Back from the U S of A!

CONCH HORN'S A BLOW'N... SUNSHINE A'SHININ'... FISH ARE JUMPIN'
Yes, we are back in Eleuthera, and the non-consistent Blogger (that be me) is back after a hiatus!

THE "GLASS WINDOW" BRIDGE - the narrowest part of Eleuthera!
Pretty spectacular views from the rock cliffs looking in either direction as you park your car and walk across this narrow span, the Atlantic pounds thru the narrow opening and then dissipates onto the sand banks of the Sound turning aqua blue.

Eleuthera is 110 miles long and about 2 miles wide, less than 60 miles from Nassau and 240 miles from Miami.  It takes about 2 1/2 hours to drive from the airport to Davis Harbour - 3 1/2 if Bob drives :) narrow roads, crazy drivers, oh and then that driving on the opposite side of the road thing!

Perhaps you can see the X to the left of Harbour Island, that is the airport that we fly into, the red blob between Upper Bogue and Gregory Town is where the Glass Window Bridge is located.  Then waaaaay down to the most southern part you will see some arrows pointing to Davis Harbour which is where Veda L calls her winter home port.

We have grown very fond of the people who work here, the fishing boat owners & captains that keep their boats here, we are most often the only pleasure boat in the marina which suits us fine.  We enjoy the quiet and like having this to ourselves.

And this is why we love Eleuthera!
Lobsters still aplenty for those spear fishermen with a good aim - and Bob does have a good aim, this particular lobster was speared after about 2 minutes in the water; he seeks, he finds, he shoots, he kills, he cleans, he cooks....and we eat!  I bake the breads, and Bob's favorite desserts.

Scenes like the one shown here await around every corner.  Aw...another private bay of clear water?  God created this heaven on earth and we really need to be kind to Mother Earth so our children and theirs can enjoy what we do.

No question about it, the most rewarding event as parents to experience, for Bob and I was to watch Ted excel on City Council, then make a run for Mayor and win the election.  I had fun assisting in his campaign, had not knocked on Stillwater residents doors since I started selling real estate 32+ years ago!  The swearing in ceremony was very child friendly as the girls clung to Daddy as he gave his speech, they are very proud of their Daddy and tell everyone who will listen "My Daddy is the Mayor!" Now I am called M.O.M. Mother of Mayor!  Ted's passion for his hometown and his skills will serve Stillwater well.

Not just another pretty face!  November at Davis Harbour, we could hardly believe our eyes when this Manatee showed up.  It hung around the marina for a couple of hours, drank some fresh water from a hose, did a little water ballet with Bob and then moved on.  HUGE but friendly as Bob got some good underwater photos that I sent to Save the Manatees so the researchers could identify it for tracking purposes.

This little kitten used up the first of her 9 lives by trying to jump onto the Half Moon Clipper which transports workers over to Little San Salvadore daily to Half Moon Cay where the cruise ships come in.  She didn't gauge the distance between dock and boat however, as she ended up in the drink, Bob heard her cries, quickly donned his wet suit and under the dock he went, I think she should be named Lucky.  

Sand dollars at Hetty's Land, notice the "dead" white ones which I collect vs the "live" brown (Six-Keyhole Sand Dollar) and rather fuzzy one below, at low tide you see the tracks of them traveling; pretty amazing feat/feet they have!  I will have to Google more about these creatures of the sea-they are in the urchin family.  Can't wait to get Grandkids there to witness the amazing life the the Sand Dollar...another experience to prepare them to be stewards of the sea.  When we were in Exuma with them last April Amelia duly noted that you can pick up starfish carefully, but you most put them back as they are alive.

Another slice of Heaven...the top left is a photo taken of the beach from Veda L, anchored in the protected bay, walking along the shallows at low tide you will always gather a good selection of sand dollars that I take home to do crafts with the Grandgirls.  Sunsets here are for some reason more spectacular, and we saw 4 green flashes this trip, something that we used to contribute to someone having one too many rum punches!  The surf photo shows the Atlantic side of the island, to get there you follow a jungle path marked with flotsam traversing an area that is sometimes sandy, other times like quicksand - the destination is worth almost getting your shoes sucked off however as the waves crash into a tidal pond surrounded by chalky 50' rocks.

