Turn around, I want to go back!!!

It started out as a regular day on the ICW.  Nothing unusual at our rising of the day.  Had coffee, got the anchor up, set off, traveled under several bridges, stopped for gas, water and our first pump-out since returning to using the holding tank.   

There wasn't much time before we would arrive at our anchoring spot in Lankana in South West Palm Beach.  We had 1 more bridge to go under before getting there.  That's when the events started to happen.  The bridge operator announced that the bridge was now closed due to the Chinese President coming to meet Pres. Trump at his West Palm Beach residence.  Security measures.  We didn't know how long a wait it would be.  It turned out not very long because the Chinese President was taking longer at the airport than was expected.  We got through the bridge and to our anchoring spot.  It was quite a sight to see - lots of police cars, emergency vehicles, buses all going over this other bridge that was just next to where we were anchored.  This was the bridge the Chinese President's motorcade used to get to where he was going.  We saw a whole bus load or two of people all dressed in red shirts waiting to get on a bus to cross the bridge.  At this time, we hadn't listened to the news so we didn't know what most of this was about, except for the meeting between Xi and Trump.

The street where the police cars were.

the red shirted people

The helicopter that was flying around the area above us.

 Then I read the news about their meeting and the protestors that were there.  The people in the red shirts were those that supported the Chinese President and Pres. Trump.  They travel wherever Xi Jinping goes to show their support.  It seems those that protest his actions also travel where he goes to let him know how unhappy they are with him.

Then I read the news about Syria.  I heard yesterday about what Syria did with the chemical weapons and saw the photos, and then today I read about what Trump did today in retaliation.  Ed and I are ready to return to the Bahamas!  I am feeling sick with grief for the people in Syria! 

On a more positive note, I have noticed a lot of beautiful pictures showing the signs of spring on facebook (thanks, Beth, for your beautiful photos of things you found beautiful every day!).  Here is my contribution to spring:

HAPPY SPRING TO ALL!

MAY GOD BE WITH EACH AND EVERYONE OF US!

Next blog (whenever)  ................ sharing occasional entries, photos, and thoughts of the day.

"Take me home", ICW, "Take me home"

The crossing from Bimini to Florida went very well.  There was a bit of chop, but it was very tolerable.  It was hard to say good-bye to all that beautiful blue water!!!!!!

Back in the United States!  It really felt like being home when we crossed over the continental shelf into Fort Lauderdale, FL!  There was such a drastic difference between here and the Bahamas.  The Bahamas were beautiful, but the development was sparse and a lot of it run down in need of repair, whereas in Florida, it's the opposite - large beautiful buildings, all in neat pristine condition!  As much as I love how gorgeous it looks here in Florida, I'd take the Bahamas over it any old day!  Guess I am a simple loving gal! (except when it comes to boats - more on that another day!)

We anchored out after our crossing in Sunrise Bay.  We anchored here on our way South.  We will probably repeat a lot of our stops, although Ed keeps talking about finding new places - there are just so many good anchorages and we already found many of them.  When we got here the first time, I went swimming.  I had no desire to swim - could it be because the water wasn't a clear blue any more?  I think I am utterly spoiled!!!  I wonder what I'll think when I get to the Chesapeake!

Next blog - an eventful day in history........

Back to Bimini #2

I like being back in Bimini.  It is a very nice island and it will always have a fond place in my heart - it's the first place I've been in the Bahamas.  

One of the first things we tried to do when we arrived is to get an empanada (a meat pie) from a bakery in town.  They are so good, we just had to have one.  With it being an island and a small one at that, they don't always have the supplies at hand when they run out.  So, no empanadas until next week when the supply boat comes in.   Next trip!  Glad we had one the first time we were here!

My priority was to go to the beach close to where we are docked.  So, this afternoon, we hit the beach.  The water was fantastic.  The waves were gentle and the air temp was warm and pleasant.  (It's all relative, though, Ed will disagree with my description of warm - for him it was hot.)

This is such a beautiful beach.  Here I'm eyeing it's beauty and trying to be patient while Ed was getting his shoes off.

Hi, everyone!  It was a perfect day to be in the water!

I love sitting out with my feet covered in sand after I'm out of the water!

Looking relaxed here as he reads his kindle and keeps the sun off! (Ed is not a beach lover - doesn't like the feel of sand and salt.  He was a real trooper, though, by being at the beach with me and being very patient while I stayed in the water for quite a while!  My one and only!)

 
Tomorrow we get our water topped off and Ed needs to reattach our radar reflector.  The reflector fell down from the spreaders about a week ago.  Ed put it back up temporarily, but now that we're at a marina, he is going to make a more permanent fix.  I am not sure how he is going to do this!


Wednesday......................... Back in the U.S. of A.

Northern Route Home - It's Only Just Begun!

Our journey North is just beginning!  Our first stop after Palm Cay was to Frazier's Hog (no pics).  We anchored for the night in a safe area.  We had a long motor sail from Palm Cay and had nice weather all the way.  It was a pleasant night.  We ran into our friends, Jeb and Ursula, on Wisper at the anchorage.

The next stop was anchoring on the banks of the Bahamas.  This photo shows how we were very isolated - no one else close by.  We did see a power boat towards the North of us but it was very far away.  We did this on the way South also, only then, it was a very bumpy night.  This time, there were no swells and we slept very well (actually I slept well almost every night with just a few exceptions!)  It is an awesome experience to be where you see no land and no other people.  It was very peaceful and quiet!  Very private!

After sleeping on the bank, we set out for Bimini.  We were promised smooth weather conditions.....it was so smooth, there was only a little wind, so it made things feel very hot!

Up came the hair!

1

First site of Bimini

Blue Water Marina - This was our very first stop in the Bahamas on the trip South!

