we were in Rock Sound and our fix “unfixed” itself that day so it meant we were land locked and not able to go to shore to troubleshoot the situation.

With the weather report looking ominous and our options limited for protection, we decided that being ahead of the game was our best bet.  We contacted the owner of the dock we were to use for our trip stateside next week.  With his confirmation of space, we set sail yesterday to cross the Exuma Bank. 

As is many times the case, the weather schedule had moved up from the forecast the day before and the conditions were not as good as we had hoped so we started the engine about half way across and arrived at the dock to find several other boats had found their way to our same destination for the same reason.

We gathered immediately after Moonshadow’s lines were set for a great happy hour gathering at the dock owner’s patio.  You really gotta love the cruising life!   The dock is filled up to maximum capacity of nine boats and we met many of their owners last night, sharing stories of adventures had and destinations planned.

Hazel, our new Bahamian market friend
- the best hugs in Nassau!

So here we are, back on the dock in a full-fledged storm, dry and cozy and out of harm’s way.  We will stay here now until we head to New Orleans on Tuesday for my family’s favorite yearly gathering at the French Quarter Festival just outside my Mom’s front door.  And in no time at all, we’re back to life as we USED to know it!

Rock Sound 04/01/13

It’s been over a week since I wrote my last blog.  On last report, we had said goodbye to friends and were anchored south of the town of Rock Sound.  That morning, we weighed anchor and moved “where the action is”.  The adventure of Eleuthera began.

Elethera is a completely different scene from the islands we’ve experienced so far.  Meaning “Freedom”, the people here are fiercely loyal to their island and country.  The water here is more open and less clear so activity ends up being much more land based.  We immediately felt welcomed by the town and its people, all of whom seem to be your friend from first encounter.

We heard early on that the Easter holiday was important here in Eleuthera.  Little did we know HOW important.  Every town has a “homecoming” with four days of events planned (in the Bahamian way of “planning”, that is).  But I’m ahead of myself.  Since hearing of the festival over the weekend, we decided to stay put for the week and see what it was all about. 

Although the conditions of the anchor fields and the dinghy docking facilities left quite a bit to be desired, we settled in.  Being that our first day in town was a Sunday, nothing was open and, with the wind blowing and the water messy, we stayed aboard most of the day.  That made the improving conditions of the next day that much more welcome.

Over the week we’ve had so many memories, it’s hard to relay them all.  We met a new couple – Devon and Liz, a British couple aboard Moose Tracks – and spent most of our time with them and our friends aboard Lammeroo.  Rob and I hiked across the island one day to visit to Nort’side Restaurant that everyone who knows about Rock Sound mentions. The sign in town give 1.25 miles to the destination but we found it to be over 2.5 miles so we were more than ready for a good meal when we arrived.  Unfortunately, as it goes here, the owner had decided to go to Nassau for the day and there was nothing to be had but another 2.5 miles back into town! 

We made the best of it and walked the beach, finding my first and only “hamburger bean”, a treasured prize for all cruising beach combers.  On the long road back, we flagged down the only vehicle we had seen during the journey and caught a ride for the last leg back.    We ended up having a great lunch with them – tourists from the states on their way back from a scuba adventure.  We had lots of laughs and shared stories and we were glad to have had the twist of fate that introduced us! 

Another day I organized a pot luck lunch at the ocean hole in the middle of the town.  We made an announcement on the VHF to the boats in the harbor, welcoming them to join in and we ended up having a great turnout of 8 boats, amazing food and lots of fun.  We swam in the hole, had a surprisingly gourmet lunch for a potluck and made new friends.

Being that we had so much time to spend here, we spent another day and a half touring the country of Eleuthera by car.  We teamed up with MooseTracks and found a car to rent from “Coco”.  Allthough Coco had forgotten to tell his wife we were renting the car (you gotta love how things are done down here!), we worked out the details and got underway.  We had an amazing 30 or so hours!

We spent the first half day touring north.  We stopped at the nicest produce farm we’ve seen in the Bahamas and had fresh hot cross buns, picnicked on a pink sand beach, toured a nature preserve and more.  The day was jammed packed with activity and things to see and do.   We stopped at the “Glass Window”, a previously natural bridge between the sound and the ocean.  We hiked up and down and around the area, exploring all the ins and outs of the gorgeous landscape.  From there we decided to find the northernmost tip of the South Eleuthera before turning around toward the famed Governor’s Harbor Friday night fish fry.

On the way back south we visited the Hatchet Bay caves, the definite highlight of the day.  I’ve never been in a real cave before – you know, with NO light and crawling on your knees in places, etc.  Of course, in the Bahamas, this takes on a whole other element in that safety measures are not something generally worried about too much!  We donned our completely inadequate head lamps and gave it a try.  We found an amazing treasure of underground scenery that we only could see on the camera screen after the flash had gone off!  It was great fun and we all felt pretty proud of ourselves for “giving it a go”!

The fish fry ended up being a bit behind schedule (HA!  We’re in the Bahamas, mon’!) so we wandered around town and stopped for a drink before deciding we’d just go back to Rock Sound and have dinner there, avoiding driving too late at night and having to limit the beverage consumption!  On our way back to the car, we ran into the group of people who picked us up on our missed lunch hike!  Where else can stuff like that happen?!

Half day #2 of our car journey took us to the south end of the island to Lighthouse Beach.  It was another beautiful day and we enjoyed seeing the private cruise line station at Bannerman town and off-roading down the ragged drive out to the point of the island.  We walked the beach and climbed the rocks until it was time to return the car.  It was Good Friday at this point and we were almost stuck in the Bahamian countryside with no gas but we were lucky enough to find a pump at the only marina on the coast! 

After returning the car we walked back into town and showed Devon and Liz the bat caves we had visited earlier in the week with Jim and his son, Daniel.  Just a short walk from town, the small ocean hole and surrounding bat caves were another completely new experience for me!  With great towering tree root systems and bats on the ceiling, it’s a fun place to explore.

The rest of the week was taken up enjoying (mostly) the events of the Rock Sound Homecoming weekend. I’m signing off to give you a reading break!