Kathmandu, Nepal

My trip to Nepal was far too short, yet I was glad to join my friend Mike for a few days of travel adventure. He has completed his assignment and is heading back to Mississippi, USA. I will go on to India for a couple of weeks to visit friends there.

For our last night, Tara gathered some of his friends for dinner and a night of live music in Thamel. His brother Ghopal and friend Bishwas joined us, making a party of five. It was a fun night--music, dancing, and yes, even some sheesha for me. Ha. It is the water pipe from the Middle East with apple flavoring. I don't do tobacco. It was all good fun and made a great farewell for our time. We returned to Tara's house to repack and gather our bags for the airport. Mike was also flying to Delhi, but on a separate flight. We were hoping to hook up for a few hours there before he headed on home, but there was some mix-up about his getting Indian currency, so he took a room at the airport for the time while I went on into Delhi from my later flight. My friend Neeraj came to join me. It was such a delight to see him again. He is in Delhi for training and we could spend a few evenings together.

On Saturday, once he completed his training, we were able to go to Jaipur by train. Jaipur is where he lives. I stayed at his parents' house and we hooked up with his friend Gaurav.

My list of friends in different parts of the world continues to grow. I can now go just about anywhere, it seems, and I know someone there. I am no longer just a citizen of one country, but feel that the world is my home. It is the way of our future. We are one community, with only differing sub-cultures. If our languages vary, our hearts are only one and the same.

Salt Lake City UT, USA

Salt Lake City UT, USA

Hiawatha KS, USA

Kathmandu, Nepal

We left Pokhara by car and headed for Chitwan National Park. Our driver seemed to be in a hurry as we sped around curves on the mountain road to a point that we were getting car sick. We asked him to slow down, which he finally did. Chitwan is at a lower elevation and is more tropical, much more like India than Nepal. We checked into the Westwood Hotel, which was quite nice and took a walking tour of Chitwan before sunset. We saw elephants and walked along the river just before sunset. Because of the hazy conditions, the sunset was not that spectacular, but nice.

The next morning we were up to take an elephant ride into the jungle. Mike and I squeezed onto one elephant carriage atop with a couple from Hong Kong. We slogged our way through the jungle and saw some wild life--mostly spotted deer and rhinos. Tara had to take the next elephant departure, so we waited for him at the end of the ride. Next was time for the elephant shower, which involved our boarding elephants in the river. We took off our shirts and emptied our pockets. The elephants then proceeded to dowse us with water from the river. My driver decided it would be a good thing for my elephant to dump me out into the river, which he did by rolling over to one side. I came crashing into the river, hoping, of course, this wasn't an area populated by crocodiles! It was all good fun.

In the afternoon, we took a dugout canoe down the river. This time it was crocodile infested. We eased by some large ones, hoping that we would not turn over and make the crocs day with fresh tourist on the menu. Once we disembarked, we hiked to the elephant breeding grounds to see a mother elephant with her newborn. She still had her twin elephants with her. They were about 4 and half years old. This was a special treat for me, for I had been here before and seen them when they were babies! They will soon be separated from her to grow into adulthood. The twins are a rare phenomenon, these being the only twin elephants in the world, we were told.

We capped off our evening by attending the cultural dances of the area's native population. They originally immigrated here from Rajasthan India. It was quite a performance. On the last dance,  members of the audience are invited to participate. Mike and I being good sports got up and joined the group. What fun! Afterward, we stopped for some live music and even a little sheesha at the Acoustic.

It was a good time. We returned to Kathmandu the next morning.

