It has been a very windy winter here in the Bahamas, with winds blowing 20-30 knots almost everyday in the last month. So we have had to plan our travel wisely, especially if we have to sail in the Exuma Sound where the water drops off to 100 fathoms (about 6000 feet) about one mile offshore. The waves in the deep water build up to 10-12 feet with this wind, making travel risky. Luckily we were able to cross back into the banks about a week ago and have been able to sail in these much safer waters. The banks [View Full Entry]

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The next island we visited along the Exuma chain was Little Bell Cay, also known as Cambridge Cay (depending on what charts you have). The weather calmed down a bit so we were able to sail in the Exuma Sound to get to this charming little anchorage. Once again we were tucked in between numerous little islands which we got to explore. One of our favorite places to visit and play with Kona was Mailbox Cay (which derives its name because the only thing on this tiny island is a mailbox where you can leave a message for the park warden- [View Full Entry]

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Our next stop was Warderick Wells, the head quarters of the Exuma Land and Sea Park. The Exuma Land and Sea Park is a 176 square mile protected park which consists of 15 major cays (including Shroud and Little Bell) and numerous smaller ones. It was set aside by an act of Parliament in 1959 to protect the diversity of marine life for future generations. Unfortunately the populations of fish, conch, and lobster have greatly diminished from over-fishing in the Bahamas over the years. We have talked to many locals in our travels and they share stories about how conch used [View Full Entry]

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After leaving Norman’s Cay we sailed about 5 miles down to the next island, Shroud Cay, where we anchored in the lee. This is one of the islands that we had heard about and we were really looking forward to exploring on kayak. Shroud Cay is actually an archipelago, or a cluster of islands connected by mangroves and a salt-water river system. The water inside the archipelago is very shallow (mere inches in most places), thus we had to plan our kayak trip around high tide. We left to go kayaking 2 hours before high tide, allowing us 4 hours to [View Full Entry]

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We left Allan’s Cay and continued sailing down the Exuma island chain to Norman’s Cay, which has a sordid history since the time of pirates (where it derives it’s namesake), to the bootleggers of prohibition, and then the drug smugglers of the 70’s and 80’s. Currently it is a sailor haven; with a protected anchorage, several small islands with wonderful beaches, and even Mc’Duffs restaurant which was just about to open when we were there. We learned Normans past from the book "Turning the Tide: One Man Against the Medellin Cartel" by Sidney D. Kirkpatr [View Full Entry]

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We left Nassau and sailed along the border of the yellow bank (filled with a multitude of coral heads) and the white bank (with no coral heads, but farther south). So taking the middle road limited our risk of running into coral- a very desirable route which also proved to be popular with the traditional Bahamian fishing boats. We sailed along beside many of these traditional boats on our trip to Allan’s Cay- very cool. Allan’s Cay is our first stop in the Exumas and is a very popular anchorage. The first night there was 22 other boats there- so crowded [View Full Entry]

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Here we are. Anchored close to Chat & Chill, beach, resort. Resort has no wifi this year. Will have to go into town for internet. We stopped on the way from Nassau at Norman's. Still traveling with Sea Dancer. Then stopped at Big Majors, to find the island full of pigs. They actually go in the water, Boats come from Staniel Cay to feed them. Wonder who owns them? Then we went another 5 miles to Black Point, had dinner at Lorraines. There is 3 of the original boats, Scott Free with Lois and George and Sea Dancer with Karen and [View Full Entry]

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Hey Blog Fans: Just a heads up that my big city tour begins in 48 hours, so the travel blog will be busy for the next week or so. Here are the dates and locations of where I'll be... May 7-9 Miami May 9-10 NYC May 10 -15 Paris May 15-16 NYC My travel companions for this whirlwind tour of the big cities are Ina, Hector, and Kent. Hector and I are Paris pros but Ina and Kent are newbies, so it should be alot of fun showing them the City of Lights. Stay tuned and travel with me as I [View Full Entry]

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As he entered the departure lounge, I thought the tall lanky man with the guitar case was a friend of mine. At least, he was as familiar as an acquaintance. Perhaps, it was his attire of khakis, loafers, a jeans dress shirt and a BoSox cap that fit an archetype so close to simpleton traveling types. Through his Ben Franklin spectacles and under the bill of his cap, I recognized him. I caught myself slightly smiling at him as he scanned the room and placed his guitar case on the ground. Two boys and two women followed him in, adding to [View Full Entry]

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I celebrated Thanksgiving here in Exuma with Steve and his "angels." I'm including some of our fun pictures in this blog posting. We look a little goofy in some of them, but we had a great time. Winter is lovely here in the Bahamas. With temperatures that never drop below 70 degrees and gorgeous sunny days all winter long, I've gotten some strange looks from friends when I tell them I am heading stateside for the holidays. But family, celebrations, shopping and fun are calling my name stateside. My tentative travel plans include stops in Miami, Deltona, Orlando, Las Vegas, and [View Full Entry]

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