Day 1 in Spanish Wells
We left Nassau this morning for Eleuthera. Before we pulled out, our new friend and fellow looper came over for a bon voyage and picture of them wearing their AQUAMAN T-shirts. I mean, what’s the chance of meeting a fellow looper, in a Bayliner, who also has a vintage AQUAMAN t-shirt!! Super cool!!! Dale helped us untie lines and cast off. I am sure our paths will cross again in the near future. Meeting loopers is just awesome. Andy and I were talking today that everyone in the Bahamas has been so friendly and nice. From fellow boats, to dock hands, to marina staff and even store clerks. This place has been very gracious and friendly. Everyone waves and says Hi while passing in the street and greet us with a big smile as we pull into marinas. It has made us feel safe and welcome.
We started our crossing from Nassau to Eleuthera and it was good. The swell built a bit but it was manageable. I stayed in my preferred spot facing to the back and not watching the swell. I do better this way. I still get a bit nervous when we pull away, but I’m getting better and we don’t take chances with sketchy weather. We wait and watch before we go. The boat moved easily thru the swell and we were comfortable. Once we got behind the outer Islands and protected waters it turned to glass. We still can’t believe we travel in such shallow water were we can see the bottom. We haven’t gotten used to that yet.
We arrived at Spanish Wells Yacht Haven. We had to come through a narrow and shallow channel. Andy maneuvered the boat like he had done this 100 times. The dock master met us and helped us tie up the boat. There was not even 1knot of wind and we are in a mangrove channel that is totally protected from wind, waves and weather. We tied up, settled in and went up to the restaurant for lunch. We again had that feeling of “where the heck are we and how did we get here!” We had an amazing lunch, a few drinks and decided to get the bikes down and cruise the island. It was the perfect way to check out this cute little town. I had the best bike ride and I enjoyed looking at the small bungalows and cottages. We went by the fishing docks and watched the fishing boats come in. Fishing seems to be the lifeblood of this place. Some boats were pulling in and the wildlife came in to feast on the refuge thrown into the water. Rays and sharks a plenty. We rode a good distance and stopped at a wonderful spot for a drink.
This marina is in a narrow channel with mangroves on one side. It is totally still and empty. Most people anchor out. We could, but we have both decided we love being in marinas. We meet people and its nice not being isolated. Although this place is a ghost town right now, just a few boats, the restaurant had lots of people from the island eating.
I can’t wait to go kayak and paddleboard tomorrow. We will get the dingy down and go exploring and snorkel. The dinghy had a falling out last week after scaring the you know what out of me. It promises to behave. I’ll let you know how that goes.
I have said that I want to live in a small (but not too small) place that has no stop lights and I can drive around in a golf cart to the store and the beach. This place is ALL golf carts. They wizzed by us on our bikes and I kept saying, “this is what I have dreamed about!”
We cooked a yummy dinner. A really nice guy in Nassau gave us a huge piece of Wahoo that he had caught. We grilled it up and it was fabulous!! Then we decided to go get some dessert at the bar. We haven’t had a good dessert in a while. I had a hot fudge lava cake with ice cream and a glass of red wine. Now seriously, how can a day get any better then today????
We will explore this island tomorrow and see more of it. We will rent a golf cart and go explore the beaches and reefs.
Adventures Of Aquaman 