SUP PHOTOGRAPHY!
I finally got my paddleboard in the water as it has been pretty choppy other places we have been, Hetty's Land is perfect for it as it is a short paddle to shore and fun to look down into the shallow water to see starfish, barracuda, a small shark or OMG...What is that? ... sting ray ahead, quick Linda, on your knees, drop your camera over the side of the board and hope for the best!  Not a bad shot for not looking!  I am finally learning to do the quick bounce up from a squatting position.  Perfect calm water to learn the technique, easy for you to do Bob...you grew up surfing in the flippin ocean off CA.  I had a creek and some lakes in Wisconsin...no surfboards for sure.
Looking over the side of the boat this morning in 12' of water I could see brittle starfish on the bottom, it was almost spooky calm.

 The Exuma Land and Sea Park at Warderick Wells, another one of our favorite spots to visit in the Exumas, this trip we got acquainted with members of The Royal Bahamian Defense Force (above) and spent an afternoon diving with them on our favorite reefs & walls in the park.  We saw an endless parade of sting rays, HUGE lobsters and HUGE Groupers...this area has been a no take zone for many years so the "food" are friendly as they know you cannot take them.

Exuma Land & Sea Park mooring field, this natural horseshoe of deeper water surrounds sand bars and takes your breath away each morning as you awake to the different shades of blue, and at night it is WOW as you look up from the foredeck, no lights to take away your view of the stars clustered in the heavens.  This is no "blanket" of stars as we see in the midwest, but you see into the layers of stars allowing you to look into the depths of the universe.

Taking a hike to "Boo Boo Hill" story goes that you can hear the spooks from sunken ships calling (who would want to walk up there at night anyway?) This is the view looking toward the sound, the Atlantic is behind you.  If you look closely you can see Veda L, 2nd from left at top of mooring field, a kite surfer is zooming behind our boat with a red kite above.  He came flying in from a boat anchored outside of the park.

I call the photo on the right The Laughing Cyclops Sponge with it's broad grin and one "eye"  these images were taken on our dive with the Royal Bahamian Defense Force, just one of the many sting rays that were "hiding" in the sands in about 20-30' of water.

On our way into Emerald Bay we saw what we thought was a pod of Dolphins nearby, as they got closer I was sure they were not Dolphins, Bob guessed that they were Pilot Whales, which it turned out they were.  This is the most exposed photo I was able to get, the rest were just fins....about 15 of them.

No....Bob is not wearing a stove pipe hat!!  A piling "photo bomb"while posing with two of the five fish he and his fishing buddy Gail caught off her skiff while at Compass Cay, the left photo shows the nice Mahi Mahi that we caught on the way over to Compass.  Happy Day!

Anybody see the movie DEAD CALM?  I saw it many years ago and many times since.  It rattles your desire to sail the oceans blue, or at least to come to the assistance of a boat that could be abandoned...or WHATEVER?!*#@!   When Bob and I were cruising on a calm day we saw this boat anchored a ways off shore...and NO we were not tempted to take our dinghy over to see if they were dead or alive... or psycho!

New York New York!!  My Sister Janet and I celebrated her 70th in NYC seeing shows, eating...eating...walking and just enjoying the city.   The only sad part was touring the 911 Memorial, the upper left photo was taken inside the memorial with a large photo of the former twin towers displayed.  Amazing structures that I learned more about and now understand more on how they collapsed...heat, bending steel.  

A day made more heart rendering when toured with three American Airlines flight attendants, my Sister Janet included who knew several of the crew that died that day.  Looking at their photos, reading their stories, hearing their voices as they left messages on family answering devices and the calls to air traffic control to relay the situation.  God rest their souls as they are all heroes.  The memorial fountains have all the names that perished in lights around the edge, the last column taken down is now preserved within the memorial and was taken to the site draped in black with the American Flag covering it with an entourage of dignitaries and bagpipes accompanying it.  

After the Memorial it was indeed time for a great dinner with a cocktail.... Janet's friend drove us to the River Cafe, located under the Brooklyn Bridge with a view of Manhattan that used to include the World Trade Center towers.  We ordered martini's with olives stuffed with blue cheese, and they came slowing because the bartender hand stuffs the olives...the martini was a thing of beauty, followed by a dinner that we shall not forget...lots of fois gras!