Terre Haute KOA, USA

Sharpsburg MD, USA

Gettysburg PA, USA

Harpers Ferry WV, USA

brunswick ga, USA

On we went to Amelia Island, and a Port City called Fernandina Beach. This is a very interesting place as it is a beautiful historic port town at each end of which is a gigantic paper mill spewing out evil smelling effluent into the air. We stayed on a mooring ball, took our bikes into the dock and rode around the whole place. There is a significant fort with a lot of Spanish and Civil War history and well preserved for historical purposes.  Beautiful buildings again, and a lot of interesting restaurants etc. There was a huge shrimp festival due to take place the next weekend but we decided not to wait for that – it would have delayed us by several days. A dumb decision as it turns out – see next bit. We covered a fair few miles on the bikes and it was good to get some exercise again. Maybe it is the proximity of the submarine base, or something else, but this area is constantly patrolled by attack helicopters flying patrols up and down the coast. There must be something going on here.

We headed out with Irish Attitude in pretty crappy weather, which wasn’t really a problem until we got to St Andrews Sound which is over the border with Georgia and is very open to the Atlantic. The seas built up quickly and became the biggest we had encountered so far in this boat. I was really pleased with the way that the boat handled it but Shirley was less than happy with the experience, understandable really as it was pretty up there in terms of the height and steepness of the waves.

No worries, tho, and we made it into Brunswick, Georgia and a marina that was a bit of a challenge to get into in the wind and current. We spent 2 nights there, as the weather was pretty crappy, and had a good look around the town. It has been a significant place in its day, but it is pretty sad now – most of the CBD shops are empty and there is not too much happening in town. Beautiful old squares are dotted through the town and they obviously make an effort to maintain them but there is not much else going for the place – as usual, just a lot of lawyers offices dominate the CBD – a really bad thing.

It was still crappy weather but looked like the next Sound would be sheltered from the NE wind and we took off, rather than keep paying the $2 per foot marina charge for no services basically other than being there. It was a tricky trip from the viewpoint of skinny width and depth of the channel, but we made it to an anchorage somewhere in the Georgian marshes, where we still are. We are surrounded by marsh, and nothing else, have been anchored for 3 nights in a howling wind, pissing rain and big tides, and think we should have stayed in Fernandina and eaten shrimp. Not really, it has been very relaxing and the weather has now broken and we’ll be on our way tomorrow, up towards Savannah which we are really looking forward to. Mexican has been on the menu and it has been great – well done Shirley.

st augustine, USA

We stayed in Fort Pierce for 4 nights – fixed a couple of things, stocked up on provisions thanks to Kermit and Katherine for the transport, had a meal with Stephen and Charlotte from Jackets who were waiting for a weather window to head for the Bahamas. We had one of those impromptu Loopers parties on our boat one night – all sorts of folks there, which was great.

We then headed up to Vero Beach and hooked onto a mooring ball in the nice little marina there. We took advantage of the shuttle bus service to get around the town and had a great meal at an amazing place called the Driftwood Inn, established by a guy called Waldo in the 1930’s and made of mostly driftwood. It was right on the beach where we had a swim and a general relax in the fantastic pool there, although we were finally kicked out of that by an officious security guard who had the cheek to tell us that the pool was only for house guests, not lunch guests. Words were exchanged.

On we went up the ICW, past a whole stretch of big mansions alternating with wilderness and a lot of wildlife, including ospreys, spoonbills, dolphins, herons, pelicans and redneck fishermen who seemed to think that the posted “Idle Speed” should mean about 2 mph. Our boat doesn’t do any less than 8 mph at idle so gestures were exchanged. They fish right in the middle of the ICW which was built expressly for boat traffic and then get agitated when they get rocked a bit when a boat goes past. One of those classic clashes of cross purposes which will probably never be resolved. Many of them were fine, though – many cheerful waves and smiles as we went past. It was just the surly rednecks trying to impress their buddies who we didn’t appreciate. Still, we didn’t get bullets through our windshield and that’s a good thing.

We anchored off a place called Cocoa Beach which boasts one of the oldest Hardware stores in the US. Unfortunately it was closed for the weekend but it dated from the 1890’s and looked pretty amazing as it is basically as it always has been and, they say, if you look around in there for long enough you can find anything at all.

