Happy Holidays Everyone!

Al and I just wanted to wish everyone all the best for the holidays. We hope that 2009 keeps you and your families healthy and happy.

Warderick Wells to Georgetown, Great Exuma Island

Thursday December 17th, 2008

The last few weeks, we have simply been hopping from island to island enjoying the Bahamas. The pictures can speak for themselves. Overall the last few weeks can be summed up simply as a collection of unique paradises.

Our route has been from Warderick Wells (24 24.10N 76 38.30 W) to Cambridge Cay ( 24 28.00 N 76 32.50 W) to Staniel Cay (24 10.20 N 727.20 W) to Black Point (24 05.40 N 76 24.70 W), then the Darby’s (23 51.40 N 76 13 .50 W) and now George Town (23 30.41N 75 44.70W).

We have been seeing all kinds of marine life some with some unexpected creatures and some more expected. There have been lots of sharks on this leg of our trip. Thankfully they are nurse sharks which really don’t bother with people. People actually pay money to swim with these sharks. I will save my money and watch them from the safety of our boat.



The George Town area is between Great Exuma Island and Stocking Island. It is a relatively sheltered harbour about 9 miles long and 1 mile across. There is civilization here for a change. This is the first time we have been able to buy fresh produce since leaving Nassau. What a treat. We plan to be in this area until the end of January with periodic short trips to some more remote islands south of here. There are about 50 boats here and things are very organized. They expect more boats in January. Usually there are 300 to 500 at the peak season however given the economy it will probably be much quieter this year.

So far it has been very windy most days so we don’t venture very far in the dinghy. We have found some beautiful beaches and, even though there are lots of boats here, we are still able to find secluded spots and can walk for hours without seeing anyone else.

We now feel like we are at Camp for adults. The new routine, at least when the winds are high, which seems like forever, is to make our way to Volleyball Beach and you guessed it, there is organized volleyball every afternoon. The players range from their early-20’s to late-70’s. There are some serious players and serious games however Al and I stick to the not so serious fun games. Twice a week there is organized poker. There has been a ladies lunch and Christmas gift exchange. The campers are also selling t-shirts in town to raise money for the spring island regatta. The list goes on and on.

Life is Good.

Nassau to Normans Cay to Warderick Wells

Wednesday December 3rd, 2008

Well, we played tourists in Nassau for a day. We explored Paradise Island which is like Disney World with all kinds of beautiful hotels, beaches and pools. We walked through Atlantis and watched the divers feeding sharks and rays in the aquarium pool. Then we walked underground and there is a glass tunnel underneath the shark pool and the aqua life swam all around us. A huge shark swam right over my head. He had a chainsaw shaped nose and other than that he looked pretty friendly. Needless to say, I was very happy to have glass between him and me. Later in the day we went to downtown Nassau which has much more of a local flare to it. It was fun to see the shenanigans in the streets there.

On Thursday morning we made our way to the Exuma Islands. It was another beautiful day traveling across the Bahamas Bank. The bank is shallow and you can see bottom for most of the trip (35 nautical miles). The picture is taken from the bow of our boat about 10 feet from the surface of the water, looking down about 27 feet. It is unbelievably clear. Periodically, we could see starfish on the bottom of the ocean.



Well, we finally found paradise. Not the fake Paradise Island but truly paradise. It was breath taking coming into Norman’s Cay (24.34.75N 76.49.30W). An array of tiny islands mixed in with larger islands welcomed us to the Exumas. Some of the islands are inhabited and many are not. At low tide there are miles of sand banks to play around on. Norman’s is simply stunning. There are only a few homes on the island and a small restaurant with 4 cabins and an airstrip. Everyone here is self sufficient using solar power or generators. There are no phones here. It is truly remote. Al caught his first lobsters on a reef off Norman’s Cay. We had a scrumptious fresh lobster dinner. Hopefully the first of many.

We left Normans yesterday and are now in Warderick Wells (24.24.10N 76.38.30W)which houses the Exumas Cays Land and Sea Park Headquarters. Another beautiful area. Lots of beaches and good snorkeling. We walked on the island and found “blow holes” on what they call Boo Boo Hill. Boo Boo for the sounds that the blow holes make. When the seas are high the water will come out of these holes which are quite a bit higher than the sea below. Al was looking in one and exclaimed how cool it was when all of sudden the wind blew through it and blew his hat up about 10 feet. Luckily the hat was rescued before going over the cliff.

There is lots of exploring of beautiful scenery here. The weather is a bit unsettled so we didn’t go snorkeling but apparently it is also great for snorkeling. Hopefully we will do that tomorrow. If all goes well we will be in Georgetown for Christmas celebrating Jankanoo. Hopefully we have internet again by then and will send our holiday wishes at that time. In case we don’t get wifi there, have a great Christmas everyone!