Heading South Through the Exumas

Flo's Conch Bar, The Berry Islands, Feb. 3
There are certain landmarks in the Bahamas--one of which is Flo's Conch Bar. Tucked into the southern end of the Berry Islands, this ramshackle cafe offers conch burgers and rum punch for boaters passing through. Call several hours ahead on the VHF to order your food and you'll be treated to dinner with a view of a protected cove. If you're lucky, you can have a friendly chat with Chester--Flo's son and the owner of this establishment.

We were the only customers on this Monday night--but they had a full house to watch the Super Bowl the night before!! If we had only known....we could have spent yesterday traveling the 20 miles to get here in time to watch the game. Oh, well...

A Picture of Pure Happiness
Barry, seated at the helm, autopilot on, iPad with Garmin Bluecharts and Active Captain, AIS activated, hand-held GPS ready, two sailboats behind us to watch and a bowl of leftover linguine with red clam sauce to eat. He's in heaven and I know it!

Shroud Cay, Exumas Land and Sea Park, Feb. 7
The Land and Sea Park is a protected section of the Bahamas that is pristine and exquisitely beautiful. We anchored off of Shroud Cay--a new place for us, that held the promise of several creeks to explore. In the morning, we took the dinghy into the northern creek that bisects the island, flowing from the Bahama Banks to the ocean. Bordered by mangroves, this wide creek meanders a mile or so to the ocean, pulled by tides and pushed by the wind. White sand covers the bottom and in shallow areas sea grasses wave back and forth. The water is a transparent wash of turquoise.

We slowly travel the creek, and when we make the final bend we are greeted by ocean waves crashing over pedestals of coral. In the more remote reaches of the Bahama Islands, I sometimes feel like I'm having an out-of-body experience. The scenery is so beautiful it's hard to process!

At this juncture, the creek forms a natural swimming hole--deep and inviting. I fall in and let the tide pull me back down the creek.
A recipe for a perfect morning--float in a crystal clear, cool creek while looking up at clouds on a sky the color of a robin's egg. Then snorkel along the mangroves, becoming part of the invisible world beneath the surface. Ahhhh...

Warderick Wells, Exumas Land and Sea Park Headquarters, Feb. 8
This is our 3rd visit to this gem of a place.

We were given a mooring ball in the lagoon--which is a semi-circular harbor adjacent to the office and the dinghy docks. I was in the mood to snorkel, but the waves on the outside were a bit rough--so I decided to try the calm waters right off of our boat and the docks.  Amazing! I saw at least 20 different species of tropical fish--all just a swim away.

In a Flash....
  you can kill an inverter.                                     R.I.P.

All I wanted to do was turn on the generator, so I could use my hairdryer prior in preparation for the happy hour on the beach at Warderick Wells. Since I'm not an electrician, I don't understand all of the wiring and power issues on our boat. (That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!) So in my haste to be self-sufficient--while Barry was in the shower I switched on the generator, powered up the outlets--and sent a fatal surge through the inverter. In my defense, we were using the inverter in a new way to power up our new, but faulty refrigeration system. But....I had been warned and instructed to UNPLUG the inverter prior to using the generator and I completely forgot. This is an expensive ($200+) mistake and a major problem because of the refrigerated food. Barry is NOT happy. Watch Linda sit glumly on the deck. Way to kill a good snorkeling buzz.

In a Flash.....
   you can witness something you thought was just a myth! While watching the sunset in Black Point Settlement--our next anchorage as we move further south-- I saw THE GREEN FLASH! I've heard of this phenomenon for years, but I've never known anyone to see it. As we watched the sun sink into the ocean, a sudden burst of lime green flashed on the surface. It lasted 1-2 seconds--so I didn't get a picture to provide evidence--but other boaters nearby clapped and cheered and blew their conch horns, so I have witnesses!

Black Point Settlement, Exumas Feb. 9th
Not only did I see the GREEN FLASH here, I also got to do 3 gigantic loads of laundry at the most popular (and one of the only) laundromats in the Exumas. Since there were 50+ boats in the harbor of this small town, I was not surprised to find more boaters than available machines. My teacher voice started up in my head: "We all need to play fair and share." Of course, everyone did!
Ida, the owner, is the friendly face of the Bahamas. Not only does she have a clean, efficient laundry facility--she has a small convenience store; she cuts hair; she sells conch fritters for lunch; and she has a decent internet connection for FREE. So, Barry got a much needed haircut,

we bought a sought after ice cube tray (sometimes, it's the little things)and quarts of oil for our leaky engine, while doing laundry and chatting with other boaters. We also visited the local grocery store, and bought some romaine lettuce, some anemic tomatoes (who cares?), some celery, and some eggs. What a salad we had for dinner! This is a treat in the Bahamas--where produce must be shipped in from the mainland.

We're headed to Georgetown next--a 40 mile run (which will take about 8 hours). This is a mecca for boaters in the southern reaches of the Exumas. We weren't sure we wanted to go, because we've heard it referred to as 'older adult day camp', but we've been assured that we'll have fun at the Valentine's Day dance. So off we go on another adventure! I'll update again as soon as we have wifi!