George Town aka Boating Mecca!!!

Leaving Lee Stocking was a wave crasher as I said and it was a nice motor sail to the goal--the place--boaters Mecca--George Town.  As we got close, I got anxious and Mark got more and more excited.  Did we ever really think we'd get here?  Did we ever really think we'd make this trip?  Yes, no, maybe and all three at the same time on certain days.  It was a remarkably proud moment for our Captain because this was a dream that was about to be realized.  To say congratulations seemed so small and meaningless.  To be so happy for someone is a strange feeling but pride in what we (mostly Mark) had done was a sweet feeling.  All the equipment, all the repairs, all the systems to sustain us, it was all for this and I wish I could have given more to him to express that I knew what this was for him.  He has done so much to make this trip happen and make it a true life changing experience.

Sooooo, Adderlys Cut was not as calm as when we came in so wave crashing we did and out we went

The entrance to Elizabeth Harbor -- We did it! George Town!

We entered Elizabeth Harbor and found it to be quite spacious and absolutely NOT overpacked with boats bow to stern...in fact we found out later that there were half the number of boats here now versus the two weeks before.  I for one was happy about that.  We started our search for Island Khaya and my heart lept when I found their boat.  I missed my boating mum and papa.  We found them and Exhale (another Island Spirit) and anchored comfortably by the Monument.  We got settled and spent time with Island Khaya catching up and trading stories and information.

Did NOT hit that reef :-)

Did not hit that one either!  Don't see it?  Exactly. Mark had entered our route so the auto pilot would avoid nasty things like reefs and shallows.  Good auto pilot, but better than that is our Captain!

After a month, we were back next door to Island Khaya!! Exhale is here too and kindly hailed us as we entered the anchorage to welcome us and give us some helpful tips!

Not 400 boats so things have cleared out a bit but still 175 is a nice number too.

Then we attempted to go to the well known Chat 'n Chill at Volleyball Beach for a burger.  Yeah, so don't try to do that 15 minutes before they shut down.  Helpful hint there.  Some guy suggested Peace and Plenty across the Harbor at George Town so we went over...and yeah, that's a "nice" place where you don't just show up and expect to be seated, let along with your bathing suit showing over your tank top.  Ugh, I felt terrible.  I did what I knew to do from my BVI days which was meekly and humbly go to the desk and ask quietly if there is any way they could possible find a place for us.  Turns out they could/would and it'd be about 10 minutes.  Ok, so that is not 10 real minutes but 10 island minutes and that mean an hour but we got a table and enjoyed a lovely dinner.

The next day we went over the Victoria Lake where George Town surrounds the Lake.  Mark took a "hurt my back" time out and Jon and I walked around the lake to check out the scene.  We found Mark, not at the dinghy resting but at Two Turtles Bar...hmmmmmm.  We ended up going over to Chat 'n Chill and had a fantastic time and yummy burgers and Kaliks!  And we even got to hang out with one of the kitties who lives there.  That guy was the definition of "chill".  I came back to the boat to attempt blog updates, moderate success; moreover, I learned that I was charged twice for my new phone so had my tropical alone time invaded by the mundane business of a charge dispute.  Such is life.  I had a lovely chat visit from Joanne of Exhale who was paddle boarding like a champ so that was a treat.  The boys came back for supper then to head back to Chat 'n Chill for music and dancing...well we watched the dancing.  It was apparently a small crowd what with half of the boat population moving on either to the Caribbean or back to the States.  Still fun to watch older people letting loose and getting their boogie on like carefree teenagers!

Victoria Lake view 1

View 2

We are anchored over there somewhere

 

Where Mark was 'convalescing'; Straw Market is across the street

Photobomber

Jon is chatting and chilling here

Mark is a Cat Lady, but don't tell anyone ;-)

Kittie got up long enough to be petted then lay back down after all that work.

This morning has been slow with me finally getting the blog updated and now us preparing to go over to the Driftwood Cafe for lunch.  That place literally could have been packed up from any upscale suburb in the US and placed here but it's lovely and the menu looked like the ticket for us.  Later today we will enjoy cocktails on Exhale and probably head back to Peace and Plenty for their Rack and Bake or Rake and Skate or something like that...sorry I cannot remember what it is really called but it will involve local music and Island Khaya is going so I hope we do too.  Like I said, I missed my Island Khayas.

Above are some pictures of GT and Stocking Island so far...I probably won't do another post for a while but we are kicking around the idea of taking a few days to go to the Ragged Islands while we are down here.  We are trying to tempt Khaya into going too.  Tomorrow we are going down to Fowl Cay for a day trip of snorkeling so I recon I will need to post about that, especially any cool underwater shots.

So for now, let me say that as of the time we arrived here, I have been dining with glee on a big ol' dish of crow.  I've said before that I love when I make myself eat crow and I am so happy to have been wrong about this place.  I don't want to stay for months...or even more than a week for that matter, but I like it here and am very grateful to Mark for his commitment and tenacity and faith and very hard work to get us here.  My boyfriend really is pretty f'ing awesome!  TTFN, Suzanne

Here are a few more shots from today in GT:

The ferry/delivery boat that came in this morning...wake up everyone! Lots of activity in town as you'd expect.

I love this bench!

Hit the liquor store today along with souvenir shopping. That's the Kalik Radler (beer with lemon and only 2% alcohol-new fav drink) that didn't fit in the fridge. There is now no room for food.

