Palmetto Point, Pineapple Cays, Eleuthera, Bahamas

We had a vigorous sail with a reef in the mail 20 miles north to Palmetto Point.

Anchored in this beautiful bay.

Took the dinghy out to one of the little islands to explore.  Very rocky shoreline.

No trails on the island, so we walked around on the sharp eroded limestone shore.  We had read that there were sisal plants on the islands (left over from hundred year ago farming).  I believe this is one although it may be an aloe plant.  Sisal was used to make fibrous ropes.

Found an entrance to a small cave but could go no further....the limestone surface was just too sharp and steep.

Walked back out on the razor sharp surface.

We wandered thru the settlement....no a lot going on.  Walked to Sandy Beach bar - not only was it closed but it was just someone's house, not on the sand and not on the beach!  Further north tomorrow!

Rock Sound, Eleuthera, Bahamas

Not a very busy day today....waiting out some strong winds in the morning. 

Went ashore to pick up a few groceries at the store just down the road.

Stopped by Frigates for a cold beer on the way back.  This gentleman was playing the guitar and singing.  He chatted with us and played a little "brown eyed girl" song for us as we were the only customers.

Back to the boat for some reading and bread making. That's about it for the day.  Northward again tomorrow.

Rock Sound, Eleuthera, Bahamas

The winds had clocked around to the northeast when we woke up, so we moved a mile or so to the other shore, closer to town.

Went ashore for the afternoon - stopped at Frigate's for a beer before our wandering. 

These dogs were so relaxed....they sortof opened one eye as we passed.

The streets were nicely kept and the houses very island-y.

Pretty church on the waterfront.

Rock Sound is a lot more prosperous than many of the towns we've visited.

Amazing what they do with old pallets!  The barstools here seem to be made completely out of pallet wood.  Good recycling!

We walked about a mile south of town to a cave area.  Really neat - we spent an hour or so wandering inside.

Selfie inside the cave.

 Went past "Boiling Hole" - another blue hole that is connected underground to the ocean.....did not see any "boiling".

A pretty but dangerous poisonwood tree.   Don't touch the bark!

And we visited the Ocean Hole park in the middle of town - a larger blue hole with lots of ocean fish.

Walking back to the boat in the blazing sun.  This is the government dock where we picked up our charter boat in 2012.  Nothing much has changed!

Stopped at a little store for a refreshment....got a "special"  local beer just for fun.  Not the best beer I've had but it was cold!

A pretty walk back to the boat!

Rock Sound, Eleuthera, Bahamas

Today was mostly a travel day - 50 miles to Rock Sound Eleuthera.  As we were departing Little San Salvador, the next cruise ship appeared on the horizon.  I looked at a calendar online - there seems to be an endless stream of them.....

We had a pleasant motor-sail, made water and washed 3 loads of laundry on the way.  Saw a couple of pretty sailboats too.  Getting close to "civilization" now.

Passed the Cape Eleuthera resort/marina - we'd gotten fuel here in 2012 on a charter boat.   

Got settled in the anchorage and a nasty squall broke.  Washed the salt off the boat!

Same view just a few minutes later.

Made some more bagels....

Over the VHF we were invited to go to shore for a little get-together.  Someone brought a grill and charcoal so everyone brought something to grill.  (I just brought hot dogs).


Nicely behaved dog - I'm terrible with names but I think this is Sharon from Adventures Await.  They came from Michigan thru the Erie Canal!  (Mast had to be removed).

Fun as usual chatting with the various folks.

The sky turned grey quickly and gave us a little shower....no problem, we're waterproof!

No-see-ims found us so time to head back to the boats!

Little San Salvador, Bahamas

In order to be closer to Eleuthera tomorrow, we traveled about 20 miles to the small private island Little San Salvador.  It's another one of those strange islands that cruise ships use to disgorge thousands of folks onto a single beach for exactly 6 hours.  Only one ship in the bay today....sometimes I understand that there are 2.  The beach was filled with little huts and activities.  Not our cup of tea.

We anchored well away from the crowd and went snorkeling around the tip of the island where no one seems to travel.  It was a nice calm day so we snorkeled out at the exposed reef.  Pretty coral but surprisingly few fish.

Video of a pretty angle fish.

Pretty shoreline.

A different snorkel spot.....I'm still struggling with the camera settings!   These are actually beautiful purple fans.

Back to the boat.

At 3:30 sharp, I looked up and saw the cruise ship on it's way and we had the entire bay to ourselves.

Another pretty sunset.  Tomorrow we'll travel about 50 miles to Rock Sound, Eleuthera for the only real protection from west winds coming in a couple of days.

Bennett's Harbour, Cat Island, Bahamas

It was  a rainy day...but during a lull, we took the dinghy for a nice 2 hour romp thru the Bennett's Creek/Pidgeon Creek mangroves.

The mangrove from the surface.....

And the mangrove from underwater.  Note the pretty neon queen angelfish in the center of the photo.  I was surprised to see a reef fish this far from the ocean.

Spotted dozens of turtles but didn't manage to get a photo.

Saw this ray in shallow water.  It was beautiful and I was able to get close.

But the tide was turning and we had to get out of the mangroves before it got to shallow.  (That would be a pain because we'd have to wait there for 8 hours for the water to come back in!!)

Back to the boat in partly sunny skies!