Day 49-50. May 10-11. On to Black Sound Settlement on Great Guana Cay, Exuma. Miles 25.3. Total Miles 741.2

Day 49

Woke early to leave Warderick Wells Cay and head for Black Sound on Great Guana Cay.  

Winds have picked up today from the southeast mostly 14-18 knots, so we had a few waves splash our bow as we traveled today. 

Along the way we pass several cays - Hall's Pond, O'Brien, Bell, Cambridge, Compass and Pipe Creek.  We will return to these cays on our way back north.  Again we are traveling about 1-1.5 miles off the islands to avoid the sand banks off the southeast side of the islands.

Later, we pass Big and Little Majors and Staniel Cays before we turn more east round Harvey Cay to follow our route into Black Sound.  The Sound is on the northern end of Great Guana Cay and is about one mile wide which will protect us from the strong East and Southeast winds that are to pick up even more later today through Monday.

The Black Sound Settlement is on the south side of the bay.  It is the second largest settlement in the Exumas, surpassed only by Georgetown on Great Exuma.  On the north shore of the bay is mostly new constructed homes and cottage rentals.  The settlement is known for its hospitality to boaters and for being "non-touristy".

We anchored close to the beach in the middle of the bay and settled in.  Here is the view from the anchorage.

After a quick lunch, we collected our laundry and our trash and headed to shore.  We had read that this was the best laundry in the Exumas and boaters could access it from the laundry's very own dock!   That was a first for us. We could see why it is touted as the best- clean, convenient and friendly with a dock for boater's dinghies!!

We bought the tokens to operate the washer and dryer and set about getting the laundry done.  Once the clothes were in the dryer, we headed out to walk the west side of town.  We checked out the two groceries and 4 restaurants, the school, two churches and government buildings.  But we were really on the look out for the bakery.  A fellow boater had raved about bread he got here, so we went in search of Lorraine's Mother who baked the fresh coconut bread out of her home and lived in the white house behind Lorraine's Restaurant.   I love direction in these small settlements!

With a little help from locals we found Lorraine's Mom and was able to purchase a loaf of her famous coconut bread.

Next we continued walking further west and came to Sundowner Restaurant with its excellent view of the sound and as the name suggests, the sunset.

There we checked the menu and talked with a  local known for competing in the Sloop Regatta which is one of the big sports in the Bahamas.  He explained that the adults in the community all pitched in to build two boats a year- either A, C or E Class to compete in their August regatta.  Walking behind the work shed we enjoyed seeing the craftsmanship of the two boats under construction.  

In the restaurant parking area was a sloop used by adults in regatta competition dedicated to local sailor. The boat displayed all the boat names of the winners of their August Regatta over the years.

Walking back to the town we retrieved our laundry and then dinghied back to the boat to get a few chores done and then relaxed on the flybridge.

Day 50.     Lay day in Black Sound.      May11.     Happy Mother's Day

Bill surprised me with decorating the main cabin with straps, zip ties and chocolate kisses to celebrate Mother's Day.

We continued celebrating with Bill making breakfast (with a bit of assistance from me) - He made Tjock Pan Caka ( or a big pancake made in a skillet).  Delicious!

We also had a slice of Lorraine 's Mom's coconut bread.  Yum!

After a few chores, we readied the dinghy to launch and headed for shore.  We left the dinghy at Lorraine's restaurant dock.

And then headed of ffor a hike to the blow hole and views of the rugged eastern shoreline.

At first we walked along the sounds where we anchored.

We walked through the area of shops and then older homes, coming upon another racing sloop.

Our walk took us up several hills which afforded us another view of our anchorage.

Then the elevation changed  dramatically as we crossed the island and headed toward the eastern shore.

Here the shore is filled with  great rock outcroppings and white cliffs.  Quite a view.

This last picture puts the size of the cliff in perspective, with Bill in front of it!!

Bill got his rock climbing in for the day!

Great view from the top!

In the distance you could see the cliffs called White Horses.  Too far away for me to capture with my camera, so used the internet to give you a better view.

On our way back to town, we stopped to find the blow hole.  With directions from two people we finally found it .  Directions were - Find the pink house and take the road up a bit and find the path of the blow hole.  Well there was more than one pink house, but we found it.  

Tide was not the best so will try another day to catch it more dramatically.  Was surprised how far the hole was from the shore-  40 feet away.. 

Continuing back to town we passed many rental cottages. This is an example.

Getting hungry we returned to Lorraine's for lunch.  Fellow boaters greeted us and recommended the fresh fish sticks.  They were good!!

As we ate we were carefully watched by the resident cat and the laughing gulls.

Also the mail boat came in and dropped off a lot of building supplies.

Before we left the restaurant, we met Lorraine as she was preparing for the annual Mother's Day Tea.

Leaving the restaurant we found our dinghy was dwarfed by the much bigger boats at the dock.

Having hiked our fill, we returned to the boat to rest our weary feet and cool off!