MARCH

MEEKS PATCH, ELEUTHERA

Our own private island and beach for the night

There was a run down picnic table and old hammock left behind that we made good use of. We brought our own grill to shore and had a BBQ with Bob and Diane.

Alderaan and Sanderling at anchor off the beach 

Rudder is anxious to go crabbing on the beach!

ROCK SOUND, ELEUTHERA

Bob diving to replace the zinc on the bottom of our boat.

WARDERICK WELLS, EXUMA LAND AND SEA PARK

On route to the most beautiful anchorage ever!
Warderick Wells, South Moorings 

Sanderling and Alderaan in the background, our dinghies on the beach in the foreground.

Our morning walk took us across the island to this secluded beach. 

When we got back this big guy had joined us in the anchorage!

The view from the top of the island....our dinghies on the beach below. 

Diane giving Marc a much needed hair cut...with Rudder's dog clippers!
Bob and Rudder next in line!

Fish eye view of our anchorage....Bob and Marc sitting on the dinghy in foreground, Diane wading in the crystal clear WARM water to the left.

The warden at Exuma Land and Sea park was looking for someone to do some repairs on a whale skeleton that had been reassembled on the beach a number of years ago. Marc volunteered, brought in his drill and some wire....and got a free night's mooring for his efforts!

Marc at the dock near our mooring...there was great snorkeling in the reefs between the dock and mooring field

Looking down on the mooring field from the top of "BooBoo Hill

The narrow north mooring field at Exuma Land and Sea Park. Alderaan is 2nd from right, Sanderling 2nd from left. That's sand in front of the boats, and 2 feet of water to the right! We're sitting in about 9 feet at high tide!
Sketchy getting in there, but well worth it...gorgeous anchorage!

This is the infamous "BooBoo Hill". Cruisers hike to the top of the hill above the anchorage with a piece of scrap wood with their boat's name on it and leave it on the pile. It was fun looking through the pile and recognizing a few names of other boats we have met along the way!

Here's our little "Alderaan " sign that we added to the pile.

On top of BooBoo Hill...our boat is barely visible in the mooring field below

Snorkeling from the dinghy...look at that water! We saw tang, grouper, needle fish and from time to time turtles and rays.

BIG MAJOR SPOT AND STANIEL CAY

Snorkeling in Thunderball Grotto, where one of the first James Bond Movies was filmed

Bob trying out his new underwater camera

The view floating on my back inside the grotto looking up towards the holes in the ceiling of the cave

Diane and I taking a break inside the grotto 

THE PIGS!!!
Marc being chased by one of the piggies looking for food...he kept yelling "I got nothin! I got nothin!"
I never laughed so hard in my life!
These pigs roam wild on Big Major Spot, but are typically very friendly.

This is "the momma". Can you believe that pigs actually swim? They swim out to meet the dinghy in hopes of getting a handout. We would dinghy in almost every day to visit and play with them...as you can imagine I was in "hog heaven"

The little ones, lining up for their treats of lettuce and other leftovers from the boat.

Just like dogs, they love to be scratched behind the ears.

The babies were adorable!

Communing with "the momma"...all those years making pig noises for my students at school finally paid off..."the momma" was definitely impressed that I spoke her language!

More from Thunderball Grotto

There are 2 grocery stores in Staniel Cay....the "pink one" and the "blue one" They are both about the size of our living room back home. You pretty much have to get there the day the supply boat gets tin from Nassau (once a week) because the next day the shelves are empty!

Resting in the shade outside the "Blue" market

This boat was anchored next to us at Staniel Cay...notice the slide on the side!

Our pet shark that lived under the boat for a few days...it is just a nurse shark...supposedly not dangerous, but you can bet I didn't swim off the boat for those few days! 

Beautiful bougainvillea everywhere!

The laundromat and liquor store in Staniel Cay

One more shot of me and the pigs!

BLACK POINT, EXUMA

Marc playing B-Ball with local boys after school

Police station in Black Point! (we never saw a policeman the whole time we were there....I really don't think they have one)

The hospital....

One of the more modern street signs we've seen in the Bahamas....

Having lunch with some local boys at their elementary school....we had fun showing them pictures of all the snow in Maine on our iPhone...they were so talkative and friendly and told us all about their school and life in Black Point.