We will be here till Wednesday when we'll leave the marina at dawn to cross over to Ft. Lauderdale, FL.  The conditions will be 2.5 - 3 ft. waves at 5 second intervals with the winds coming out of the South-East coming around to the South (starting to sound like Ed -aren't I?)  This means there will be rolling waves rocking us side to side.  It will be a doable crossing - safe - just not a comfortable one.  I plan on making sandwiches ahead of time and keeping some snack bars in the cockpit so I don't have to be down below when it's rocking a lot!  All part of life on a sail boat!


Next..............I don't even know yet!!

Sea Life from Palm Cay

These fish were swimming in the marina where we were docked. 

Barracuda - a baby one

A spotted eagle ray - it has a beak on it's head which looks very bird-like!

This was the first of 3 days needed to get to Bimini which will get us back to Florida!

Highbourne Cay and Palm Cay

We first went to Highbourne Cay (no photos).  We got fuel, water, and some food from their small grocery store.   The unfortunate thing here is that our boat got damaged at the fuel dock as Ed was steering us away from the dock when we were done.  The wind was blowing us back into the dock and as we went forward the support for the solar panels got caught on a piling and some of the pieces got bent and broke.  Fortunately it didn't fall down, but was very loose.  When we anchored that night, Ed re-screwed the support down and was able to put some of the pieces back together.  It's a temporary fix, so this, and some other issues that have cropped up on our trip will need to be attended to when we return.

The next day after Highbourne, we went to Palm Cay Marina.  This was the first marina since Cave Cay when we were still going South.

 The entrance into the marina was tricky.  There were markings on the chart showing where there were some coral reefs sticking up from the water and warning cruisers to move around them.  There were quite a few dark areas and we did quite a bit of veering around some of them. 

A coral reef at the surface of the water.  They are very hard and will break a rudder of any boat if hit.

Dolce Vita docked, resting quietly!

Before a shower and desperate!

After a shower....aah!!!!

                                                                  

Out to dinner at the marina's restaurant.

A very tired admiral!

                                                                          

A very tired captain!

Lights on the beach in front of the restaurant.  They flickered on with different colors, sometimes all the same color and sometimes varied, like the above photo.

The marina is next to a condominium complex so the marina caters to them.  There is a membership required to go onto this beach and some other areas on the property.   This place is well maintained, unlike a lot of the Exuma islands where areas were not kept up well.


Next?    Bimini and yes, Florida!

Warderick Wells

We returned to Warderick Wells to wait out a blow that was expected to come, and, besides, we really loved the place from our first visit!

After setting our anchor, we set out to snorkel.  They have a wonderful coral reef there with a great variety of fish to see.  Since this is a park, there is no fishing or hunting allowed.  There are lots of very large lobsters in holes in the reef.  (Ed says they are looking up at us going - "na-na-na-na-na-na!!")

We did snorkeling the first and the second day we were there.  After that, we were stuck on the boat with some very strong winds.  We did meet our neighbors on Sundowner, Doug and Deb, and they introduced us to their friends - Robert and Rhonda on Eagle II and Mike and Linda on Fair Winds.  We had drinks and appetizers on Sundowner's boat one evening, on our boat one evening and on the last night we went over to Fair Wind's boat.  All three couples are heading South, mostly together.  They plan on meeting up down the road.

The park had a happy hour on Saturday on the beach.  That was a lot of fun.  We met quite of few people from the other boats in the harbor.  

A funny thing happened on the way to the happy hour.  I was getting into the dinghy to wait for Ed who was getting things from the cabin, when the dinghy went too far away from the boat,  the water was choppy,  I lost my balance, and into the water I went!  Ed sure was surprised to find me in the water between the dinghy and the boat!  I didn't tie the dinghy tight enough to the boat.  It was a very cool fall - and I couldn't stop laughing!  Back on the boat I went and changed my clothes.

A not-so-funny thing happened right before my falling in the water episode - when I was moving the dinghy from the back of the boat to the side ladder, I pulled a muscle in my arm (my right one).  It still hurts when I lift my arm up.  It's getting a little better every day.  The day after it happened, Ed tied my arm down with an ace bandage to remind me not to use my arm.  It helped.  I am still favoring it, hoping it will heal quickly.  It is healing but not as fast as I would like.  Getting good at doing things with the left hand.

Here are photos from our first day of snorkeling at Warderick Wells:

Grouper

Butterflyfish

Needlefish

The closest fish I could find that matches this one is a Wrasse. 

I loved the coloring on this fish.  I couldn't find one like this in my book.

This is a Nassau Grouper.  It is a very large fish and has some unusual markings.

Obviously, a turtle, but I was so excited to see one near me.  I didn't feed this one!

This was an amazing sight - an Eagle Ray!  The wing span was huge and look how long the tail was!  Ed came over to show it to me - it swam right under me and I didn't even know it!

Right after I saw the turtle I saw at least 4 more Eagle Rays swim by!

These fish looked like they were playing hide and seek!

Here are photos from our second day of our snorkeling at Warderick Wells:

Stoplight Parrotfish - Terminal Phase

This fish looks like he was smiling at me!  I put his picture on my laptop wallpaper and posted him on facebook.

This is where I spotted a Lemon Shark - by the time I registered it was a shark, turned on the camera, and aimed - no shark in the picture!  Fortunately, it was not very close and paid no attention to me.

Butterflyfish (Can you tell I like these kind of fish?)

Another turtle

Nassau Grouper - a different angle

This was the neatest personal experience for me - this large school of big Yellowtail Snappers swam right in front of me - I swam right next to them for quite a ways!

This is the last of my underwater photos and the last of the snorkeling for the trip.  It was such a wonderful experience and I will forever remember all of God's creatures that are here for us to enjoy and take care of!  

Highbourne Cay and Palm Cay coming up next.....