BILL AND JEANNE'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE
 

BAHAMAS 2024

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FEBRUARY 29 2024 THURSDAY

JJ and I arrived in Nassau Bahamas after our long flights from San Diego via Miami. By about 5pm we were checked into our room at the Towne Hotel for 2 nights. This is NOT a quality hotel!

1 MARCH 2024 FRIDAY

After a poor nights sleep (jet lag, I suppose), a cool shower (no hot water) I wandered aroung the local area while JJ mostly stayed in the room.  We did "chat" with the man in next room. He spoke no english but would speak into his smart phone and show us the english translation. It worked fairly well and we learned that he is a construction worker returning home to Nicaragua because his brother had fallen and broken his arm and could not work.  Brother did not look too happy.

Anyway, by 4pm the rest of our crew had arrived: Clint, Christy, Jerry, Julie, Devin and later Kelly. We finished off the day at a seafood restaurant and made the observation that even on a Friday night most places here closed at 8pm.

2MARCH 2024 SATURDAY

Our trusty taxi driver took all of us for the 20 minute ride to the marina and there we met CAPT Louis and his wife CHEF Therisa. We were soon squared away in our new home, the Dolce Vita, which is a 48 ft catamaran with 4 staterooms with queen beds and private full baths. This is a real luxury compared to my previous sailing adventures. We motored around for some sightseeing of the famous Atlantis Resort at Nassau and then anchored for the night at the nearby Rose Island.

3 MARCH 2024 SUNDAY

We slept well in our small stateroom and were ready for our first full day. We motored south to the Exuma Islands of Bahamas and by 3pm arrived at the privately owned Highborne Cay. We anchored  briefly and went shore to check out a lot of iguanas on a beach.  They seemed to be expecting us to feed them but we had nothing to offer. We then motored to an overnight anchorage, had a good hamburger dinner and ready for bed after a full and rainy day.

4 MARCH 2024 MONDAY

We had a slow start today since CAPT Louis had to work on the dinghy motor which had an electrical problem. By 5pm we had arrived at our destination, Norman Cay, and we had time to go ashore for a beach walk. This cay has an airport and the runway was parallel to the beach. I was surprised to see some private jet traffic at this small airport

5 MARCH TUESDAY

Had some rain last night and by 0920 we were on the way to Shroud Cay.  This cay which is a nature preserve is actually two islands cut into by a "river" which connects the Atlantic side to the Caribbean side. We took turns with a dinghy ride through the "river" to the Atlantic side and admired the turquoise water at the, so called,  wash tub area. Departing here we motored into strong winds still going south and arriving 7pm at Warderick Wells Cay.

After a long day and rough passage we all enjoyed many libations and then CAPT and Chef, who are from South Africa, informed us of their not so charitable opinions regarding the black South Africans.

 6 MARCH 2024 WEDNESDAY

On this day three of us went for a hike on the island while others remained on board for snorkeling. The hiking trail was over the very rough limestone which makes up most of these islands.  The limestone has eroded into very sharp edged rocks and hard for walking. At some places I observed road cuts which exposed the countless layers of limestone that had been laid done over the eons.

Finally, at noon we cast off our mooring and motored back north and returning to Nassau.

Upon arriving at Norman Cay we anchored for snorkeling to look at a sunken airplane wreck in shallow water. They claim the plane was from an illegal drug transport gone awry. We then motored over to the west side and anchored overnight and were treated to a steak and lobster dinner.

7 MARCH THURSDAY

We had some rain this am and at 1030 we motored to the east side again for fuel and a brief walk along some lovely polished coral stone paths.

We resumed our journey back north and by 3:30pm were back at Highborne Cay.  We had decided to change our dinner routine here and to treat our captain and chef to a dinner at the very nice Xuma Restaurant. 

8 MARCH FRIDAY

This was our last full day. At 0845 we were on our way from Highborne Cay to Rose Island for a last overnight anchorage. Rose Island, where we started our adventures, is east of New Providence Island, the location of Nassau.

By 1:45pm we were anchored at Rose for some snorkeling and overnight.  The winds were calm for our entire north bound return so no sailing possible on this cruise.

9 MARCH SATURDAY

We departed Dolce Vita by 1100 and headed back to the Towne Hotel for one more night. We decided to go check out the Atlantis Resort area but discovered the whole area is for guests only. Finally, in the evening we all went to an area called Fish Fry for a dinner of, well, fried fish. There are many  eating establishments with a similar menu and the area is said to be popular with locals.

10 MARCH SUNDAY

We had a long day since our flight out of Nassau did not depart until about 4pm connecting to DFW and, for us, on to SAN. Anyway, JJ and I were home by about 1am Monday eastern time and this excellent adventure was over!

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