7:30am- Leaving Staniel Cay heading to Warderick Wells. We hope to get a mooring seeing that high winds are in the forecast for the next couple of days. Not sure if we will have any Wi-Fi or any type of connection there.
We will be near Halls Pond Cay which Johnny Depp owns. Maybe the Pirates of the Caribbean will be boarding tonight???
As we were approaching Exuma Park, we noticed an island called Alligator Cay. From a distance, you can see it actually looks like an Alligator.
10:45am- We arrived at Exuma Park on mooring # 6. We covered 20 nautical miles today.
We decided to explore a different part of the island from the last time we came.
As we were leaving our boat, we noticed a catamaran having a hard time hooking up to their mooring beside us. We decided to help out. It was a little tricky however they were safely on their mooring. They were very appreciative.
On land, we walked up a steep hill and could see a gorgeous 160 degree view.. We spent an hour exploring and then came back to the boat. Steve read while I painted. Lot of wind flowing thru our boat.
6:00pm- We made pizza and sipped on wine. The towers for the phone and Internet do not work here at all. There is no service on my phone. Even if I have a data plan, I cannot use it. So no watching Netflix tonight. Instead we played checkers.
We were also entertained by the amount of stars. So incredible. I have never seen anything like it. I went on the dinghy (which was still tied to the boat) and laid there gazing up. Steve saw a shooting star. I particularly like pd the fact that the mooring light now works seeing that I had to go up at least 3 times to fix it,
We were in bed by 9:00pm.
January 10, 2018 - Enjoying Exuma Land and Park
6:30am- Woke up to watch the sunrise and did my exercise. It is funny to watch others doing yoga or Pilates outside on their boat. I think it is great to have that discipline. One girl was doing push ups and I lost count on how many she did. I brought sets of 10 pds weights and work with that.
9:00am- Since we are getting low on bread, I decided to make buns for sandwiches later. I used a recipe which Margi, a boating friend, shared with me last year. The great thing is you use yeast however no need to rise.
While I was at it, I made sheppard's pie for tonight's dinner.
11:00am- We noticed a place where you can tie up your dinghy and snorkel. Steve went back to the boat to get his gear and headed back. I didn't feel like getting wet and there was a strong current. He saw all kinds of fish, coral and even a turtle. We met another couple, Jeff and Libby Hansen who were also hooked up to the same mooring. They sold everything they have to pursue this dream on the boat.
We went to the beach. Later Steve read while I painted.
4:30pm- Happy Hour every Saturday here on the beach at the Park. There were approximately 20 people who went. It was nice to talk to different people. Most of them were our age who just retired. Interesting to hear their stories. 
6:00pm- Came back to the boat since the mosquitos were starting to bite us and it was getting dark.
I serenaded Steve on my guitar as we sat in back of the boat. The stars were staring at us once again and were just spectacular.
We played a couple of games of checkers since there wasn't any internet.
9:00pm- Steve decided to go read while I sat staring at the stars for a while.
Goodnight
February 11, 2018 - Should we stay or should we go?
7:30am- That is the big question this morning. Seas are going to be rough however they will be behind us and we won't be pounding up and down. At least that is what we think.
8:00am- Steve went to the office so he can connect to the Internet to find out the weather. In the meantime, I will have my coffee. 8:30am- The decision is to go. And we are off. No, we are back. The swells were 9 ft on the beam and we decided to come back since it would have been one uncomfortable ride. Back on #6 mooring.
The hardest part is not having the Internet on the boat. We have to go to the office by dinghy in order to access it. AND IT IS SLOW! There is not even service for phone on the boat. When we go for internet outside the office, there is usually other couples standing around trying to let there loved ones know they are o.k. I told everyone they should turn the area into an Internet café!
One couple we met while accessing our internet at the office, was Hugh and Karen Loughborough from Kitchener, Ontario who have a Hanse 415 named Trekker. They know Tom and Marianne. who used to keep their Hanse beside us at Fifty Point Marina. Small world. They even partied on their boat with drinks and guitar just like we did.
There is a book exchange and before we left, Steve traded one of his books. Came back to the boat and I painted while Steve read.
3:30pm- We invited our neighboring boat owners Lisa and Don Evans from Missouri and we had a really nice visit.
6:30pm- After a few hours of fun , hors Oeuvres and good conversations they returned to their boat named "Our Sabbatical" which is a very nice 2008 42 ft. catamaran Lagoon. I put the Sheppard's pie in the oven for a late dinner under the stars.
7:30pm- Enjoyed a lovely meal and sat out while listening to music. The wind is still blowing.
9:00pm-Seiing that there is no internet, we called it an evening. Goodnight.
Looked like we are staying here another day.
10:45am- There is no provision, water or hydro here at the Exuma Park. We are down to one tank of water and since we are still unable to get solution to run our water maker, Don and Lisa from Our Sabbatical told us they have plenty of water to share. Steve and Don worked on filling up our other tank since we did not know how long we will be here. It was very generous on their part. Hope karma pays them back.
