When we left Allans Pensacola on Friday morning, we were still hoping that we might make a stop for an hour or so at Moraine Cay and then anchor for the night at Double Breasted Cays. These were to have been the last stops on our route out of the Bahamas, and they are reputed to be beautiful cays.

Well, you know what they say about making plans and schedules...

The west wind just wouldn't have been pleasant out there on the outer cays. We can manage an unpleasant period if we know it is going to be temporary but the forecast didn't look that way. One option was to continue on to Grand Cay, but as we took second and third looks at the charts, we made the decision to head into Foxtown on Little Abaco Island. It turned out to be an excellent idea.

The route past Hawksbill Cays and in to the harbour is a bit complicated, but we had no trouble this time. There are 3 possible anchorages marked, and we chose to go to one of the two spots off the town. Interestingly enough, Amapola - the boat beside us last night was already there. We never did get to meet them but we exchanged waves.

The anchor dug in well on the first try and an hour later we dinghied to the Government Wharf. It is a good strong one (rebuilt after the last hurricane) with several ladders available and garbage dumpsters at the end of it. We walked along the road to the Batelco tower and purchased one more $20.00 card for our cell phone. As we passed the gas station at the corner, I tried unsuccessfully to call my dad while Jim went in to get water. Neither of the two pay phones in town worked, but the stop at the store was fortuitous.

Lillian Parker sat in the breeze of the doorway plaiting while her daughter (who went to University of Waterloo back in the 1980's!) and grandson who were visiting from Marsh Harbour kept her company. As often happens, we got into conversation with them and were still there half an hour later.

I wrote all about our Mothers' Day experience in the posting by that name so I'll just fill in around the edges here. Lillian welcomed us to Foxtown and to her family. We went over to the local bar and restaurant for a beer in the afternoon and dinner that night and found friendly folks there too. As we walked down the roads, people called out "Hi!" and "How are you doing?" and "You folks all right?" As we passed some of the kids playing in the water on Monday, one of them waved and said, "Hi boat people!" We laughed as we answered.

This community has been hard hit by hurricanes and it's not on the list of stops that all the cruisers talk about, but in our experience it was definitely worth a visit. The holding was good in the harbour; the protection was good from the S and SW, and not bad from the W because of the shoals, and the scenery of the surrounding cays and rocky outcroppings was lovely. It was also a really good staging spot for heading to Great Sale Cay and onward across the Gulf Stream.

We spent Monday exploring the Hawksbill Cays, stopping in every little cove to swim in the bathtub warm water and prowling the shore for shells. We packed up the boat and prepared to head out on Tuesday for the next stage of our journey - probably to Great Sale Cay.