Racing back to Nassau

Shroud Cay is probably the loveliest in the Exumas. We had a great day. The weather was perfect.
For three days now Idette has had a rash on her forehead that has been getting worse every day.
We had decided to race to Nassau: the loser pays for dinner at the Poop Deck restaurant.
The wind is helping and we are probably going to get there by three, in time for Idette to be seen by a doctor.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Keeping up with the Joneses

I can't get over the image of zingaro looking at us, while it tried either to join us at the second anchorage or escape to Nassau without us.

Zingaro might have been onto something because contrary to the forecast it blew 19 knots from the SW , the side from which we were totally unprotected in that anchorage. To make matters worse there swells coming from the cut were at least three feet, so we rock and rolled all night long. Juan must have got up at least ten times to tie lines and try to stop the banging.

This morning, Sweet Tides smarting with envy and dying to get on the blog, since it couldn't untie itself, it let go of the dinghy. Luckily again the wind at night blew against the shore so it landed on the beach rather than in Nassau, so Juan and Mike were able to retrieve it, full of water and sand but intact.

Now we are on our way to Shroud Cay, closer to the Batelco tower so hopefully I won't need to hoist the Blackberry to the mast. I must confess that as we saw Zingaro loose yesterday my first concern was the Blackberry hanging from the mast. Talk about prorities, right?

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Zingaro on the loose

We finally cut our ties with the wifi in Warderick Wells and started moving north again. We stopped in Hawksbill Cay which is absolutely gorgeous. The weather ia helping too. After we tied to the moorings we went exploring in our dinghies. We had lunch at a lovely beach further north from our anchorage and as we were preparing to go further to see some caves we see the boat that was tied next to us, with its captain waving frantically at us. When we got closer they told us one of our boats was dragging. We sped back to the anchorage to see Zingaro completely loose and luckily drifting into the ocean rather than against the rocks. Somehow the knot had slipped and it got loose. What a fright.

Once we were sure it was secure we went out again.

Ths blackberries only work when we hoist them top the mast. So I am writing this and replying to emails and then up it goes again. Idette took hers to the beach and climbed a hill from where she also made it work. All this while our husbands complain. The latest slideshow shows Mike and me with our hands us holding the blackberries.

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Still in the Park!

We are tied down to the park, not because of its beauty, and it is beautiful, or the great many things you can do here. The reason of course is its wifi. Since the last Batelco tower was in Highborne and the next is in Staniel, our wonderful Blackberries are not working (except if we climb Boo Boo Hill, the highest elevation on the island). The truth is we have had  many decisions to make and tickets to buy so we did need the internet.

Tomorrow we will cut off our umbilical cord and be gone

The best laid plans...

Between the weather that has been very unstable, one day good and two bad and the need (mine and Idette's as our husbands constantly remind us) to find spots where we either have coverage for our blackberries or a hotspot for the internet, planning hasn't been easy. Especially if we add to that the need to be in places where we can pick up visitors and a job Idette and I were offered in the Dominican Republic,  and another job I was offered a job which more or less coincided with it so I couldn't accept and one of my friends who was coming over took it, so then her visit was postponed, too many balls up in the air.  So finally after going back and forth for a few days thinking where are we going to be to pick up Idette's friends and then be back in Georgetown to catch our planes, we managed to get it all squared away.

And then I called my daughter Joanna and asked her if we had received any mail - my daughter Sophia who normally takes care of our mail was away on holidays - and lo and behold we received a letter from the INS saying we had to be back in Washington on February 20 for our interview!! The worst part is in reality only Juan's letter arrived, and it had been re-mailed, (our mail is being forwarded so all sorts of things happen to it). I have to believe since we filed together that I also will have to be there for the interview. This means of course that tomorrow we will have to call to make sure and go back to the drawing board!!!!!

So with these news and Sweet Tides also worried about their son's choice of residency program and the weather which was gray and drab our exploration efforts were really half-hearted. We dinghied all the way to the Pirate's Lair, where we hadn't managed to get to the day before, and it was very beautiful. We just were too preoccupied to fully appreciate it.

We do have a plan for the next few days, we'll go back north first to Hawksbill, then Shroud, then Nassau again. The rest will depend on our phone call tomorrow. 

The best laid plans...

Between the weather that has been very unstable, one day good and two bad and the need (mine and Idette's as our husbands constantly remind us) to find spots where we either have coverage for our blackberries or a hotspot for the internet, planning hasn't been easy. Especially if we add to that the need to be in places where we can pick up visitors and a job Idette and I were offered in the Dominican Republic,  and another job I was offered a job which more or less coincided with it so I couldn't accept and one of my friends who was coming over took it, so then her visit was postponed, too many balls up in the air.  So finally after going back and forth for a few days thinking where are we going to be to pick up Idette's friends and then be back in Georgetown to catch our planes, we managed to get it all squared away.

