We left at 10:30 this morning, heading 27 miles north to Leaf Cay. Last night we had dinner with JoAnne and Bill (Ultra) and discussed the pros and cons of going north or south. Going south we’d probably have gone to Long Island and Cat Cay. We had several small concerns about that. It would have been better to have left four or five days ago to go south with very good conditions. Now the wind is clocking to the south. Over 50 boats left going south last week. We plan to come back this way next year but continue on to the Caribbean and can see what is south of here then. We finally decided to go back north. We’ll stop at some of the same anchorages and also some places we missed. There is still a lot to see in the Exumas. By sometime in April we’ll leave the Exumas and enter Abaco, which is the northern chain of islands in the Bahamas. From there, we’ll cross back over to the States at the end of May.
Yesterday we made one last trip into Georgetown for a few provisions at Exuma Market, some fuel, and our last visit to the ATM machine. As we learned coming south, there is no way to get cash between here and Bimini. Not knowing that, and assuming we could use a debit card or ATM machine, we didn’t bring enough cash. Most marinas take debit cards for fuel, but they do charge a service fee of several percent. No stores or restaurants that we stopped at took anything but cash. In fact, stores post that they do not accept anything except cash. Coming south we only bought fuel, paid for Internet, stayed at a mooring ball for a few days, and spent a very small amount at a grocery store.
On the morning Cruisers’ Net on VHF 72 in Georgetown, during one part called “Boater’s General” cruisers come on asking for things or offering things. I had 16 pairs of reader eyeglasses of various corrections that are not strong enough for me anymore. I wanted to give them away but kept putting it off. Yesterday I announced on the radio that I’d be in town for a few hours, told what I would be wearing, and brought them with when we went shopping. One cruiser lady did come up to me and took two pair. Then we walked into the small Straw Market. There are about 10 women in the covered shop selling their wares. Mark was looking for a T-shirt, and one of the ladies saw the eyeglasses I was carrying and asked about them. I explained that I was giving them away and ended up giving the other 14 pair to those women. They were so appreciative. Some took an extra pair for a husband or child. One lady named Deary Hutchinson took two pair and said her husband was going to be so excited as he didn’t have glasses and always had to borrow hers in church, so they’d pass them back and forth during the service. She then told me to take any necklace she had for sale. I didn’t want to, but she insisted saying I was blessed for giving her something and she would be blessed for returning the favor. Therefore, I took a very pretty beaded necklace and a hug.
After we returned to the anchorage, we decided to make one last trip to the beach on the Exuma Sound side of Lee Stocking Island. We went to a small beach by the St. Francis and walked on a path over the hill the the Sound. This is a long sandy beach with rocky shores, like many in the Exumas, yet different. Someone even hung a swing on a ledge. The paths are always sandy and well traveled. Still, we are almost always alone on the beaches.
After our walk, we stopped back at the Chat N Chill to sign our names on the “2010 Cruising Boats of Georgetown.”
Tomorrow, as we leave, the “Around Stocking Island Sailboat Race” will be going on. The Regatta is over this week. We never intended to stay a month, but that’s what weather does to “plans.” Our last sunset in Georgetown was beautiful, as always.