We then went past Cape Canaveral and the Space Centre, which we had visited previously so just went past this time. It is a wonderful experience to visit there and we were tempted to do it again but contented ourselves with marvelling at it as we went past some distance away. It is still a huge feature in the landscape however far you are away from it. After that the ICW takes off through some remote and impressive scenery of mangroves etc which apparently contain Manatees and Alligators, conspicuous by their absence for us this time.

We arrived at New Smyrna beach, a very quaint place with an historic centre and an amazing beachfront. The sand is hard packed and, like Daytona further north, they have made it into a defacto road – complete with street signs etc. It is pretty dopey, as there are small kids wandering around as they do on a beach, and cars going right through the whole thing. Unique, though.

On On to a big marina in Daytona Beach where we stayed for a couple of nights and had Don and Freya from Last Resort stay the night with us. They were on their way to resume their boat journey after a trip home to Canada and it was great to see them. We took an organised tour of the Speedway – great experience. The place holds over 200,000 people for the Daytona 500 and the facilities are just incredible. The fast turns are banked at 31 degrees – that is hard to walk up, we tried – and they go around them at about 200 mph 4 abreast and inches apart. It was a good tour.

The rest of Daytona was interesting in spite of the mixed opinions we heard from various people. Like a lot of places, there is a lot of crime and violence which is not apparent to people touring through, like us, particularly in boats. The economic times are biting hard and all is certainly not rosy by all accounts.

We did the beach drive in Don’s car – it was a windy day and a bit coolish but still the holiday makers were sitting out in the deck chairs (with umbrellas) that they rent for $30 per day per couple. I guess if you get only 2 weeks leave from your job per year you are going to do what you came for and to hell with the weather. It all looked pretty crummy to us in terms of a relaxing beach experience, particularly in the coldish breeze and with cars driving along the beach a couple of metres from your expensive chair.

We stopped at a place called Marineland – the first dolphin observatory established in Florida, and still going. We swam in the Atlantic but didn’t patronise the dolphin place.

And so we arrived at St Augustine. This city is touristy, but justifiably so in our view. It is the oldest continuously occupied city in America, has the most amazing architecture and its history is far too extensive to start trying to describe here. Henry Flagler basically made the place with his development ideas, hotels and the railroad establishment – an amazing story which can be goggled for anyone interested. (I know – you had to have been there!!). There is a large mooring field in the river and we stayed there for 3 days, dinghying in to the dock and hopping on and off the tourist trams that make continuous loops of the best parts of the city. We had a couple of good meals and a fun night at the Tradewinds bar with Gay and Mike off Irish Attitude with whom we have been travelling for a while and whom we first met in the Mississippi and Tennessee Rivers. The lead singer even brought out a few sheep jokes when he asked where we are from. Just on that, we are constantly amazed how much the Americans know about Oz and NZ now, and how most people we meet, on hearing where we are from, say either that they have been there or that the two countries are on the top of their list of places they want to go. Such a change from our previous visits to the US when most people didn’t have a clue where either country is. Lord of the Rings and Crocodile Dundee, take a bow.

The trip north of St Augustine through Ponte Vedra was past some pretty amazing houses and affluent areas but not too different from previous parts. We decided to bypass Jacksonville as it is quite a way off the ICW and we had been told by some that it is pretty much another big city. The naval activity around here is pretty intense and particularly so when we went past the nuclear submarine base, with patrol boats and warning signs aplenty. We obviously didn’t hit it during the passage of a sub, as apparently the whole area becomes a super sensitive zone and recreational boating is essentially curtailed while the subs go through. The site is obviously enormous in area, with huge, spread-out  buildings where presumably they either build or maintain the submarines. Pretty impressive.

fort pierce, USA

We led Good Karma on a bit of a wild goose chase – up to Moraine Cay, which Nick had been keen to go and snorkel at but it was just too far from Marsh and would have entailed a lot of back-tracking. It was a tricky place to get into with some nasty looking shallow bits but we wound through them only to find the only anchorage was very exposed in the wind we were getting that day and it wasn’t practical to anchor. It looked like a great place to snorkel, tho, in the right weather conditions. Maybe next time!!!