Yes...My Sister Janet turned 70 and I am two years behind her, Dang!  But as we say...always so much better than the alternative of Not getting older!  She wanted to celebrate at Eleven Madison West, one of the two owners is a friend of hers.  We were treated like royalty (and we're not?) as we were brought into the kitchen of the 3rd Best Restaurant in the WORLD and served drinks made in front of us; penicillin is the name of the drink, popular during prohibition at New York speakeasy's, and made with liquid nitrogen.  Certainly a night to remember...a 4 hour dinner with my wonderful sister!  

CABARET - at STUDIO 54 - KIT KAT KLUB

One of the plays we attended.....

Anyone who watches Alan Cumming on Good Wife will be like me...and when watching it you will want him to strip down topless and start strutting, dancing and singing!  Amazing talent and he shared the stage with Emma Stone.  Great musical shown in the best venue...Studio 54!  We wanted to go right back in to experience it the 2nd time...Go to YouTube and put in Cabaret Alan Cumming.  He is sooooo naughty :)

 

Another day of gin clear blue water & then back to traffic....Mansions & Nassau!

If ya gotta leave...this is the way to end our winter in the Bahamas, the most beautiful weather imaginable... then entering the Nassau harbor you pass a few of the above mansions, then find our slip at Nassau Harbor Club where we will wait for Dan Himes to join us on Memorial Day, then we head off to explore the Berry Islands.  Dan was our delivery capt when we bought Veda L in 1999, now I call him Bob's playmate as they both love the boating, diving, lobstering life, his playdate will last a week until we go back to Coconut Grove where he lives.  The lower left photo shows small patch reefs and soft coral in about 15' of water as we leave Rock Sound a couple days ago. The aqua blue water was our approach to Nassau yesterday.

Veda L...You are not in Eleuthera anymore! Click our sandals together and take us home!

Buddy at 19 is such a trooper!  He very politely requests his bounce or bounces every morning with a gentle tap on my leg while he looks up at me with a soft mew....  He is saying "Excuse me Ma'm but could I have just a few moments of your time for a lovely little bounce?  He has to be over my left shoulder and I have to pat his bottom softly and whisper sweet nothings in his furry little ears....  Just saw that the oldest cat alive according to Guinness is only 25 years old.  Buddy can surpass that as we know that purring is like yoga....his secret to longevity!  Note his puddy paws...6 toes that would make the Hemingway cats in Key West hide their pathetic little paws in shame!

No, Bob did not pick up someone else's catch when their head was turned; he caught every one of these 13 Mahi Mahi and 4 Tuna with his own fishing gear on Veda L!  We firmly believed that fish purposely veered off their course not to go near us, the only fish we felt were caught by us were very old or demented fish who probably wanted to end their lives.

This is Bob with Lyndon on the left (duh..really?) who is our friend, boat detailer and fish finder!  We met Lyndon last year  as he cleaned our boat on a weekly basis, then would ask us if we wanted to go fishing with him, who needed a guide right??   We have a boat, there is the sea...here is our bait....then the fish will come....WRONG.  This year we gave Lyndon a chance at fishing and the photos above were the end result.  We have never come back empty handed with him. but this was the ultimate!  We were just laughing each time he would yell FISH ON!  FISH ON!   FISH ON! as sometimes we had a fish on all three lines.  I lost one large bull Mahi that I was reeling in, and was secretly happy as it looked like his mate was swimming with him, of course Lyndon said "then we catch her too, then they be together!"  Bob and I decided that he has the eyes equivalent of an eagle as he would see frigate birds that we couldn't find with our binoculars.   

Just one of the interesting sights we see while taking our early morning walk...a circular pile of soldier crabs probably about a foot wide, upon close inspection (and with my macro lens) you can see the beautiful shells that they have chosen as their home, and according to Wikipedia.....this is their reproduction method.  Sex orgy...very indiscriminate.

