THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE AREN'T THINGS........

SO TRUE, SO VERY TRUE..................... THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE AREN'T THINGS....... They are the relationships with family and friends, the emotions, the visions, the inspirations and all the other non-tangibles of which we are certainly experiencing an abundance in these beautiful tropical waters of the EXUMA CAYS ..........The "Queen of Florida and the Bahamas" wearing a different kind of Royal Crown............ We went for a dive in an underwater cave in STANIAL CAY which was made famous in the James Bond film "THUNDERBALL". We fed the fish underwater with bits of bread and felt them biting our fingertips............. which in itself was surprising for the water was so cold, we should have lost all feeling......

From STANIAL CAY we sailed further south to BLACK POINT SETTLEMENT, an assortment of houses and shops on a rocky headland for a couple of day's shelter from strong prevailing winds. Time to go ashore and meet the people, who are entrepreneurs in fishing, weaving, boatbuilding and lead colourful lives.



Came upon this local Bahamian boat under construction. Much of the framing is being hand-cut from locally grown timber, albeit the extension cord indicates that the adze has been replaced with a circular power saw. It is, nevertheless a work of art in its skeletal stage. A finished one is further below.



"THUNDERBALL GROTTO" at STANIAL CAY, below. These Bahamian sloops race annually in fierce competitions for Island honours and the races are fascinating to watch with their often near-capsising antics, in order to win races.........



Island living, despite the beauty, is still a tough call. Take a look at this patch of corn being grown in someone's garden (Double-click on it and see if you'd call it a garden?) and weaving palm leaves all day to make these four inch ribbons that are then stitched together to make baskets, purses, hats, arm-bands and "straw-market" merchandise. What else can you do in "Paradise"......................... Well here is 'Global Glenn of the Yacht "TREEHOUSE", now known locally as "Conchy Joe" trying to teach this young Bahamian the finer art of basketball.................. He might have to wait a while as the kid's fingers have trouble holding an ice-cream.........



From STANIAL CAY we sailed further south to DARBY CAY and the adventures of "THE GREAT WHITE COCONUT HUNTERS" Beautiful blue water, incredible white beaches and nuts everywhere. My traditional methods of using a sharp stick fell apart for there were no sharp sticks to be had, but Mike showed us the modern method of crushing the nut with a large rock. This is known as the "Between a rock and a hard place" method. It works very well if you retain all your limbs, toes and fingers, and there is no blood showing anywhere ............... thanks Mike & Anne, on the Yacht "BEANS" who presented the 'Queen' with a lovely 'wild bean' necklace, one of nature's gifts of the islands.



And 'gifts' in this place come a-plenty. At the end of the day we feasted on coconut and lobster tail to enjoy yet another beautiful sunset in "PARADISE" on the back porch of "ARITA". All this before making our way to STOCKING ISLAND and GEORGETOWN at the end of the EXUMA chain, for our final stocking-up of provisions, fuel and internet. (Is this why they call it 'STOCKING ISLAND'?)

Love our water-maker. This unit is better than sliced cheese.....For the first time ever, on our last 35 mile windless motor/sail passage, we had the tap overflowing in the sink, and all tanks full with sweet tasting reverse-osmosis water. Home-made water from the sea. It doesn't get any better than that...............There is more to come from this great anchorage where yachts congregate before heading off to all parts of the world, and if you don't have an accurate compass, well then, there's this marker on the beach.................... to at least give you a head start.