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It is traditional for cruisers in the
Bahamas to blow a conch horn at sunset. We see a lot of gorgeous sunsets
here on the water. This one is at Conception Island and marks the end of
our southbound journey. |
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Ironically, the furthest south we got
was part of our return (north bound) trip. The Monday after Easter is a
holiday and pretty much everything is closed. We rented a car and toured
the island. At the south end of Great Exuma is Little Exuma, attached by
a one lave bridge called "The Ferry." Williamstown was holding a benefit
barbecue and we attended. The blue
building is the Community Center.
The red trailer is a portable sound
system with powerful speakers playing great music all the locals and non
of the cruisers seemed to know. A ring toss was popular with the locals.
It was the only game we saw while we were there.
Ribs, steak, and chicken were on the
menu. At $10 per plate it was a great buy but with food prices being
what they are on the island, we don't see how they made much money. |
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Salt ponds were plentiful throughout the
Bahamas and Little Exuma had its share. A pillar was erected as a land
mark for ships coming to pick up salt. Although it is made of limestone
it is called the "Salt Pillar." Erected almost exactly on the Tropic of
Cancer it is now just a historical site. The cannon was salvaged from a
wreck and was not used from this hill.
Some of the dikes in the salt ponds are
still visible even though they have not been used for some time.
Lynn sits at the base of the pillar with
banks beyond her. |
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We met a nice Norwegian family aboard
Minerva. Their 12 year old daughter, Mathilde, makes jewelry from
fishing line, shells, and beads. She came aboard to display her goods
and we bought a bracelet for each of our granddaughters. |
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While anchored at Big Majors Spot, a
funnel cloud and water spout formed just a few of miles north of us.
Fortunately, weather was moving from east to west, so it didn't get
close before dissipating. |
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Exuma Land & Sea Park
at Warderick Wells
We have attended many Saturday evening
socials at the Warderick Wells Park Headquarters. In the past, they have
been on the deck. This time it was the first we have attended on the
beach. As the sun went down, they lit a bon fire.
George waits in our dinghy while Lynn
goes up on the deck to take some photos.
Sunspot Baby at her mooring
Looking back at Park Headquarters.
A steak dinner off the grill. Lynn cut her
hand a few days ago and you can just see part of the bandage as she
pours the wine. |
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At several anchorages we have been
visited by soaring, long tailed, high flying birds. The area below their
outstretched wings appears blue, apparently reflecting the water. At
shroud key George Spent quite a while trying to get a good picture
zoomed in. He ended up with just sky. Lynn spent a little time on the
internet and found that they are called Tropicbirds and borrowed this
picture from one of the sites. Sorry, no nice blue reflection under the
wings. |
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Sailing from Shroud to Nassau we met a
couple of Haitian sloops. They were tacking up wind and weren't too
close, but with the zoom and a little luck with our boat surging along
in the swell, we got a couple of good shots. Here is one. |
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We expected to get in and out of Nassau
in a couple of days. Silly us. Weather is kept us here, so we did some
of the tourist stuff. A bus ride to
town.
Shopping at the Straw Market. |
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We are both active participants in an on
line Cruisers Forum. Another
member spotted the boat, recognized it as my user name, and stopped by
to get acquainted. Mike, Forum user name Rangiroo, joined us on the
foredeck for a photo. He is on the right. Lynn is user name "Entlie" on
the same forum |
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Weather is the center of a cruiser's
life. We get it any way we can. Here Lynn is listening to Chris Parker
on our marine single sideband radio. |
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We made a different crossing this year,
leaving from Fraser's Hog Cay to Ft. Pierce and then up the ditch to
Vero. Still it was more like other crossings than different. We did see
the banks in daylight and we got to see Great Issacs light in the light
for the first time. We did our
normal gearing up, wearing life jackets with harnesses while on watch
alone.
Sunset on the Banks is the sunset for the
Bahamas portion of the cruise. Soon we will be back in US waters. |
