Trying to describe our experience to friends has been difficult for most of the cruisers we have met. It's difficult to get the daily surprises and joys across in words.

Just yesterday we arrived at a small harbor where we planned to hide during this week's weather front (now on the east coast of Florida but arriving tonight with 30 knot winds).

We found Cerulean anchored nearby, our favorite cruisers, whom we met back in January at a beautiful marina called Highbourne Cay, Christopher and Robin. Hard to forget their names from Winnie the Pooh fame. They immediately called us on the vhf to make plans for our stay. First to go to shore and swim in an ocean hole. We met on land and walked towards the church and greeted a young man to ask for directions. In the Bahamas, if you don't greet someone with, "Hello, how are you. What a beautiful day! Or So nice to see you" they will not give you the time of day. They will ignore you and be gruff. It is just plain rude here not to first greet everyone! So if you just go up and ask for directions, they almost grunt and stay quiet as if you don't exist. We then walked inland 1/2 block, ( you don't get far before something happens) and we ran into a man with no shirt, no shoes. His house had just burned down and he held all his worldly posessions in one hand. His flip flops, a pair of pants and clean inderwear. After listening to his personal tragedy of not having any family on the island, he told is that he still "sugar boogies". He felt that if he still dances that all will be well. After telling him to zip his fly (which he didn't), we moved on but it was very difficult not to give him the clothes off our backs.

At the ocean hole we ran into some high school kids from Richmond, Virginia, on a mission, painting a church on the island. We all went swimming by jumping into a 600 foot deep ocean hole. There was also a couple from Connecticut spending their anniversary nearby and some cruisers.

When we got back to the dinghy dock, the day's catch was being cleaned by the fishermen and the dock was surrounded by sharks waiting for scraps. Nurse sharks are harmless but no one will challenge that statement. ( especially John who recently cleaned the bottom of the boat before he realized there was a nurse shark right by the ladder as he returned on board)

Since it was Sunday, most places were closed but we heard of a restaurant on the ocean side, that would come and pick us up at the church at 6 pm and bring us back after dinner. We had to order early so she could plan quantities. Nassau grouper! Sides of plantains, peas and rice and fresh veggies.
Rosie, the proprietor, picked us up in her little Honda and drove back on a paved road until we reached a rocky dirt one and arrived at the most beautiful beach imaginable. Her place was rustic but charming. Her fat yellow lab (surely her guests overfed him) and a white cat greeted us as we walked on a sand floor in the bar and out to a deck where Rosie served us rum punches and went off to cook dinner. Since NorthSide is also a resort ( she had 4 cottages) there were other guests for dinner. A Canadian couple and one from St Louis! The St Louis couple have a farm and sell vegetables at the Farmers Market where we go almost every Saturday! Friends forever!

After dinner, Rosie, who cooks, cleans, washes dishes and everything else at NorthSide, sat down with us and showed us photographs of all her children and big events on her life. How this Bahamian woman put 5 kids through college, one at London School of Economics all by herself, God only knows. She is a widow and keeps active and young from all the demands but still sweet, warm and joyful! One of her photos is of her shaking hands with Nelson Mandela, as he came to Eleuthera after he got out of jail for a rest. What a woman.

She drove us back but not before we got a full tour of town, her chuch, the gas station, the laundry. We returned to our boat lfor carrot cake (that Ida from the laundromat at Great Guana Cay had made for me) and some Frangelica that Chris and Robin brought over. We sat and laughed until the moon came out and after they dinghied back to their boat, John and I slept under the stars, as we do every night as the open hatch is right over our heads.