Traveling by boat from Florida to the Bahamas is relatively easy. You need good weather, an understanding of the Gulf Stream, enough fuel, and the correct travel/immigration documents, a little bit of money, and some gumption.
We chose the shortest route, from Key Largo to Bimini which was about 50 miles, going in a generally Northeast direction, taking advantage of the push of the Gulf Stream and the favorable wind. It took about five hours, and we were in Alice Town!
First stop was the Aliv store to buy a SIM card and hot spot so that we had cell service in the Bahamas. This was super easy and worked well throughout the islands.
Second stop was a roadside stand for some conch ceviche, known throughout the Bahamas as conch salad. Check out our friend, the ray and the huge pile of emptied conch shells! And look at that clear water. Ahhhhh….
Bimini was a little rough around the edges, which is our preferred situation. But the local nightclub a half block away was playing pounding music so loud that we could barely hear each other! And the weather was about to change for the worse, so we stayed one night on Bimini and moved along.
It was a long travel day to New Providence (most famous as the home of Nassau and the Atlantis resort). More weather was coming, so we holed up at a fancy marina on the Southwest of the island. It was expensive, but they had a nice beach, pool area, and a couple of good restaurants. It is hard to complain about being stuck here:
But if you look closely at the palm trees and beach hut roofs, you can guess why we didn’t leave for a few days.
Meanwhile, Christine and Mark were coming to join us and the wind was making it challenging to meet up with them in Nassau to start our trek south to the Exumas. Many, many options were explored and only one looked like it was going to work with the weather.
It looked like our best shot was to leave our luxury marina as soon as the wind let up and go as fast and as far south as we could. Christine and Mark would get into Nassau as planned, then immediately board a (tiny) airplane to the Exumas. Somehow it worked, and we successfully met at Staniel Cay!
Yay! Life was as it should be once again.
We stayed a night at Staniel Cay Yacht Club, had a fancy-ish dinner, and watched the nurse sharks swim around our boat. It was a fine way to start our time together!
The next day we headed for an anchorage and our first adventure together! A dinghy trip to Oven Rock Cave, to do some freshwater cave snorkeling! We struggled to find the path from the beach through the jungle to the cave entrance, but wow, it was worth it!
We were told to bring our scuba torches (underwater flashlights). It was definitely dark, especially once we got past the entrance pool and snorkeled deep into the cavern. Certainly a little creepy, but the water was super clear, and it was so cool to see bats, freshwater shrimp, and underwater stalagmites and stalactites all in one place.
That night, we had a truly scary experience.
We wanted to eat dinner out, so all four of us got into the dinghy and headed to Little Farmer’s Cay Yacht Club. It was a little bit of a rough ride, but not too bad. The manager greeted us at the dock. Nice touch. The restaurant was funky, but in a good way. And the “pea soup” was actually good.
After dinner we headed back to the boat. This is when the terror began.
It was windy and wavy and very dark. That is an understatement. We had inadequate lighting for the dinghy, and our motor is small even for two people in ideal conditions. Another understatement. It was slow and painful (at least for Patty). And to top it all off, we forgot to leave the boat lights on to light our way home. Needless to say, we made it back. Nobody died. But sheesh.
The next day, we headed north, making our way along the Exumas, anchoring and snorkeling as much as possible. We visited several places in the Exuma Land and Sea Park, the first marine reserve established in the Caribbean. The water was warm and clear. Look at the size of that conch shell!
Pirate’s Lair was the most memorable anchorage in the park. Such a lovely spot!
And it came with an actual treasure hunt! We dinghied over to the highest spot on land, then hiked up to an awesome view point. We followed the cryptic clues and unearthed a cache of trinkets, international money, and a bottle of unopened rum!
We left the treasure there for others to find. Fun, fun, fun!
We also did several hikes in the park, through sharp-rocked trails and talcum powder beaches and rickety bridges.
At Shroud Cay, we tucked into an amazingly small, private, and shallow spot that most boats cannot get into. While everyone else was anchored in the yellow area, we spent the night in that little tiny cove at the red arrow.
Only room for one boat! We enjoyed our little slice of paradise. We took the dinghy through the mangrove trails to the other side of the island. For a nap. Sigh…. life is good when you’re not in a rush.
After a few nights at anchor, we needed a marina. We chose Highbourne Cay, a resort island with white sand beaches, a marina, cottages, loaner bikes, and (apparently) great windsurfing. It was truly a beautiful place.
And since the restaurant there was closed on Valentine’s Day, we celebrated with grilled lamb and champagne on the boat. Quiet and romantic. (Ignore the mega yacht and focus on the smiling faces and lovely sunset.)
One more night at anchor near an iguana reserve, and our time with Mark & Christine came to a close.
We returned to New Providence, and stayed on the cheap at a private dock, rafted three deep with a variety of ragtag boats (and some nice ones) in a local’s backyard. We had electric and water, but it was rustic!
It was sad to see Mark & Christine go. But we had such an adventure with them.
Just as fast they left, Zoe & Bill joined us. The private dock was near a dive shop, so we loaded up on tanks and weights, and we were set!
We did some “normal” scuba diving, and we also used our Nomad snuba set ups (with surface supplied air through a hose). So much fun! It was a dream to fly the scuba flag and dive off our boat. I wish we had done more of it….
Since Zoe and Bill were only able to be with us for a short time, we decided to end it with a trip to Atlantis! Such a different experience than the rest of our time in the Bahamas…. But so much fun!
We went on most of the waterslides, and must have floated around the Rapids River a dozen or more times!
And so it ended…. Zoe and Bill left to go back to the workaday world, and Gary and I were left to our own devices.
Next up is Eleuthera, the Abacos, and Grand Bahama. Then back to the mainland.
To see our current voyage path with Gary’s photos, click on this: G&P Voyage Map
NOTE: In case you haven’t picked up on it already, I’m not writing in real time…. We are actually back home in Oregon, and the boat is for sale in Florida.