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| Steve took 5 trips back and forth |
10:45am- There is no provision, water or hydro here at the Exuma Park. We are down to one tank of water and since we are still unable to get solution to run our water maker, Don and Lisa from Our Sabbatical told us they have plenty of water to share. Steve and Don worked on filling up our other tank since we did not know how long we will be here. It was very generous on their part. Hope karma pays them back.
Taking trips back and forth with two five gallons water jugs. He made 5 trips.
1:00pm- We went snorkeling and saw beautiful coral and fish.
2:30pm- We went hiking back up to Barefoot Beach, Boo Hoo hills where Steve carved out the name GaYa on one of an old plank which was laying in a pile and we left it there as an offering. We then went to look at the Blow holes however the tides were low and we could only see small waves.
4;30pm- We were invited to Don and Lisa's boat for a pot luck so we took and shower and relaxed until then.
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| Steve and Don on Our Sabbatical |
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| Lisa in her galley |
It was such a lovely evening. We shared pork chops, chicken, green salad, couscous salad, coleslaw and bean salad. Lisa even made an herb monkey bread. So delicious. They introduced us to a new drink called Palmero since we like tequila. It is 2 parts tequila, 1 part grapefruit juice, 3/4 cup simple syrup (sugar dissolved in boiled water) with Jalapeño seeds. Shake it all and voila. It was really good.
9:00pm- After a great meal and conversation, we headed back to our boat. Who knows if tomorrow will be the day we leave Exuma Park.
February 13, 2018 Nightly wake up call
1:30am- I was wakened up by a loud noise and woke Steve up. At first it sounded like our flag was flapping and then it got so loud and thought it was our sails unravelling. As we went out the boat, we realized it was Don and Lisa's front sail that was unravelling. They must sleep soundly not to hear that because another boat started shining his lights on them who was behind us. Steve was even blowing his air horn but then decided to drive over in the dinghy to bang on the side of their boat. There was a really strong current at the time and it seemed like the wind picked up. We have seen sails get torn up if left unattended and flapping. Finally, I saw as I flashed my flashlight that Don and Steve were taking down the sails and it didn't appear that they were ripped or torn.
2:30am- Back to bed.
7:30am- Looks like we are staying another day. Storm winds out of the east with a building sea makes the trip North unattractive. We will wait until it settles down. We watched other boats leave however they are going South on the inside where we have to go out in open water with no protection.
It has been blowing out of the seas for 4 days at 20 knots and the seas are big. Not worth taking the chance. We are in no hurry.
8:30am- It was sad to see Lisa and Don leave. They are on their way to Georgetown. Who knows if our paths will cross. They were a lovely couple. As they were leaving Lisa yelled out: "Thanks for your help".
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| Lisa and Don left this morning |
I decided to make eggs and fry up leftover mashed potatoes this morning. Great way to start the morning.
9:30am- Went to the office to see if we can access the Internet and also pay another $30 for the mooring.
There was an older guy in probably his early 70s who arrived in the office requesting water in one of his canisters. He has been kayaking by himself and plans covering 6 miles a day for 28 days. He said a couple of his friends bailed out last minute so he decided to take the challenge himself. I sure give him credit especially when he is fighting wind and current. He pitches a tent at whatever island before dark. It was quite interesting to hear him talk about it.
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11:00am- Steve wanted to go snorkelling so I went with him and sat in the dinghy. The current was to strong and I didn't feel like fighting it. When the tides were low, we walked across on sand dunes and Steve pulled the dinghy by hand across to Gaya. It is amazing how close the sand dunes are to the moored boat. It almost looked like some boater's were stepping out of their boat unto sand dunes knee high. I have never seen anything like it.  |
| I was sitting in the middle of the sand dune |
3:45pm- We went back hiking to the Blow Hole since it was almost high tide. Yeah! We finally got to see action in the blow holes. 
6:00pm- Had stir fry for dinner and watched a beautiful sunset. We then relaxed and read and I practice playing my ukulele until bedtime. Goodnight.
February 14, 2018 Happy Valentines everyone.
6:30am- Got up to do my exercise and while waiting for the sun to rise however the clouds interfered with the sun this morning.
7:30am- Steve woke up disappointed because the wind is still preventing us from moving on. I cheered him up with my version of a heart shaped pancake once I realized it was Valentines Day. He got a chuckle.
Staying here another night. We are getting anxious.
10:30am- We went to the office to pay for a night. They are testing out their Wi-Fi system and gave us free Wi-Fi. I am surely going to take advantage of it.We noticed a sailboat high ran aground. Steve and I rushed to help. We worked together with another boat with 2-250hp. Unfortunately, after an hour or so, we couldn't get him off the sand bar so now he will have to wait at least 2-3 hours until high tides.
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| Poor couple ran aground again |
Steve read while I played guitar until dinner time.
Went to bed early enough so we can get a good night sleep. Hopefully, tomorrow will be the day we are leaving.
Goodnight.
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