Livin' it up

I am once again pressed for time on the internet, so this post will be somewhat brief. It's ironic, in practically every other aspect of my life these days I have nothing but time! Finding online access is difficult at best and keeping it for any length of time is tricky. But that is okay. There are so many splendid things in the Abacos to make up for the lack of that modern convenience.

We docked at Green Turtle Club in White Sound on Green Turtle Cay. My days are starting to blend together and all I know is that it was some time last week, in the beginning of March. We stayed on that lovely island for three nights and four days. I went hiking every morning on the steep, dusty roads and was impressed by the views at a higher altitude. Up until Green Turtle all of the islands we've visited have been relatively flat.

Directly off our dock there was Brendal's Dive Shop. Chip's first sailing and scuba diving experience was with Brendal twenty five years ago when he came to the Bahamas with his family! I happened to strike up a conversation with a man our third day on Green Turtle and wouldn't you know it-it was Brendal. He is one of the most charismatic people I have ever met and we immediately were all fast friends. Chip was stoked to meet the man who first inspired his sailing interest. Brendal came to our boat later that evening and we all went to the little, dark, intimate Club bar for a drink and ended up hanging out at our boat for hours. I have been teaching myself how to play the guitar and Brendal was kind enough to help me with some chords. He travels with his own guitar (given to him as a birthday gift by Jack Johnson!) and played and sang beautifully. Really, at certain points I had tears in my eyes. It was a night I hope to remember always. My new favorite song is "No Woman, No Cry", by Brendal. I am completely inspired.

The next morning we decided to head out to Great Guana Cay, the party hot spot of the Abacos. The Barefoot Man/Nipper's outdoor concert was on Friday, March 6, so we wanted to get there a bit early and find a great anchorage spot in Fisher's Bay to park it for the weekend. The Barefoot Man concert was awesome. I had such a good time; my cheeks still hurt from smiling so much. There were so many people there we knew and it was great to run into friends we made back in West End. I danced and danced. In fact, towards the end of the day, I even got Chip to dance with me. Miracle of miracles!

It was a long day. The concert started at noon and we didn't get back to the boat until about 7:30pm. Not five minutes after we returned, Chip discovered that he had lost his wallet. So he hopped back into the dinghy, sped off to the dock, ran across the island-barefoot, mind you :), checked all over Nipper's but did not find his wallet. Until...the next morning he awoke and discovered it was, in fact, safely on the boat. Disaster averted.

Just as a side note-we saw the woman who holds the world record for the smallest waist at the concert. She was wearing a skintight leopard print leotard with a metallic gold belt that accentuated her unbelievably small middle (the result of having three ribs removed). Seriously, it was disturbing. If I touch both of my middle finger and thumb tips together, I swear her waist was no bigger than that in diameter. I would guess she is about seventy years old. I am not gossiping, just relaying a memorable sight!

We had a delicious breakfast with our friend Mike from West End the morning after the concert and we all decided to leave party town and go to Treasure Cay. National Geographic has ranked Treasure Cay among the worlds top ten most beautiful beaches. It was gorgeous, but in my opinion Manjack's Atlantic beach is still number one. We are going to visit Treasure Cay again on our way back north and explore it more thoroughly. Chip is getting antsy to cover more ground and get south to the Exumas where it is more isolated, so we're moving on.

Currently, I am sitting in an internet cafe in Marsh Harbor, which is the big city of the Abacos. There is one stop light here! We have stocked up on produce, propane, and a few boat necessities. Next stop is Hopetown, and from there we will see. As always, I will report more as soon as I have the opportunity. Love to all!
-Caitlin