Waiting for weather...

This wasn't our first stop in the islands, but it was the first time I had the presence of mind to take a photo. This is a quaint restaurant in Marsh Harbor in the Abacos. I had the special du jour which was a hogfish fillet on a bed of garlic mashed potatoes, all smothered Bahama style in sauteed green pepper and onion. Yummy!

And while we 're talking about food, take a look at this conch shack. They bring in the conch in these conch boats, clean it, and make the best conch salad going, all while you wait and watch. Here they've been cleaned out and are closed for the day.

We toured the Abacos, mostly motor sailing, and left from Little Harbor for Eluethra. We were on a mission to get south of the hurricane zone by July, so we didn't spend a lot of time smelling the roses (hibiscus). We still had a long long way to go.

In the Abacos-- no more foul weather gear for us!

On our way to Royal Island in the Eluethras...we really did sail occasionally.

One of our favorite places in the Bahamas was Rock Sound in Eluethra. The people were exceptionally friendly and the town was picturesque. This house was actually an art gallery, Luna Sea, and it was painted as colorfully inside as out.

A stone house....typical in the Bahamas...

Staniel Cay in the Exumas is a lovely anchorage and a beautiful town.

One of John's favorite pastimes is to photograph work boats at our various ports of call. These Bahama smacks are some of the last commercial fishing boats under sail and are used by conch fishermen to bring in the principle crop in the islands. They are taking some time off to go to the Georgetown regatta where they will race their boats against smacks from many of the 700 Bahama islands.

Georgetown is a favorite among cruisers...and you can see why!

There are lots of activities orchestrated by the socialites in the anchorages of busy Elizabeth Harbor, but when you climb over the sand dune, you have a beautiful beach on the Sound.... all to yourself!

The town is across the harbor and is a very lively place. We were soon connected with more people and parties than we could handle, so we were glad to go to a quiet anchorage by Fowl Cay to prepare to leave the Exumas.

John on Georgetown beach. He lost his beard and 10 years!

It's not all sun and fun! The trip from Georgetown in the Exumas to Rum Cay in the Fars was long and arduous (and chilly). We were glad to get there and then to move on to Mayaguana with a stop at Plana Cay. In the Fars, the amenities are few and far between, and even fresh vegetables are difficult to come by. Nevertheless, the snorkeling, fishing, and sunsets were some of the best in the Bahamas.

Abrahams Bay in Mayaguana at sunset...we were here for the national election and had interesting opposing views of some of the local businessmen (they owned the one and only bar and the only grocery store on the island). Mayaguana is geographically closer to the Turks than to their capital city Nassau, and they have little expectation for infrastructure improvement, much less more tourism which would mean more jobs and a better quality of life. Here, it's difficult to buy anything at all, even fuel for the boat or food for the table.

Where's the dishwasher?

By the time we arrived in the Turks, we were sailing with our friend Alan on Nomad. He enjoyed meeting our friends on Saviona and stayed with us until we left for Ambergris to stage for a departure to the Dominican Republic. We took pictures of Alan and Nomad overtaking us on the Caicos Banks.

Leaving Ambergris in the Turks, watching the birds fish....the coral reefs and rocks made this an especially trecherous passage. We were relieved to reach the deep water without a scratch.

Next port of call, Luperon, Dominican Republic!