It's been 2 weeks since we last posted on our blog, primarily because we have been in areas with no wifi. The price you pay when you are sailing in "Paradise" throughout the Exumas....

We have "weathered" 4 "northerlies", i.e., enduring 25-30 knot breezes with gusts up to 35 knots at times, while the majority of you have been digging yourself out of snow banks so we know we won't get any sympathy from you all. When a northerly passes through the Exumas, we make sure we are either on a Exuma Land and Sea Park mooring or in an anchorage that has close to 360 degree protection from the wind, the latter which is quite challenging to find.... So, we have basically spent quite a few nights at the northern anchorage at Warderick Wells, an idyllic paradise in the Exuma Land and Sea Park. Our last northerly, we "weathered" the storm with Courtney who arrived 12 hours before the northerly hit us.

Courtney's "journey" to the Exumas was an athletic feat that only she could endure - 4 train rides, 2 plane rides, with a lot of running in between each route to make up for the various delays throughout the day....but fortunately she made it safely to Staniel Cay last Tuesday! We were so thrilled! And we have been thrilled to have her on board for the past 10 days! Such a treat!

Many of you might recall that we sailed throughout the Bahamas back in 2000 with Eric and Courtney. Courtney was in 2nd grade 15 years ago so this week has been a walk down memory lane for her. We have spent the majority of the time exploring the various cays of the Exuma Land and Sea Park, snorkeling coral reefs, a sunken plane, sea aquarium, Rocky Dundas; playing frisbee on the beach; hikingBoo Boo Hill and the environs; exploring the mangroves by dinghy; having beautiful beaches on the sound all to ourselves; and oh yeah, having some awesome sails along the way. Before Courtney heads back to the snowy east coast, we plan to visit two of our favorite Bahamian settlements, Black Point and Staniel Cay, grab a conch burger and conch fritters, visit the swimming pigs in Big Major and the iguanas on Bitter Guana Cay. It has been fun to re-live some of our experiences 15 years ago with Courtney, just as we did last year when Eric and Janna came to visit us.