Again we anchored at Great Sale Cay and then headed for West End. This time we tried another entrance through the reef and that was uneventful. Then we turned south and got the snot kicked out of us for the 9 miles to West End. The boat handled it well, though, and it was just uncomfortable and we were glad to pull into the marina. The next day resulted in continuing crappy weather so we went for a bike ride to the nearby town, a sad little place that was devastated by Hurricane Sandy and still shows the scars from that. We patronised a little local bar and communed with the locals over a couple of beers. The next day was supposed to be good for a crossing and about 5 sail boats in the marina headed out early. One by one they announced on the VHF that the waves were up to 8 feet and they were coming back so that was enough to dissuade us and send us looking for alternative stuff to do. We jumped in a local minibus for the half hour or so trip to Freetown and Port Lucaya and had a great afternoon with lunch etc, augmented by a local photographer doing his thing with a pair of scantily clad, and also strategically augmented we think, slim and comely models. The guy seemed to think it was necessary to drape these girls across the bar of the place we were having a beer in to photograph them, so that was a bit of unexpected entertainment. Gotta be careful here!!!

The next day was promising for the crossing so we cast off and headed out with Good Karma. We decided to head for Fort Pierce, although it was a total of 90 miles compared with the 60 to Lake Worth. We had the better of the Gulf Stream doing it that way and it was a good crossing, until we got to Fort Pierce where the wind was against the tide and the seas at the entrance were quite amazing. Kermit was barrelling along in front of us – I tried to warn him, but would he listen? – NO – and the radio was filled with his graphic descriptions of the crap that he was encountering in the entrance – he is quite an intense man! I think he went too slow because when we got there we gave it the juice and wheeee! – in we shot like a big surfboard – very exhilarating. Until we got to the marina where they kept us hovering in the 5 knot current while they berthed Karma, so we managed to nearly wipe out a whole lot of things including construction boats doing the new marina, fishermen, dredges etc etc. Still, we managed to berth without problem in the face of all this and were finally able to relax appropriately.

Gore VA, USA

Gore VA, USA

Roanoke VA, USA

Kathmandu, Nepal

We were up early to ride to the top of a nearby mountain to view sunrise in the Himalayas. We weren't the only ones--the winding road became logjammed with traffic near the top. We made it past some tight squeezes of cars and parked. A viewing area at the top was already crowded. Light was dawning in the east reavealing easily the peaks of Annapurna and Fishtail. Cameras were focused on the distant clouds through which the sun would soon emerge. Even with some hazy conditions, it still was a spectacular sight. Day dawning in the Himalayas.

On the way down, we stopped at a temple. A monk was ringing a bell. We toured around and took pictures. From there we found a Bat Cave and decided on a tour before breakfast. Paying our tickets, we descended steps to the entrance. A guide is required, so we were escorted by a young man who led us through the various chambers. We could see bats suspended from the ceiling and were able to climb to a few chambers, but the way was blocked for emerging through a narrow opening to one side. We retraced our route, stopping to extinguish our lights and to experience total darkness. My friend Mike seemed to really enjoy the cave and talked about what it would be like to return and camp out.

Emerging from the cave, we returned to the hotel for our breakfast, packed our things, and headed out toward Chitwan National Park. The driver drove a bit too fast over the curving mountain roads and we were getting car sick, so had to have him slow down. We made it to Chitwan in the afternoon, just in time for lunch at the Westwood Hotel, where we will stay two nights.

Shiloh National Military Park TN, USA

Ft Oglethorpe GA, USA

Kathmandu, Nepal

My friend Mike had finished his work assignment in Kathmandu and was free for the rest of his time in Nepal. Our mutual friend Tara Mainali had arranged a few days of travel that would include Pokhara and Chitwan National Park. I had been to both places before in my several Nepal travels, but had come to share the experience with these two friends.

