Today was a cool rainy day starting out with squalls in the morning.  In the photos above, Mark is taking Daisy ashore in 24 kt winds and rough water.  The day continued to be drizzly so we stayed on the boat and relaxed most of the day.  Late in the afternoon, we went ashore to the beach with Joanne, Mark, JoAnne, and Bill.

We are on the Elizabeth Harbour side in Sand Dollar anchorage and we walked over a hill on a well marked path to the Exuma Sound side.  Once again it was rocky and dramatic.  The photo at the left is taken from high above the beach on Exuma Sound.  We have jackets on in the photo below only because it was drizzling.  The temperature was actually around 70. 

As we walked along the path, we saw a termite mound which is fairly common here.  The mound was several feet high.

Georgetown is by far the most populated island we have visited since Nassau.  There are a lot of houses in Georgetown and even a Sandals Resort at Emerald Bay, which is a few miles north of us.  The car traffic is fast on the one way streets.  We won’t attempt to ride our bikes here.  We heard today that there are about 260 boats in the harbor.  This is down from years when there have been over 500.  However, as the regatta in March gets closer, there may be more boats here.  Oddly, we have met quite a few cruisers who are in the Bahamas for the first time, so without counting these mostly Baby Boomers, the numbers would be even lower. 

Yesterday we went in a few stores and there is much more available here than the stores at the other settlements.  I was looking for some more muffin pans to make caramel rolls and actually found some made by Wilton, which is carried in Bed, Bath and Beyond in the States at a very reasonable price. We went to the Straw Market, which is a mini version of the one in Nassau.  We also went into a very upscale store with beautiful decorator quality items.  Then, we also went into a number of multi-purpose shops, such as the Beauty Shop that sells fish, conch and lobster out of a cooler and “Mom’s Bakery” which sells goods out of a van parked on the street.  Supposedly, she gives a hug with each sale.