From Cat Island, we had an easy day’s travel downwind across the Exuma Sound to Georgetown, Great Exuma. We will be in this area for most of February. There is a lot to explore, and Georgetown has a good international airport, perfect for hosting family this month.
A few days after we arrived in the area, Grace and her friend Eva came for a week’s visit. Their travel from Mammoth Lakes, CA to Tilia took more than 24 hours total. It was a long anticipated visit, since we had to cancel their planned visit last year so that Anne could recuperate from her injuries.
We had a wonderful week together! They were treated to some serious weather, with winds in the 30s gusting into the 40s on their day of arrival. We had a bit of rain as well, but mostly partly cloudy skies and chilly (for the Bahamas) with highs in the 60s most days.
The weather didn’t stop us from lots of exploring and adventures: hiking, snorkeling, swimming, and paddle boarding, to name a few. The cooler weather also makes it fun to cook aboard (it’s nice to heat up the boat a bit), so we had lots of yummy home cooked meals. Of course, we also visited a beach bar for a lunch of grilled fish one day and a conch stand for conch salad, prepared like ceviche, on another.
While we did take a slip in a marina during the first two nights of their visit, we anchored or tied to mooring balls for the rest of our nights with them. We all agree that as long as we choose locations carefully, taking into consideration wind, waves and swell, anchoring and mooring are very much preferable to marinas. Grace and Eva left early Saturday morning — the cab was waiting for them at the dinghy dock & met us after our 10 minute fast dinghy ride at dawn.