Pokhara is perhaps Nepal's most sought after destination, both as a base for trekking adventures and for enjoying the beauty and environment of the city itself. The air is clear here and it is quite tourist-friendly.

We hired a car and driver to take us. It's a fairly long drive over the pass leaving Kathmandu, and down along the same river we had rafted, returning just yesterday. At a point, the river is crossed and the road takes us up another valley toward Pokhara. Pokhara sets on a beautiful lake. When the air is clear, one can see the high peaks in the distance. At this time of the year, it is mostly hazy and cloudy. Fall really is the best time to see things.

We had an enjoyable ride. We checked into the Lake Star Hotel and immediately set off to visit Devi's Falls, where a small river plunges underground. We visited the falls and then stopped where you can go down into the cave. Steps are being created to make it possible. We descended into the wet caverns, carved by the river. I suggested afterwards that we take boats out onto the lake, which they agreed to do. It is a great and peaceful experience, just before sunset. We rented a boat with an oarsman to do the rowing and set out for a peaceful and beautiful boat ride. The setting sun was spectacular. We returned in time for dinner at a nearby restaurant, which had live music going on downstairs for some family's celebration. After dinner we took in a local dance place which featured live music. One of Tara's former classmates happened to be a waitress there. I joined a family--man and his daughters in dancing, much to their delight.

After our long drive and anticipating getting up at 4:30 a.m., we turned in early back at the hotel.

Kathmandu, Nepal

Arriving in Kathmandu, I was met at the airport by a smiling Tara Mainali, who took me to his brother's place in Baktipur. In the evening, we went to meet my friend Mike Hatfield, who is in Nepal on assignment for teaching English. We met he and his colleagues at their hotel and walked to a nearby restaurant for dinner.

Tara and I left early this morning for a rafting trip down the Rapti River, while Mike finished out his assignment. We met the crew of three, who gave us intructions about rowing and surving a tip-over. We pushed out into the peaceful river in mid-morning. The sun was already getting hot. After some practice procedures, we began rowing. I was placed in the front of the raft along with a membr of the crew. The first rapids were easilyt navigated. In a quiet stretch I was able to get just a few photos, but had to return my camera to a sealed barrel. After that, there would be no time for photos. The rapids grew increasingly difficult as we proceeded, giving us moments of excitement and dowsing us with water. We put in for lunch at a restuarant up the bank, then continued our 23 kilometer ride. Once we entered a rapids we would be alternately commanded to tow or stop. Sometimes the raft plunged into holes of water and emerged like a roller-coaster. On one of the treacherous rapids, the crew member to my right was thrown violently into my hand which was grasping the top of the oar. His top teeth met my had with a jarring thud, allmost knocking his teeth out, and tearing my hand. I was bleeding, but not too badly. At the next rapids, it was my turn. I was thrown into the center toward him. Somehow, the same hand scraped on something, which ripped skin from it. Now the bleeding was profuse. We decided to tie my hand with my bandana. The captain decided to retire me to the boat's middle for the rest of the journey. At the end, we dressed the wounds as best we could and applied plastic bandages. Located where it was, it was easy for me to hit the wond and keep it bleeding from time to time.

After dinner, we built a campfire by the river and grilled chicken on a grate. It was delicious. We sat around the campfire and soon a full moon emerged over the mountains. Tara and I slept in a tent near the river's edge. The roar of the river made it easy to sleep, although the sound of flowing water also had the effect of making one go to pee. We were tired, though, and slept soundly.

At daybreak, we broke camp, had breakfast, and headed back toward Kathmandu. It was Friday, and traffic was near standstill, as loaded trucks struggled their way up the difficult pass leading into Kathmandu. We were late. In Kathmandu, we stop at a medical facility so my wound could be dressed and hanging skin cut away. All in all, it was a great trip and exciting on the river.

