New Years Greetings from George Town, Exuma

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New Years Greetings from George Town

On Saturday afternoon Dec. 22nd, Cameron took the dinghy across the harbor to the town to pick up Julie and Dan. Their flight arrived on time- unfortunately Delta decided to keep their luggage in Atlanta until the next day. They made a quick trip to the Exuma Market to purchase a couple of $5.00 toothbrushes - “Welcome to the Bahamas!” Since there was no unpacking to be done , we headed off to the beach. The breathtaking beauty of the scenery, the perfect weather, and drinks at the “Chat & Chill” beach bar helped our new arrivals to unwind. That evening Colin & Colleen visited our boat and Colin was kind enough to bring his guitar and entertain us. What a treat!

Sunday we had more beach time and took Julie and Dan to the ocean side of Stocking Island. The view is extraordinary and the beach is great for shelling and walking (or jogging in Dan’s case). That evening we had dinner at the St. Francis restaurant. This restaurant sits on a bluff above the harbor, so we could see all of the boats with their Christmas lights. Later our Canadian friends from “About Time” came to visit. Doug and Sharon are from Montreal and their son Stephen is visiting along with Sharon’s sister Patty. Doug is also an excellent musician and played his guitar and sang for us, so we were treated with more live music.
On Christmas Eve about 80 boaters gathered on Hamburger Beach. A service of music and lessons was conducted around a bonfire. The Nativity Story was read by various boaters and we all joined the choir in singing Christmas carols accompanied by a guitar and flute. Afterward there was a dessert buffet.

The George Town regulars organized a pot luck supper for Christmas Day. There were over 150 participants and lots of delicious food. After dinner several musicians performed for a very appreciative crowd. Seated at our picnic table was a very talented family. The father was Nigel Calder the author of several books on boat repair. His wife and daughter pulled out their art supplies and sketched and painted portraits of the musicians. The creativity and detail of their work was amazing. Nigel says they are thinking of opening an art gallery on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

Christmas night we all went to bed early so we could get up at 2:00 am for the Junkanoo celebration of Boxing Day. We had to dinghy across the harbor in the black of night to stand along the side of the street to watch the parade. The parade consisted of floats & costumes similar to the Mummers with steel drums and marching bands. It was a unique experience for us. We were glad that we forced ourselves to get us at 2:00 am. This was especially hard since the boating community generally goes to bed about 9:00 pm. The big topic of discussion now is how we will stay awake for the 9:00 pm start of the New Years Eve party. We hear that last year the party ended about 12:05. All of the fresh air and sunshine really tires us out!

Happy New Year to All!

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