And then I called my daughter Joanna and asked her if we had received any mail - my daughter Sophia who normally takes care of our mail was away on holidays - and lo and behold we received a letter from the INS saying we had to be back in Washington on February 20 for our interview!! The worst part is in reality only Juan's letter arrived, and it had been re-mailed, (our mail is being forwarded so all sorts of things happen to it). I have to believe since we filed together that I also will have to be there for the interview. This means of course that tomorrow we will have to call to make sure and go back to the drawing board!!!!!

So with these news and Sweet Tides also worried about their son's choice of residency program and the weather which was gray and drab our exploration efforts were really half-hearted. We dinghied all the way to the Pirate's Lair, where we hadn't managed to get to the day before, and it was very beautiful. We just were too preoccupied to fully appreciate it.

We do have a plan for the next few days, we'll go back north first to Hawksbill, then Shroud, then Nassau again. The rest will depend on our phone call tomorrow. 

Blustery, blistery day

True to the forecast, for once, it started blowing very early today, over 20 knots. So we decided it was the perfect weather for a hike. We packed a picnic and by 10:30 we had left our dinghies in the dinghy dock and hit the trails. Hiking trails are well marked on the island and there are several options. Of course as is always the case we started full of energy and ambitiously decided to go all the way to the southern end to a place called Pirate's Lair. It's a long hike and you climb up and down shaggy rocks. The island is made of coral and the stones are really jagged so you have to make sure where you put your foot. The views were magnificent and in fact it was perfect for hiking because otherwise we would have melted. Three hours into the walk we were still miles away from the Pirate's Lair so in a wise and executive decision lead by Idette and me we decided to go back. Of course we had walked three hours, se we knew we had to walk another three. By then our energy was definitely half full. 

We had our picnic lunch on Beryl Beach, on the protected side of the island so we went in the water and then ate. Eating made the energy level go to half empty. But the weather was beginning to change for the worse and it looked as it might rain. So we dragged ourselves up and marched back. We managed to find a shortcut through the beach and going around the rocks in the water where it was shallow. My feet were already sore when we sat down for lunch but the sand and the water made it much worse. I don't think I will ever be able to walk again!

The forecast tomorrow is for calm weather so dinghy rides and snorkeling

Exuma Park

I was sad to leave Norman Cay, I could have stayed several days, but the weather forecast for tomorrow again talks of high winds from the North so we decided to play it safe and come to the Exuma Park where there are mooring balls and we would be more protected. The park has grown and now there are mooring balls in other cays, not just Warderick Wells. It is as beautiful as we remembered and the added bonus is that is has wi fi. Not a minor enticement given that the Blackberry does not work here. We left the Batelco tower in Highborne and the next is only in Staniel Cay.
Today the weather is perfect, we went snorkeling for a while, but the water is so transparent you don't need to get off the boat to see the fish.

Dolphin, dinghy ladder and great day

The only thing I don't like about snorkeling is having to climb back into the dinghy. I have no strength in my arms or I don't have knack of how to do it or whatever it is but the truth is it always ends up with Juan having to pull me in anyway he can and not only is it not a pretty sight but one of these days I could end up with a dislocated shoulder. The steps we have tried to improvise never work because the dinghy is round and they end up underneath and useless.
But while we were on Allan cay we saw a dinghy ladder which Spartina had that juts out and works perfectly.
I thought of ordering one but it would have been a certain hassle to have it delivered here, somewhere and plus and it has to go through customs so we need to send our cruising permits. Also it cost 250 dollars which is not a minor consideration. So ever since I have been bugging Juan for him to build me something similar
Yesterday we arrived in Norman Cay at midday. The weather is not quite settled, there were still a few showers but as soon as the sun came out we went for a walk on the island. Its claim to fame is that it used to belong to a Colombian drug dealer so it has a landing strip, a plane that obviously missed it and is now in the middle of its inner pond and a dump with stuff that used to be in the housing complex. Among all the engines and refrigerators and even another small plane wreck was an aluminun recliner which Juan recognized as the skeleton for my dinghy ladder. And today he went over in the dinghy, sawed off what we didn't need and brought it back. We sanded it and put some padding on the areas it touches the dinghy and on the steps and it worked!!
We went snorkeling by the plane wreck and when Idette and I chickened out when we saw a big barracuda we were able to swim back, climb onto the dinghy and wait for Juan and Mike to return. Then we went exploring in our dinghies. We saw turtles, a nurse shark and tons of conch. At times it was so shallow we had to walk the dinghies. A great day.
The dolphin was yesterday. After our walk as we were dinghying back to our boat we saw a dolphin right in front of us which jumped out of the water with a pirouette. Awesome!!


Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Storm over, for the time being...

 It blew and it blew and then it blew itself away. So now we are getting ready to move again. Only the weather forecast is predicting another storm for the weekend so we are already trying to see where we are going to hide. Probably the Exuma Park in Warderick Wells, if we manage to secure to mooring balls. 

Yesterday was mostly a gray day se we just did things around the boat, clean, organize. But at night it was nice enough that we managed to barbacue in the the marina's grill and dine in their gazebo. 

Today we are off to Norman Cay which is about an hour or so away, we will probably leave by midday.