Vicksburg MS, USA

Jackson MS, USA

Marshall TX, USA

Seminole TX, USA

Bloomfield NM, USA

Moab UT, USA

Edmond Oklahoma, USA

Bags packed. Traveling light with small bag and back pack. Finished an outstanding Friday and Saturday at the University of Oklahoma for the "President's Day of Learning." Outstanding professors provided courses on medical research, international relations, and the future of the U.S. leadership. Challenging stuff and a great deal to think about when I spend hours in cramped planes on my flights to the other side of the planet.

I'm losing count of my trips, but I plan to join a friend in Nepal is working there on a special assignment and to see friends I've made there over the years. Will stop along the way to visit others and then spend some time in India.

I will keep you posted on my whereabouts, my comments on my daily adventures, and a few photos along the way. Travel invigorates me and I look forward to being the wanderer once more.

Care to join me?

Oklahoma City's Will Rogers World Airpot

The trip begins on a windy Sunday afternoon from Oklahoma City's airport. It is quiet here--probably my last quiet airport. The FAA has announced the beginning of furloughs today of traffic controllers due to the "Sequestor" budget cuts--the creation of politicians unable or unwilling to lead. News reports suggest that major airports like Chicago's O'Hare will likely experience delays. We'll see, for that is where I am headed first.

Great Sale cay, Bahamas

We left Little Harbour on Nick’s birthday. He was determined that he was going to catch a decent fish so we headed out early into the Atlantic through one of the cuts in the reef,  fortunately fairly benign on this day of days. The idea was to get to the “drop-off”, where the depth  goes from about 100 feet to unmeasurable numbers very suddenly. We found some weed which was apparently a good sign, and then wheeee!!!!!, a fish. It was a perfect birthday present for him – a mahi-mahi and a beautiful one it was with the incredible colours of these fish just amazing. We carried on down the drop-off with no more luck until we turned and came back to the same area where we caught another one, a real lively one this time. It was time to head back to a quiet anchorage and a lunch of Cajun fish and garlic prawns after a lot of gutting and filleting had happened.  Better than any restaurant. We then went on to Tahiti Beach for the night and another sumptuous meal of Thai fish – oh, the pain!! Just wonderful.

We were now in the ritzy area of the Abacos, surrounded by big homes etc. It has been badly hit by the economic downturn, however, with a lot of failed land developments in evidence. Also, a lot of places for sale everywhere.

We then headed north and scored another couple of crayfish on the way – another great lunch with crays and Tracey bread and a drop or two of Chardy to wash it down. We stayed on a mooring in Hopetown, had a few cocktails at the marina bar while we waited out another bit of a blow going through. Cards, specifically 500, came out and a fierce competition resulted over the next few days.  We had a good lunch in one of the Hopetown waterfront places then, the next day, hired a golf cart and drove around the island, having a cocktail here and there and lunch at a place called “On da Beach” , which it was, really part of the beach.  Then we left for the very sad part of their holiday, taking them back to Marsh to drop them off to catch the plane. We had had a wonderful 3 weeks together and it was all a happy pleasure.

We stayed at the marina in Marsh for three days while two huge storms went through – the thunder and lightning kind with a whole lot of rain which had the great attribute of washing the boat, thereby saving me the trouble. There were a couple of other Looper boats there, including Satisfaction, John and Pat, who were the ones who contributed to leading us astray way back in Grafton on the Mississippi River. It was great to catch up with them again.

It was time to think about heading back to the USA. Good Karma were still up in Treasure Cay and we talked about going back together so we left Marsh and headed up there again, anchoring in the harbour basin for a couple of nights. There was much anxious watching of weather websites and we decided in the end to just get going, and play the weather as it comes with the general consensus that it will be OK for the Gulf Stream crossing next Saturday. So, we are now in progress, retracing our path across the Sea of Abaco with a few side trips to check out places that we didn’t see on the way down. Still breezy though so we have to be fairly prudent about where we end up each night.