Veda L was very happy to call this slip at Davis Harbour her home sweet slip since last November, we did leave on occasion, to go home for Christmas and to travel to Aruba, but mostly we stayed at Davis Harbour...and why not?  Great windsurfing...(See Bob Fly!) I clocked him at 25mph!  Fishing is great between "home" and Little San Salvadore , an hour and a half cruise, a lovely creek is great for my SUP, and the staff are beyond friendly, they are truly our family.
 

No photo shop needed....but I did SCREAM when I looked out the window after dinner and saw this!  It was so beautiful and intense that it was almost scary.  I took this from atop Veda L's fly bridge for the birds eye view.

The most fun ever...giving our Grandgirls their fist Bahama experience!  Rachael (top left with the seaweed "do") just emailed me and said that little Evie (3yrs) below on top left, is always talking about the Ah-hamas and tells stories of her trip,which is what this trip was all about...building confidence in new experiences.  The last night on the boat we watched the sun drop into the sea and Evie said "there goes my sun!"  Ms.Amelia took to being surfer girl on my SUP while at Exuma Land and Sea Park and took turns on it with Mom Rachael.  That is Amelia (bottom right) who came walking down the beach proclaiming that she had mermaid hair...she turned 5 while with us and we had a wonderful party at Compass Cay with marina owner Tucker Rolle and his Brother Preston as her special invited guests.  She said "I want some friends to come!"  So they did!  The kids rented a home on Compass Cay called Mango House, the girls would walk down to the boat to see us, but would call first on the hand held radio to let us know to meet them at "the picnic table" Lots of new things...no cell phones...hand held radio communications!

The girls were told to keep an eye out for orange spots in the water to see if they could find starfish, they found two HUGE star cushions,  Grandpa dove in to bring them up to pose for photos, and let the girls examine them, then Amelia said "it is alive, so we have to put it back now"  a good study she is!  Of course we had to go to Big Major's near Staniel Cay to feed the swimming pigs, and of course they tried to get in the tender...which made it fun!  Down Piggy!!   The girls have been in swimming lessons, but only used swim goggles.  We had kid sized mask/snorkel/fin sets for them and were more than surprised when Amelia was actually diving down under the water to count the nurse sharks that hang out at Compass Cay under the dock.  Amelia also went into the silver palm jungle growth to pick up this very large hermit crab, which did end up giving her a nip...and she gave it a flying lesson.......

Amelia says "my favorite color is sea foam blue"  and most often she was surrounded by it! We took a night off from Mango House and all spent the night on Veda L at the Exuma Land & Sea Park.  Headquarters shown on top.  The reconstructed bones of a whale show us what happens when plastic is ingested, as they have a bag of plastic items that was found in the whales stomach as it washed ashore.  Little Evie Rose is showing off the shell necklace that Grammy and her made while at the Sea Park.

Leaving Davis Harbour we spent the night anchored off Rock Sound after exploring Schooner Cays, the next day we enjoyed calm, gin clear water almost all the way to Shroud Cay where we picked up a mooring ball and spent the night.  We took a ride in the tender up the creek , through the middle of the Cay to the Sound,  as we went around the bend what should I see but a flippin' cairn.  I get cairns.  Being a hiker I was accustomed to seeing them along trails showing you the way, however.....  People building these piles of rocks just to show that they were there before you is to me a type of graffiti... I am a fan of leaving things as you find them in nature.  So, I did my thing and took it apart...there, fixed the view!  Thank you Bob for dropping me off on shore to do my thing!

Aruba!  We spent a month there during Carnaval so that I can once again "jump" in four of the parades, two of them being lighting parades and the others daytime events.  I think my feet are still tingling from all the dancing!  Strinda (who has been my very good friend since 1989) chooses the group with the best music and the sexiest costumes, a real good reason for me to keep working out for sure.  We had pleated wings that were lit for night time,  words cannot describe the feeling of the music, the beauty and the DANCING!  Even though we are in pain and tired, we don't want it to end. (there is not a shoe that feels good on your feet after dancing 6 hours)

Deep Creek Middle School is a very environmentally conscious school where the children design their own projects,such as recycling programs, reef protection ideas, conch & fishing sustainability,etc.   The main school building is shown upper left, below we have the recycling system shown to us by our student guides.  The next step these kids can take is to be involved in The Island School where they do hydro-planting, live in all solar powered dorms, and do research on eliminating lion fish from the reefs-which has been a huge cause of mine since they invaded the waters. At "graduation" they either swim 4 miles in the ocean or run a 10K....your choice!  Our guide at Island School was Luke who free dives 80' and is a student at MSU, down here doing research.  

