Well, I'm making a lousy effort to not to overload you with too much to read but I am in the Bahamas! So I'll try to give you the first half of the month instead of a whole one this time:
May 1-5 We are still hanging out with our good friends, Ric and Sherry on their boat "Sheric." (Did you get the name combination?). We finished our stay at Eleuthera by renting a vehicle and driving about 70 miles of the length of the 110 mile, very skinny island. Unfortunately, it was a rainy and gray day with everyone staying inside so we missed the cultural flare of the people. David posted some photos of the Glass Window bridge and Preacher's Cave in previous post.
Our vision of heading to the Exumas was trumped by something called "Weather." I really have never paid attention to what cold fronts, troughs and atmospheric pressure were all about. It has now become more stuff on the learning curve plate to digest. I'm reading a book, basically 'weather for dummies' and starting to identify the clouds in the sky, listening to VHF weather reports and getting Single Side Band GRIB files (computer generated maps showing the weather patterns). However forecasts of high winds and sea state (how tall the waves are) dictated that we hang out in Eleuthera longer so we went from Harbor Island to Royal Island and then to Meeks' Patch, near Spanish Wells. Activities included restless nights being tossed about, lots of reading, one afternoon to go into town for some provisions and one afternoon of dingy fishing. Nope, still no fish!

May 6-8 We hoisted the anchor and headed to the Exumas with rain on the horizon. What a great time to wash the boat! I had to stop when the rain drops felt like bee stings. We motored and sailed and "motorsailed" all day. On the way, I caught my first fish, a yellowtail snapper. David cleaned that baby up and he was our dinner with some potatoes and onions baked around him. Yummy.




It was too crowded in Allen Cay (pronounced "key") so we went next door to Highbourne Cay. These two islands were beautiful and like a combination of Gilligan's Island meets Doctor Doolittle. There were friendly iguanas on the beaches for our hikes and friendly nurse sharks in the water for our snorkeling. From the shore rocks, we collected whelks (looks like big snails) and prepared them for dinner. But all play and no work makes Yvonne a dull girl so we then cleaned the bottom of the boat, which entails scrubbing the algae and barnacles off the hull in beautiful, clear water. Not a bad job and someone has to do it.







May 9-13 We made our way into the Exumas Cay Land and Sea Park. It is a 22 mile chain of islands that is a marine protected area (so no fishing, conching or shelling here). We anchored in Shroud Cay for a couple of days and took a dingy ride in the mangroves. We then moved onto Warderick Wells. We took a walk to BooBoo Hill, saw the blow hole and found Pirate's Lair. It was where pirates would hide their ship behind an island, come on shore and hang out by a fresh water pond. Can you imagine? All the time that we were walking, we were trying to stay off the Poisonwood tree (looks like a fichus tree) since it is said to be worse than poison ivy or poison oak. Its natural remedy was the sap of the gumelemi tree but no one took the time to identify that tree so hopefully we didn't need it.



May 14-15 We went to Pipe Cay. By the way, we are anchoring each time. That entails us finding the right spot out of wind, surge and current to provide us with the smoothest ride. The boat bucks like a horse if any of the these 3 are out of sorts. We took the dingy to a creek of mangroves and saw fast moving sea turtles and found about 8 large conch- BINGO! Dinner! But let me tell you, it is a lot of work to find, get it out of the shell, clean (guts and all), then pound the living daylights out of it before it is ready to cook. But worth every pound of the mallet when 'cracked conch' is served up.
Our snorkeling continued at Rocky Dundas. We went to a cave that is only accessible at low tide and was spectacular when inside. The coral reef around it was beautiful and I got to take pictures of the colorful fish, like Sergeant Majors and Parrotfish, along with coral. We went to Compass Cay to Rachel's Bath and yes, I found my swimming pool.






All the 3 of us (Sherry is a vegetarian) could think of were "Cheeseburgers in Paradise" so we needed to find civilization for that. We left there and went to Big Major's Cay. After a short dingy ride, we were in Staniel Cay Yacht Club eating cheeseburger!



Next day, we visited the beach to see the famous swimming pigs and fed them. Having been raised on a pig farm in North Carolina, I felt right at home. We then snorkeled the Thunderball Grotto, which is an cave inside a mountain that you swim in one side and out the other. It was the most fish I had ever seen on a snorkel or dive trip before. We then toured the island grocery stores and finished our day with sundowners (drinks) in the cockpit of their boat. Tomorrow we are headed further down the Exumas chain.






Ok, well you have not heard me talk about my 'emotions' very much so let me tell you that I am still human. Everyday has its challenges. Here is my God journal entry on 5/8/15:
Lord, I need you to capture the negative thoughts in my mind: the thoughts of anxiety about money, time, the "future", my looks; the thoughts of resentment, frustration and lack of knowledge. These thoughts are not of you. Your Word says I am to cast my care upon you because you care. -1 Peter 5:7. It says I am to think of things that are lovely. -Philippians 4:8. It says I am to be an image of you and Jesus-slow to speak and slow to anger. -James 1:19. It says I have a hope-This hope, an anchor of my soul, both sure and steadfast. -Hebrews 6:19. Your Word says you are with me always. -Matthew 28:20. Change my heart O Lord. Let me see things in a different light that looks down on my behavior, as you see me. I am not proud, rather ashamed of my behaviors at times. I need your Spirit to direct my path. Help me Lord.
You guys keep praying for me. Stay tuned for the second half of the month. Thanks for coming along for the ride.