A Week In The Abacos - Sun - Glorious SUN!

It must be done...

Ahhh the skies are blue once again!  After days and days of heavy grey skies, the sun has finally graced us with his presence.  Brittney's quest for sunny beaches was about to be fulfilled!

We pulled up anchor after a marvelous snorkel outing off of Great Guana Cay and set off, still motoring, to our old home place at Treasure Cay.

Bruce and I had spent some days there lounging on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world and we had saved this one for last.

I was happy for Brittney to experience the Sea of Abaco in sunshine.  The difference is like - well... night and day!

With no anxiety at all we motored into the anchorage and found our former spot waiting for us.  Eager to get to the beach, we wasted no time getting settled and loaded up our beach bags for an afternoon of doing nothing.

By Brittney

We only gave a nod to the swimming pool, even though our paid anchorage includes pool privileges... maybe later.  We made our way across the street to the white sand that we knew was bound to bring a smile to Brittney's face.

I was thankful for the fact that the beach was nearly deserted, leaving us our choice of primo shady spots... two palm trees.

We made our nest and relaxed with some of the best wi-fi in the Bahamas... It just doesn't get any better than this.

Who goes to the Bahamas to sit on a beach and surf the internet? A valid question.  But our butts were draggin' and this was just what we needed.

Ahhhh!

After a while, the crystal waters beckoned and we answered...

It's so easy to get used to this.

The water is so silky soft and salty that it buoys you up effortlessly... well, if you've got a bit of padding that is.  Brittney had a little more difficult time floating with her feet up than I did.  Who knew that a little pudge was a good thing?

Making memories!

All this activity has made us hungry and today was another "eat out" day.  I just love the laid back attitude here in the Bahamas.  I walked up to the beach and asked if we could stake out our tables and wait on the beach for our meal to arrive.  I'm thinking it will take the usual half hour or more... They said SURE, so we ordered and went back to our loungers.  

Very soon (by Bahamian standards) our meal was served and the Server was yodeling for us to come and get it!

The food was great and the view even better... We ate until we could hardly move and then gathered our belongings and trudged back to the boat.

Jezabelle loves to work out!

Brittney got in a quick workout before we hit the showers.  I've gotta hand it to her... this girl is motivated!

One more day.  We have only one more day with Brittney.  Back to Marsh Harbour we go but this time we chose to stay at the other marina there to see what they have to offer.  We arrived at Marsh Harbour Marina by late morning and got docked then took off for the Mermaid Reef.  We had to take advantage of this second day of full on sunshine and the reef is located conveniently just off the beach near the marina.

Finding the tiny beach was kind of tricky.  There are privately owned properties all along this stretch.  We could see the dinghies and boats anchored out near the reef as we walked along the road.  Finally we came to a wooded pathway and followed it to the water's edge.

This looks like the place!  We waded into the water to our knees then floated away towards the reef.

We encountered some large cement shapes on the bottom with fish hiding inside...  I'm pretty sure this little guy thought I couldn't see him. If I'm not mistaken, that's a Nassau Grouper and they are tasty!  Lucky for him we aren't spear hunters!

I happened upon a sea hare on my way to the reef.  This is only the second time I've seen them and they fascinate me.  They look like a giant snail with no shell.

When I got to the reef, the abundance of fish there was astounding.  They were everywhere... busily munching and milling about.


Enjoy this photo barrage with a video at the end!

Bruce swimmin' with the fishes!

Our evening was somber.  Brittney would be jetting back to San Diego in the morning. Back to her new life with her Husband-To-Be.  Rest assured this is the only reason we let her leave us.  In the morning she packed up her things and we took a few last minute memory-pics.

All too soon, her taxi was here.  We walked her up to the landing but just couldn't let her get into that car alone.  We piled in and rode to the airport with her.  What's another $25 in taxi fares if it got us another hour with our girl!

This time with Brittney was just so grand.  A week of sunshine and TWO daughters would be our only change request.

It has taken me some weeks to finally finish getting these posts done because right after she left, I just couldn't look at the pictures.  Now as I go through them and write these posts, I smile ear to ear.  One of the most difficult things about cruising is missing your kids.

We are lucky to have two such strong and self sufficient daughters who are living their own lives with their loved ones.  But still... these stolen moments with Brittney will be among our most cherished memories.