Slipper Lobster brought up with just a glove for a photo op...pretty ugly, and very rare so we would never consider taking it.  The Lionfish on Bob's spear is our favorite way to serve them....fish kabob!  These little monsters can suck a reef dry of juveniles within a week, and you can see the damage they are doing with fewer fish on the reefs.  the boat load of Bahamians with not much freeboard were giving us "mercy conch" as we were not doing so well...and they were.  The other two photos were taken at "the bar" which is a shallow dive that I love, a sandbar that goes about 1/4 mile off shore and has depths of 2-15' is just a beautiful spot to find shells, sand dollars and such.  Bob follows me in the tender and collects the gems that I bring up.  One of my finds was a tulip shell that day.

Buddy....the Bahama Boating Cat turns 19!

We were fortunate enough to adopt Buddy 16 years ago, although diabetic he seems to be doing well due to our constant glucose checks and insulin adjustments.  We expect him to have many more Bahama cruises in his lifetime.  Ms Amelia loves Buddy so much, he has been the constant pet in her life, and he allows her to love the stuffin's out of him...sometimes she almost grits her teeth when she says "I love you so much Buddy"  Ted says that she is asking when Buddy is coming home..it will be the end of this month!  We leave Bahamas Jan. 27 to spend a couple weeks in MN before flying to Aruba for windsurfing and Carnival!   Ted and Rachael have a Vail ski trip planned, so the girls will be with Grammy, Grandpa AND Buddy for a few days. 

When Amelia had her tonsils out and spent some time recuperating at Grammy's last year, Buddy slept by her side as her loving companion!  Repaying the constant love she gives him.

Another Day....Another Lobster!

Each morning we start our day by walking down a sand road about 3/4 mi which ends at what I call Baby Beach, as it is a shallow cove perfect for small children to swim in, Deep Creek flows into the sea here, and if you are snorkeling you will enjoy the current taking you down the creek at a pretty good speed on an outgoing tide, plus the water is a warm 85+ degrees.  Once the current takes you to the sea, you feel as if you are in a whirlpool as the incoming waves come one way while the current takes you in another direction; a great discovery!  

Granted, we are not blessed with a sky like this EVERY night, but once in awhile you see the color coming over the treetops and you make a run for the beach before the sunset fades.  Mother Nature puts on a pretty spectacular show!

Dinner!  We are adding a rib eye with Bahamian Jerk seasoning and having surf and turf tonight!
Bob was relentless yesterday...just more reef...ok just one more reef.  I called him a reef-a-holic as it was like a drunk saying "just one more bar and then we will go home"

Love Eleuthera! Let me count the ways!

Bahamian ingenuity!  Flat tire and no jack?  Hey...I got a fork lift!

One of our favorite stops going to and from the airport; LaFleurs  veggie market, always a bounty to behold, and he will chop the top off a coconut to give you a refreshing coconut milk drink. He said he is angry with Martha Stewart as when she was visiting the island, she stopped by his stand, she published a picture of him taken in the rain which was not too becoming to him.

T.J.'s...the happening place in Green Castle, whether you are stopping by for a Kalik, a rum or a game of dominoes in the back room, you will be greeted as if you are an old friend.

How did we choose Eleuthera?  We have this man to thank!  Glen Roy Smith, Chief of Operations at Davis Harbour Marina.  He became our friend when he was Harbormaster at Emerald Bay on Exuma, and we missed him so decided to come see him last year to see what his new gig was all about.  When we entered the marina we felt like we were in old Bahamas, but yet had all the amenities we could wish for in a marina.  I had a wish.....I wanted to take some cargo net home to MN for installation on Buckhorn Beach, our summer St Croix River hangout.  Glen Roy is somewhat like Santa Claus, he makes wishes come true.  He & Bob cut, pulled and dragged a huge piece off a nearby beach, we rinsed it, packed it in a box and shipped it home when we got to Florida.... end result; happy GrandGirls and friends as they "hung out" in the cargo net!