25 March - 11 April 2015... Central Exumas and South!

Leaving the Park, we headed south for Black Point, a settlement on Great Guana Cay. A welcome stop with a large anchorage, and Ida's! Ida has what cruisers need -- a dinghy dock, laundry, cold drinks, and wifi -- all in one spot. It was all new five years ago when we were last here and looks just as good now. An added amenity is the gazebo overlooking the water. We took advantage of all Ida's offerings, also sending out some snail mail to the US (which took 3 weeks to arrive...oy). Trapped by a rare cold front we slipped around the corner to Little Bay to escape the worst of the NW-N wind. Parked there in front of the 'castle' -- those who've been by here know it as a landmark.

Southbound -- time to head to Georgetown for some reprovisioning and to see how things may have changed. We had a terrific sail down the bank to Musha Cay, anchoring in front of this private island with a small resort. Some stand-up paddlers came out to watch the sun set. We watched them watch. Next day, we were out early through Cave Cay Cut to Exuma Sound. Yikes! All quiet at anchor, then rock and roll out the cut -- gotta remember to watch the current through those narrow channels.

Another great sail south to Georgetown, with over a dozen boats heading north passing us. We figured Georgetown was emptying out. Upon arrival in Elizabeth Harbour we realized we were wrong. There were still over 200 boats anchored there. We settled on a deep spot near Monument Hill. Not many boats next to us as it requires over 100 feet of scope to anchor safely. Suits us! We jumped right in to explore the place. Not only was the town just about the same -- lots of the same cruisers were homesteaded there who were there 5 years ago. As part of our anthropological study we became part of the group and participated in several activities -- dancing on the deck at Chat 'n' Chill, hooked up to a dinghy drift, dancing at Eddy's Monday night rake n scrape, and Patti even kayaked over to morning water aerobics. We also did some kayak exploration including to Red Shanks -- where there is a replica of the Pont Neuf connecting the cays to the main island. Weird. And of course we climbed Monument Hill for the view over the harbour and the sound. Next adventure -- the Jumentos and Raggeds.

Black Point, Great Guana Cay: 24d05.823'N 76d24.323'W
Little Bay, Great Guana Cay: 24d04.826'N 76d23.389'W
Musha Cay, Great Guana Cay: 23d53.543'N 76d15.997'W
Georgetown, Great Exuma Island: 23d31.361'N 75d45.827'W