We have been in the Abacos for 5 weeks - so beautiful! it is hard to move on, but move on we must. What is so great about the Abacos you might ask? Well, not that I want to rub it in, but the weather is always a balmy 76F to 80 F during the day, and 70F or so during the night. It sprinkles every now and then, but it is mostly sunny or sunny with fluffy white clouds. Every few days we get a cold front coming from the US coast, which brings some Westerly (SW - W - NW) winds at 20 or 25 knots and then it goes back to the more common trade winds, around 15 knots from the Easterly direction (SE - E - NE). However, it is not only the warm weather and the transparent turquoise waters. For me, being the loner that I am, my favorite part of the Abacos is how quiet they are. We were the only boat in several of the anchorages; with nothing but mangroves, white sand, reef and fish. Even in the main harbors it has never felt crowded.

The week that our friends Sarah, Dak and Andrew visited we were unlucky to have a lingering front that kept the winds high from the NW. Not to worry, we grabbed a mooring in the very protected harbor of Hope Town in Elbow Cay, and had a great time in what it is probably the cutest town in the Abacos. We even rented a couple of golf carts, the main transport vehicle in the islands, and checked out the famous Tahiti Beach in the South of Elbow Cay. We ran the 5k Turtle Trot on the morning of Thanksgiving and had the traditional turkey, in an untraditional format (boned white and dark meat in a pot roast style) but still delicious. It was while our friends were visiting that Alec caught a 6 or 7 pound Mutton Snapper which we grilled for dinner. I thought that nothing could beat grilled fresh fish, but Sarah prepared a fish-head soup that was to die for.

In the weeks after our friends left we pottered around the islands as far north as Allans-Pensacola Cay. We spent seven days or so in the White Sound at Green Turtle Cay, where Alec and Roan got their SCUBA certification from Brendal's Diving (worth to check them out if you ever plan to dive in the Northern Bahamas. They were very knowledgeable, professional and fun). Mark and I dived while Alec and Roan were doing their Open Water Dives. We saw black-tip and nurse sharks, spotted rays, very tame groupers that let you touch them, schools of big tarpoons, green turtles, etc. etc. It was like being inside the aquarium main exhibit. Alec has started a fish and sea creatures log and he is up to 52 different species. We have seen many more but it is difficult to remember all details in order to clearly identify them.

We quickly established a nice pattern of doing school in the morning and then activities during the afternoon (with some exceptions, for example, to allow for open dive certification). Often we would go for a snorkel as there are so many good reefs to choose from, or a exploratory paddle on kayaks and paddle-boards, or just to the beach for a walk or a run, or diving for conch and lobster. So far, we have caught a medium lobster that we cooked and a tiny one that we put back. Conch has also been eluding us, but some gracious cruisers gave us four big ones as they had caught too many. They also taught us how to clean and prepare them. They eat them raw thinly sliced or in a salad sliced thin with onion and pepper and lots of lemon or vinegar. Sashimi style is probably my favorite; it has a delicate flavor and the least amount of work :-)

Just before leaving the Abacos, we met with Cajou and her crew, Chantal, Michael and Arthur, whom we have not seen since Annapolis, MD. They were traveling with other 4 or 5 French boats. We rendezvoused at Lynard Cay for an evening of drinks, guitar and singing and bonfire on the beach. It was lots of fun. We are planning to meet again around Christmas time in Staniel Cay, Exumas.

Today, we will be arriving at Nassau where we will pick up Gail, Tim and Nicola for Christmas and New Years.

Marta.