Little Harbour, Bahamas

We decided to walk to the airport for some exercise – 3.5 miles and a bit third-worldly. Our jetlagged guests arrived on time and it was great to see their smiling faces as we have been away and haven’t seen anyone from that part of our world for quite a few months now. We took them to Snappa’s for their first Bahama meal and then left them to it to recover, which they seemed to do fairly quickly.

After a day in the marina we went back to Guana where the Barefoot Man was playing a concert at Nippers. This guy is glorified in his own world as the “Jimmy Buffet of the Bahamas” and he had a good band but we were a bit disappointed in the Man himself after the build-up we had been given. Still, we all had a good time, a few swims and a snorkel for lobsters, unsuccessful, around the harbour breakwater and a couple of “Blasters” at Grabbers. We then departed for Treasure Cay to show the guys around, walked the beach again both ways and shared a cocktail or two with Good Karma, who have based themselves at Treasure for a month or so. Then it was off to Man o War Cay, a tiny tidy little place that prides itself on the fact that you can’t buy alcohol anywhere on the island. It is populated extensively by the members of a couple of families, so the name Albury is on almost everything going on in the place. Lots of funny little churches everywhere and quaint houses along narrow streets. Golf carts are the exclusive mode of transport around there. It is a very pretty, laidback place, with a peaceful, olde worlde feeling about it. The tiny marina was nice once we had squeezed into it and the little restaurant welcomed us bringing our bottle of wine.

Hopetown was the next destination but not before a stop at a tiny group of islands called Johnny’s Cay and Nick’s first fight with a crayfish, which he won, and our lunch appetiser was secured. It was a decent sized one, too. Went very well washed down with a cool Chardonnay after a hard morning’s snorkelling.

Hopetown became one of our favourite places, dominated by its iconic lighthouse, one of only three, still operating on its original kerosene mantle and mechanical windup light drive system, in the world. The mechanism needs to be wound every two hours and it was fascinating to climb up and check it all out. The town is full of quaint houses and buildings, painted bright and varied colours, and again the dominant mode of transport is golf carts. We walked around and found a restaurant on a magnificent site overlooking the Atlantic, with great blackened fish burgers and pina coladas. Very pleasant. The harbor is full of moorings and, with the little multi-coloured buildings, restaurants around the harbor and the lighthouse, it is all very picturesque. There are little craft shops, galleries a bakery and the ubiquitous little churches through this community, and most people are happy and friendly.

Bad weather was brewing and we needed some stuff, so we headed back over to the marina in Marsh Harbour to wait out the storm. On the way we stopped at Mermaid Reef for a snorkel and it was fantastic – all sort of fish, turtles, rays etc. . . . The marina was nearly full so we were allocated a seemingly inaccessible slip that taxed the boat handling skills somewhat. Made it tho’ and the storm lived up to predictions by blowing like hell and with most impressive thunder and rain. We patronised Joes Conch House for a drink and a snack. Conch, pronounced conk, is an ugly big snail that comes in a magnificent shell that is used as decoration throughout the islands. If you get a shell that has remnants of its original occupant still inside it, it stinks the hell out of your boat and you throw it away to Shirley’s great chagrin. The other thing that the shells are used for is blowing at sunset. Every night the air is filled with the mournful moaning of these things by people who block up the hole by which the rightful owner of the shell was removed to be made into conch fritters, creating a hole like the mouthpiece of a trumpet with fibreglass, then making this god awful moaning sound that echoes around wherever we are enjoying the magnificent sunsets.  The fritters taste like oily, fishy doughnuts and leave you with the sensation you get after eating too much greasy fish and chips and swear you will never do that again. So we had this appetiser at Joes and none of us felt like any proper dinner thereafter so that was that, and an early night. We all slept in the next morning while the storm raged and then hit a nearby restaurant, Mangoes, for dinner. The next day was breezy again but we headed out and stopped at a nice reef where Nick and I had a snorkel – we had a long swim as it wasn’t really on to launch the dinghy and the girls weren’t keen on battling the waves. Then we went on to Little Harbour which is a lovely sheltered place, has great moorings and the added benefit of another legendary watering hole and restaurant, Pete’s Pub. This is a real beach bar – really part of the beach under the shelter of the building and with the restaurant facilities sort of an add-on. They did produce good food, tho.

