We’ve been very busy during the last week, snorkeling, hiking, shopping, and dancing! Yes, dancing. Last Friday, there was a dance at the local restaurant/bar Chat and Chill. Rockin’ Ron and his wife Karen were the DJ’s and the sign near them said “Seniors at Play.” All night long they played music from the ’60’s which was when most of the people here were teenagers or older. It was a lot of fun.
That’s one of the few organized activities we’ve taken part in, although there are many opportunities here. Yoga is held on Volleyball Beach each morning, but it’s a long dinghy ride to take early in the morning, so sadly I’ve skipped that. There are a variety of physical activities and games, including volleyball, bocce, baseball, and even beach golf. Every Monday night, there is a Trivial Pursuit contest, and Texas Hold’em is a popular activity also. The George Town Regatta begins next week, and there will be activities such as a Pet Parade, a No Talent Talent Show, a Parade of Boats, various tournaments and the main event, a Regatta. The Regatta is actually a boat race, but not in the traditional sense. It’s more of a sail with everyone getting a prize. We will probably be gone by the time it starts, although as always we have no real plans until the day before we move on. Also, as always, it depends on the weather. Daisy wants to stay for the Pet Parade, but we suspect most of the pets will be dressed up for the occasion, as the announcements on “The Net” (8 am announcements on the VHF radio) have said pets should come “in costume” or “au naturale.”
We went hiking to the top of Monument Hill a few days ago. We aren’t sure what the “monument” is for, perhaps just to warn boaters that there is something here. From there, we had a view of the entire Georgetown area.
In the photo below, you can see the three “holes” which are popular and fill up quickly. Most of the holes are mooring ball fields. There are no “designated anchorages” in Elizabeth Harbour, but there are certainly many of them. Most of the anchorages are not visible in the photo below. On the other side of the hill, the Exuma Sound side, we found yet another beautiful beach. We were, once again, amazed at the uniqueness of the beaches here. Below, Mark and Bill are looking at one of the many rock formations. The Sound beaches are always a mixture of sand, limestone and coral formations, and hills. It’s not easy to get all the sea colors, but there are usually three or four different shades of aqua. Photos of the beach are on the Georgetown photo page.
Yesterday, the sun was shining and it wasn’t windy so we decided to go snorkeling with Bill and JoAnne (Ultra). We went very near Exuma Sound, as there aren’t many other good coral heads to snorkel here. Also, we were looking for conch and lobster. We found a great coral head with lots of small fish and plant life. However, being near the Sound, there were large swells and some current. The current was coming in so there was no worry about being swept out into the Sound, but it was still a bit exhausting trying to stay over the coral. Lobster apparently prefer to live on the Sound side of the coral, but we don’t want to attempt snorkeling in the waves, strong currents, and in the company of occasional sharks. Friends have gone there and caught lobster, but have also had to quickly get back in their dinghy when they saw a shark.
We’ve done a bit of socializing also, going ashore for “sundowners” and snacks with several groups of friends/acquaintances. I can’t imagine another group of people who are more social with anyone and everyone than cruisers. We always have a lot of fun discussing various topics, meeting new people, and seeing cruisers from past stops in the Exumas.
There is some “weather” coming this week, so yesterday we moved back to a good area for protection, at the entrance to Red Shanks Anchorage called Master’s Harbour Anchorage . Red Shanks is protected more than where we are, but it’s also quite crowded and shallow. We got here first and staked out the same spot we had for the 40-50 kt squall that was supposed to come through a week ago. As it turned out it wasn’t quite that strong, but still we were glad to be here. This week there seems to be the threat of squalls and 30+ kt winds for the next few days, until Friday. So, we’ll be in this anchorage for awhile before we move back to Sand Dollar Anchorage. Today, a steady stream of boats are coming from the other anchorages for some protection.
