Since our last entry we have been moving around the Abacos Islands. Presently, we are in Marsh Harbor on Great Abaco Island. We were able to finally do some scuba diving with a company called Dive Abaco which is a full service dive center here in Marsh Harbor. The dive was near Elbow Cay in a Land and Sea Park. We had a great time as we swam through some caves and narrow swim passages. This is the first time we have been up close to a Caribbean Reef shark. We also saw an eight foot nurse shark that swam right by us as we were entering the cave where she was resting. Of course we saw lots of beautiful coral heads and various types of fish not to mention an adorable grouper that accompanied us on our second dive. The dive master Keith named her Gina. She really liked him and let him hold her near his side in the palm of his hand. This was one of the highlights of our trip to the Bahamas. We look forward to diving with Keith again next winter.

On Monday, April 4th we sailed a couple of hours over to Great Guana Cay and went into shore. It has a quaint Bahamian town with several little bars and shops. It even has a small grocery store. There is a famous cruisers bar called Nippers, on the cay, however, we enjoyed the complimentary drinks at a quaint bar/restaurant called “Kidds Cove Seafood Bar and Grill”. The owner, Mr. Pinder is a descendant of the original Loyalist who settled there during the American Revolution. He shared lots of history about the island with us. Apparently, many famous people visit his restaurant while they are staying at the exclusive Bakers Bay Resort which is also located on the island.

The next day we sailed back to Marsh Harbour to spend a few days in Mangoes Marina to do laundry, wash the boat and just relax. That night we also got together with our friend Bob, off from s/v Quest and had a great sushi dinner at Oasis. We all agreed that it is the best dinner we have had since entering the Bahamas.

Last night we enjoyed sundowners with Rex and Amy from s/v Xtasea. It ends up they went to high school in a small town in western PA., very near where I/Deb grew up. Once again we were reminded of what a small world it is. We hope to cross paths again with them, if not this year, then next.

Early next week we will continue island hopping north to wait for the next weather window to cross over to the US southeast Coast.