Another Gem of a Stop--Lee Stocking Island

I talked about this in the last post but am too lazy to edit it so consider it a reminder of where we left off hahaaa!  Saturday morning we got up pretty much at sunrise for an early departure and to have the tide’s help leaving the shallows around the anchorage.  Plus we were leaving via the south route so always better to be safe when taking a new path.  We were going to anchor on the southwest side of the Cay for breakfast then head out Farmers Cut.  That’s the same Farmers Cut that looked so rough the couple of days before.  Going out cuts is never a simple matter, regardless of how much the winds have calmed.  I suppose that is fair considering it’s where a huge ocean gets squeezed into a little cut.  We zig zagged to our breakfast spot (4.5 feet seems reallllllly shallow when you haven't been through a path before).  We headed out and I decided to stand up front for photo that I already knew would not relay the conditions.  It was a bouncing and fun ride—I felt like I was on a roller coaster, you know that feelinging in your tummy when you go down the big dips?!  We got out just fine and made our way down to Lee Stocking Island.  We tried to have a sail up but the winds did not agree with our plan so it came down unfortunately.  The winds many times do not do what you want and that’s why it is such a joy and thrill when you do get to sail.

The “big deal” of this leg of the journey was it being our first time out on the Exuma Sound.  The real big ocean!  The water on the Sound is that amazing deep blue we saw crossing the gulf stream…cobalt, indigo, something without a name yet.

Again, heading out Farmers Cut

The lovely Sound side of the Cays

We had an uneventful entry into Adderly Cut and around to the anchorage next to the location of the now closed Caribbean Marine Research Center facilities.  That also happened to be where our Exuma Expert, Sheila, had worked and lived.  Speaking of Sheila, her notes and maps and recommendations for the Exumas has been our Bible through the Cays.  We were so lucky and thankful to have her information because she truly was the guiding force for us! 

The Sound is amazingly beautiful and blue and endless but mostly blue!

Sound view nearing Adderlys Cut

There's the cut...the stone tower is a great landmark

Looks like this cut is in a good mood this morning, nice

The Marine Research Center labs/offices/dock

We anchored and Mark jumped in to cool off then everyone basically passed out for naps—that’s common when you’ve been on the water in the wind and sun for hours.  Needless to say we did not get any exploring in that day ;-)  The next morning we planned to head out to Shark Rock and Tug and Barge for snorkeling/snuba’ing.  Both spots are south of Normans Pond Cay which is the Cay next door.  So let me tell you, Shark Rock was a lot farther in reality than it looked on the map but we made it and had a good snorkel.  Saw another Lion Fish (third one) and harassed a humongous crab before we left.  I felt an instant connection to Mr. Crab haha.  We headed over to Tug and Barge (aptly names since that is exactly what it looks like) next.  We saw three osprey and I think two may have been the now grown babies because I also saw a nest on the Tug rock.  The guys set up the snuba and I snorkeled.  There was one head that was beautiful, just beautiful but with so many spiny urchins in around among the coral.  I meant to ask my sister if so many meant something.  I really like our snorkel outings because every stop is a nature spectacular spectacular with their own personality and little world.  On the way back we took a shallows tour along the coast and saw sooooo many huge stingrays.  They were gray with some speckles and did I already say, HUGE.  So graceful so lovely so mesmerizing.  But yeah, they can move when a dinghy comes in and stalks them. LOL.

After lunch we went onto shore to hike over to the beach on the Sound side.  We decided NOT to go through the Center even though the caretaker probably wasn’t there and would have let us if we asked.  We are good citizens so a big No Trespassing sign is something we respect.  Besides that led us to a beach near the boat and a pretty nice hike to the airstrip and then the Sound side.

Evening swims to cool off and the fire in the sky sunsets we love helped us end a very full day in and around the Cays.  Our plan for the morning was to dinghy over to the east side of Normans Pond and see how much washed up treasure we could find.  Well we found a lot of plastic and I had some comfort in knowing that anyone shipwrecked today could really go to town with all the stuff that washes up on beaches.  Not that I ever want to test my theory.  I did find some nice items for my sister and the big find was a small round rubber fishing/crab pot float.  I was super excited because I have been wanting an anchor line float since Miami Beach so yay me!

We got back to the boat and lifted anchor with plenty of time for the tide—which was going to be low and hopefully slack as we hit the cut to go back out.  Wellllll, not exactly slack yet and whoa mamma, what a ride.  Kinda knew it was going to be interesting when you could see the white caps at the cut.  I sat up front again and took some video and photos…my super artistic video was a slow-mo shot of the waves crashing up in front of us.  I also got to see first hand what they meant by current running out far from the cut during an ebb…yes, it did flow out darn far and you could clearly see it.

We put our sails up and had a good motor sail to THE destination (cue dramatic music) GEORGE TOWN.  Can it really be that we are only hours away from the place we have been talking about for couple years and planning for all this time?  Doesn’t feel real and I am feeling anxious at this point.  I’ve read so much about it and, frankly, what I read was not exactly all good.  Boats crowded in bow to stern—400 of them, Nazi-like VHF monitors, people turning other people in for taking money for services like hair cuts, overly organized activities, essentially an old folks community of boaters where I did not think we would fit in at all.  I should have remembered my own advice about not reading those types of things because I was about to find out how unfounded and downright wrong my assumptions were!!