There are 2 good reasons why you haven’t heard from us in a while. First, internet is really hard to come by. If you can get it, it is weak and often requires a half hour dinghy ride to log on. The second reason, I’ve been lazy!!
Exhuma Land and Sea Park was wonderful! Lots of hiking trails, so different from home: limestone and sand with stunted palm trees and lots of sea grape bushes. Wildlife consists of curly tail lizards, a few small snakes, and hutia, a guinea pig like rodent. No shade, but what a view!! You can see Exuma Sound on the east and the Great Bahamas Bank on the west. The mooring field is completely protected and the boats lie in a ring with sand flats in the center. All the shades of blue, aqua, green and beige are GORGEOUS.
On Wednesday, February 27th, we headed to Big Majors Cay. The names are really interesting, hey? We had a great sail on the “outside” and came in through a cut with a lot of current. Took a very long dinghy ride into Staniel Cay for the grocery store which was very limited. Unfortunately, where we anchored was exposed to ocean swell and it was a terrible night. We had hoped to snorkel in Thunderball Cave (from the James Bond movies), but it was still too choppy. We opted to continue on our way to Georgetown, hoping to meet our friends from Banyan for a trip to the Dominican Republic.
On the 28th, we stopped at Black Point settlement, one of the biggest communities on the cays. This little town looked quite nice and the lady at the government dock enticed us to her restaurant down the street. We had “cracked” conch, basically breaded and fried, which was delicious and got a side of Free WIFI. We also bought coconut bread right from the baker’s kitchen! She invited us in and we picked our warm loaf from her counter. The house is typical, Bahamian cinder block on the outside, but the inside was quite charming, including linen and full china service on the formal dining room table! This harbor was very exposed to the Northwest; getting back on the boat from the dinghy was like an extreme sport!
Due to the exposure and lack of any protection further down the cays, we continued on to Georgetown, missing David and Alex by 12 hours or so. Too bad. We anchored at the northern end of Stocking Island at Monument Beach. We had made it to the Bahamas version of Nirvana. The town of Georgetown is on the “mainland” side of the harbor and most of the anchoring is on the lee of Stocking Island. We are at 23 30.41 N, 75 44.70 W.
Our first anchorage was still a little lumpy, so after 2 days we moved further southeast to Sand Dollar Beach. We’ve been here since March 3 and pinch ourselves every morning when we wake up and look around. Traveling into town is a real excursion from here, especially with our 5 HP motor. We try to plan our trips for the day and time with favorable winds; otherwise, it’s a saltwater bath. Town is quite built up and offers all we need, though not at all in the size, shape or condition that we are used to at home. The internet/high tech HQ is in a tumble down wooden building with green paint falling off; walk inside and it is dark and narrow, with dozens of cruisers hunkered over computers or using the 20 cents/minute phone to call home. The most modern place in town is the Batelco office (Bahamas Telephone Company). It rivals any Verizon store we’ve been too and the help is great. We picked up a pre-paid phone and if anyone would like to call, our number is 242 551-8587. There are 2 grocery stores, each with a very good selection of everything except meat. Later in the week, we heard about Island Prime Meats; they pick you up at the ESSO station and you travel in the back of the pickup truck! Haven’t been yet, but our friends went and said the selection was A-1 and it has stateside prices. A future field trip, for sure.
The cruiser’s net every morning gives great info beginning with weather, then activities (volleyball, yoga, poker, cultural talks, beach golf, scavenger hunt, and on and on); they also advertise local businesses, and give a cruisers general section where people offer goods for sale, ask for expertise, etc. We arrived towards the tail end of the Regatta, and it seemed the friendships and cliques were already well established. But, there is a continual flow of boats in and out of the area and we have made or renewed acquaintance with many folks.
We attended the Catholic Church one Sunday and it was very nice. Bahamians are very friendly and welcoming; the Sign of Peace included the whole church, the priest, the altar servers, the welcoming to visitors group, etc—took about 10 minutes! Another different event was the Gospel and sermon in both English and Creole for the Haitians. Just like the US, the locals are taking the “better” jobs and the Haitians are needed for the jobs that Bahamians don’t want. This was reinforced when I attended a talk at the Chat ‘N Chill (the beach bar off Volleyball Beach where everyone hangs out). The speaker was terrific and talked about the slave history and the economy of the Bahamas; next Sunday, he will talk about Bahamian relationships—a topic he teased is quite interesting. A highlight of our stay was a bus tour and beach party to Exuma Point at the northern tip of Great Exuma. We rode well past town and saw the smaller “settlement”; some were original slave quarters, others were on the plantation; the landscape is a little rolling, with low vegetation. There is one high school tucked away up here; it must be a long bus ride on these roads. (We see all kinds of “recycled” school buses, with black lettering from towns all along the east coast). The Restaurant put on a wonderful buffet with great music, games, dancing and prizes. There was also a hermit’s cave to explore.
Our biggest challenge continues to be communications. We can’t pick up the Internet signal we purchased at the anchorage; that means a long and often wet ride to the hotel. Lesson learned—sometimes the seemingly more “expensive” option is really cheaper—we are guzzling gas in the outboard on all these trips and it costs $6.18/gal. I have been doing Yoga several times a week on the beach—no need to imagine that for relaxation! The teacher announced her boat was leaving and asked for a volunteer to continue the classes. I got inspired and took over! It’s going well and I am really glad I gave myself the challenge.

Today, Saturday, we finally lifted the anchor and went to the dock in town; we got diesel, gas, and water. But the best part was the ice cream afterwards! It is such a treat. Also stocked up on some fresh food items. Then we cam back across Elizabeth Harbor to the anchorage and set the hook again.