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Reflections on the Bahamas



Reflections on the Bahamas


Over the past 10 weeks, we have traveled through Abaco,  Eleuthera and Exuma Islands and enjoyed the hospitality of the Bahamian people.  We have learned all about the islands, its unique geography - limestone, caves, blue holes and chalk cliffs; and colorful history-pirates and rum running, salt ponds and cotton plantations, boat building and wrecking/salvage. 

Traveling over 1300 miles through narrow cuts and wide bays to vast depths of ocean, we negotiated the islands and found safe harbors, calm coves for anchoring, bays filled with moorings and marinas large and small.  This trip required us to pay close attention to the weather, the tides and currents as we traveled between and through the islands.

The Bahamian people are warm and friendly, willing to give us rides, advice and directions, as well as some secret recipes!!  We enjoyed hiking trails, walking the beaches, snorkeling the coral rocks and reefs, discovering ruins and old forts, visiting settlements and larger towns, enjoying the Bahamian conch and other local offerings at the restaurants, perusing the straw goods, canvas bags and wood and bronze work of the local artists.

We were amazed at all the reef fish, green turtles, iguanas, swimming pigs, rays and nurse sharks; the Land and Sea Parks; the fancy mega yachts, cruise ships, commercial fishing fleets, ferries and mail boats; the mangrove creeks and limestone formations that form baths and swimming holes; paths and beaches decorated by fellow boaters who traveled there before us; sailing regattas and Bahamian boat building, and the neighborhood roosters who called to use each morning.

We will remember best the beautiful turquoise waters and gorgeous sunsets.

 

                                       






Small settlements and towns - New Plymouth, Hope Town, Man-o-War, Great Guyana, Munjack, Abaco and Spanish Wells and Little Harbor, Eleuthera and Black Sound, Exuma



                                        

Roosters crowing and directional signs






                                         

Government docks, freighters, ferries, mailboats and lots and lots of catamarans






Sandy beaches with rocky outcroppings 





Cruise ships and Mega Yachts 

                                        


                                       


Friendly locals and the optimistic Bahamian spirit







Green turtles and curly tail lizards






Anchoring off beaches in protected coves or mooring in bays



"Decorations" left by previous boaters that help guide you along the path to the beach on the Atlantic side


Fellow cruisers, some like us traveling for a few months and others who have wintered in the Bahamas for years.







Lighthouses




Ruins of resorts and cotton plantations




Albury's Sail Shop, sailing skiffs, half models and fiberglass boats





                                        

Marsh Harbor- the "big city" and its large port and a very big grocery store!



Quaint shops and cottages

                                            

                                             


  

Waves crashing onto limestone rocky shores.




Caves in the limestone shores





Little Harbor's bronze sculptures



Spanish Wells fishing fleet, Harbor Island, Queen's Bath  and  Glass Window on Eleuthera





Allen's Cay's Rock Iguanas that greet you on the beach




Shroud Cay's Mangrove Creeks and its Washing Machine, beautiful beaches and hiking through salt ponds and rocky cliffs.

                                          




                                               

Hiking up hills to magnificent views of the island or the Atlantic or Exuma Sound






The Land and Sea Park and Warderick Wells - the whale skeletons, hiking trails, snorkeling  and Boo Boo Hill

                                       







                                        


                                                       

Blue holes, blow holes and white cliffs and Bell Rock








Local Bahamian restaurants and conch entrees

                                       



                                        



Swimming pigs that come to your boat hoping for food and Staniel Cay Yacht Club






Snorkeling in Thunderball Grotto and Rocky Dundas caves and the Sea Aquarium - 






Sunken planes




Late 1700's fort and buildings of Nassau - Fort Montague, Fort Caroline, Fincastle and the Queen's Staircase, and British Colonial Hotel and Christ Church Cathedral







 Encountering pirates, straw market, local distilleries and sandy beaches








Enjoying the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island and its water parks and many aquariums




                                        

                                         

Hemingway's haunts and fishing tournaments in Bimini




We thoroughly enjoyed exploring the Bahamas Cays.  

We will miss the Bahamas. - especially its crystal clear blue waters











































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