More From the Exumas…..

We made it to Elizabeth Harbour, Georgetown, the southern terminus of our Exumas cruise, on May 17^th. This section of the trip included stops at Great Guyana Cay and Cave Cay, before making a run of about 35 miles down the deep – and somewhat rough – waters of Exuma Sound.

Most of the PDQ fleet has now turned around and headed back, so we’ve had plenty of time to explore this area on our own before our son and daughter-in-law join us in early June for a cruising vacation.

The time also provides an opportunity to catch up on our blog, and reflect on our Exumas experience so far. Our strongest impressions include…..the clarity and colours of the water….the countless pristine beaches, from tiny to many miles long…..the diversity of sea life (tropical fish and coral of course, but also sharks, barracuda, rays, turtles, and dolphins)…..and the remoteness of the region.

While very beautiful, the Exumas are sparsely populated, and less developed than we expected. Even Great Exuma, the business and administrative centre, has limited services, and one must be patient if there is a need for certain supplies (e.g. we had mechanical difficulties with our outboard and had to wait days for parts to arrive from Nassau on the ‘mail boat’). Fortunately, the helpfulness of both the local and cruiser communities goes a long way to compensate for this.

We also continue to adjust to the differences in the marine environment – wind, sea states and sometimes intricate passages – as it is not the same as the coastal cruising with which we are familiar. However, for us, this is all part of the excitement and attraction of cruising.

Thee’s still lots more to come from the Bahamas, although the next post will likely have to wait until our return home to Vancouver,  around the end of June.