Today we rented a car for an island tour. Like most of the islands, there is really only one major road so hard to get lost.
First stop was at the airport just a mile away. We'd heard that the only commercial flight comes in today - and they were just shutting down their engines. Looked like a good portion of the island's inhabitants were there!
This photo is thru the chain link fence - a sad old plane - maybe a DC3, not sure.
After a beer at the Airprot Inn Restaurant (I could see no Inn...) we turned down the first dirt road that pointed towards the ocean side of the island.
About a mile or two away we came out to this bay. Would have been lovely except, like most east coasts of the Bahamas, this one was strewn with plastic trash.
Driving up the island, a lot of deserted terrain with a few little settlements thrown in.
Drove down another dirt road near the northern end of the island to Attwood harbour.
Spotted a cave along the side of the road.
Pretty cool - I wanted to explore deeper....but as I stepped down I was greeted with nasty smelly mud. I could hear the bats chattering....and decided I could do without spelunking today.
We stopped at a little diner for a snack - the view of Lovely Bay.
And soon the sun was setting and time to get back to the boats for a quiet evening.
Today was another re-position day. We woke to a splendid breezy day.
Ralph and Leslie arranged for the rental car with Gregory for tomorrow, then we lifted anchors and sails for a sail south to Camel Point.
Engines off, Ralph sails up close to us and we chatted....fun but really close for my taste!
He sailed past us a bit...
And his sails "stole" some of our wind!!! Good fun.
Rounding Camel Point, there was ruins of an old government dock. (They've built a new, concrete one north of here for the mailboat).
Laundry day again. How does this happen so often in paradise???
And I "found" another coconut in a draw when I was looking for an onion. Since they don't keep forever, I thought I should make something with it.
So I found a coconut cookie recipe - pretty good - just "tropical tasting" sugar cookies.
And we were treated to a "moon rising" - again, my camera didn't capture it well, but was really neat to see the full moon rise at the same time that the sun was setting in the west!
We went ashore for some exploring - took the dinghies straight to the shore line and stopped at Top Choice Bonefishing Lodge.
Gregory came out to give us a friendly welcome. (I don't think they see many cruising boats here). He told us about some interesting things to see on the island - we'll rent a car from him tomorrow and explore!
Took the dinghies over the shallow water to the dock.
Walked to Club Rolle-x, a bar and grill for refreshments - it's pretty warm here - 80 degrees and breezy. Gregory met us there and shared more island info. There are about 40 people in this settlement.
Back to the boat for a few boat projects then movie night! We watched Fargo - a favorite of ours. Ralph and Leslie had not seen it so it was a good pick!
Today was just a repositioning day, so not lots to report. There are some east winds coming that we'll need protection - so we went across the Bight of Acklins to a little settlement area called Snug Corner/Masons Bay.
Since it was an all day trip over, we didn't go ashore yet. Pretty sunset on the open ocean behind us.
Always love the "afterglow" of the sunset.
I'm collecting a few conch shells to "keep". That is, I'm taking the conch out of the shell without damaging it by the usual method of chipping a hole in the shell. I put a teaspoon beside it so you'd know the size. I just love the brilliant colors - it will look pretty on my cabinet at home.
And a pretty sunrise over the island in front of us this morning!
Lots of fun over the past few days. I'll try to keep it brief...
Left Double Breasted for a nice motors-off sail up to Buenavista Cay. Caught Duane relaxing after we'd set the sails.
Approaching the anchorage.
After getting settled, out for a snorkel. Pretty reefs on the ocean side since it was fairly calm winds/waves.
Lots of lobster and fish caught and consumed over the few days.
A nice hog fish!
And another nice lobster!
On shore later to clean the fish, Duane found a washed up pallet to use as a cutting board.
Leslie and Ralph cleaning their catch too.
More snorkeling, a different day. Sorry, the photos get jumbled when I use different cameras. Pretty Queen angelfish.
Video of some blue tangs that I thought was lovely.
Video of Ralph diving for a lobster I found in a small hole in the coral. Remember - he's holding his breath - two different times once to shoot the lobster with his spear - and then a second time to retrieve the lobster. I can't do it!!
Back at the boat, lobster!
Was a rainy night, but pleasant.
Rita and Will from Magic had invited us all (including Ralph & Leslie and Elaine & Fred from Foolin' Around that we had met at Hog Cay) over for happy hour/snacks to their lovely Horizon 52. They are previous Manta owners so you know they're good folks!!!
I asked Rita for a tour.
Oh, my goodness, it's lovely!!
This is one of the guest berths.
The living space is just fabulous...had a great time. They've invited us to stop by when we get to the Abacos to visit with them at their home on Scotland Cay. We'll do that for sure in April!!
The next day, we did more snorkeling then a dinghy ride up around the Buenavista beach. We chatted with a fisherman that was anchored out cleaning his catch. Nice fellow with lots of info.
And we stopped by "Eddie's place". Ralph and Leslie had met and were befriended by Eddie a couple of years ago. His home was demolished by Irma, but he continued to live there until recently his health required him to go to Nassau. The peacock and a chicken are still surviving with the help of locals from other cays. (There is no one on Buenavista now).
Then it was time to head out Raccoon Cut for Crooked/Acklins Islands to our east. A beautiful sunset and light winds/seas. Uneventful motor sailing all night.
The sunrise was spectacular to watch.....all these photos are of Now and Zen as the sunrise progressed. Note the mill-pond smooth open seas. What looks like shore on the horizon is just low clouds.
As the sun peaked out it actually got darker and more colorful for a few minutes!
And then we were treated to a beautiful day!
Ralph took this shot of Sojourn too! Not often that you get to sail on such quiet open seas!!
Arrived Long Cay - beautiful low lying island.
Not many cruising boats come here - we're alone in the anchorage.
After a brief rest to recover from the overnight passage, we set out to find the reported flamingos....do you see the pink hue at the beach line?
The birds were just lovely, but pretty shy.
Here's a short video - turn the sound on and hear them "honk"! Beautiful! Sorry it's rotated, I spent about a half hour trying to fix it.....time to move on!
Back to the boats for a nice dinner aboard Now & Zen. See ya tomorrow!
Let's see - I'm supposed to describe myself....married for WOW 43 years!, mom of two boys (now men), pilot, sailor (in training), happy (most of the time), traveler (when I can!), always have a book (or Kindle!) on the nitestand, always planning the next adventure (big and small!)