Pete is the son of the original family that arrived in Little Harbour in their sailboat in the 1950’s, lived in caves in the limestone round the harbour and built their houses over a two year period. They survived a couple of hurricanes, brought everything in by boat and apparently had a great time doing it all. The father was a gifted artist and sculptor who became world-renowned for the work that he did at Little Harbour. He was apparently pretty religious and this is evidenced in some of his work that is on display. Of the children, Pete is the one who has remained at Little Harbour. He, too, is a sculptor, and we met him at the Pub. He apparently has decided that the attractions of being a publican have outweighed those of a life spent in awe of religious teaching and he was well gone on the products of his chosen commercial pursuit the night we met him. He is a great jovial fellow and it was a pleasure to have a couple with him. There were a number of other characters at the bar, obviously regulars, that night and it was an experience to say the least.

Nick and I took the dinghy out to the outer reef one day and he managed another two crayfish that went down very well for lunch. We did a couple of walks on the island, took the dinghy round the adjacent “Bob’s Bight” to a Blue Hole, a type of sinkhole in the floor of the shallow bay that apparently has no measureable floor – a bit sobering to find the closeby monument to the three divers who died trying to explore the underground system that the hole is the entrance to.

Another highlight – Tracey’s bread – a simple recipe but one that produced the most amazingly tasty bread in our little combination oven. She left the recipe with us and her bread is now a staple on the boat.

Marsh Harbour, Bahamas

This is going to be a tough one – over a month of activity in the Bahamas to cover from memory, which at times has been impaired by some fairly concentrated frivolity. As a general comment the weather here has not been as friendly as it could have – the temperature has been warm and we have had a few fantastic days, but overall there has been a breeze most of the time and that is always a consideration when doing a lot of anchoring in secluded spots. The breeze swings a lot, too, which adds to the need to be pretty careful when deciding where to go and where to put down the hook. The cause of all this wind seems to be the unusual number of cold fronts crossing the USA, dumping a lot of snow, with their tail end impacting Florida and, a day or so later, here. Still, as stated, it has been warm, the water has been crystal clear most of the time, and we haven’t been prevented from doing a lot of cool stuff, as they say.

We finally left Treasure Cay, after a long walk both ways along the 3.5 mile beach and headed across to Great Guana Cay. This is the home of the famous Nippers and Grabbers bar/restaurants. Both are right on the beach and are the trendy places to go. Nippers has an amazing setting overlooking a beautiful ocean beach with snorkelling reefs within swimming distance of the shore. However, the day we were there the surf was spectacular in the face of the strong easterly wind. We anchored in the sheltered harbour for a couple of nights, enjoying the hospitality of both places and walking around the settlement. On Sunday Nippers has the famous pig roast, when boats and ferries converge on the place from all around the Abacos and the occupants drink far too much of the “Nipper Juice”, a fierce rum punch that they make in vast buckets and dispense with exuberant  abandon, albeit at $7 a pop.

The signature drink at Grabbers is the “Blaster” if memory serves me right, but this may not be the case.

Anyway, at Nippers, as the juice flows, and the Good ole boy music blasts, the sun shines with the dark blue sea below; the patrons often feel the need to remove most of their clothes while doing all sorts of strange stuff on the dance floor. We were sickened by all this, of course, and stayed only for the purposes of researching the material for this chronicle. It was a challenge on the short walk back to our side of the island, trying to avoid falling over the departing patrons staggering and weaving their way back to the boats and ferries that were supposed to take them away. The second time we were there we even met one group of 5 who had missed their boat and had absolutely no way of getting back to Treasure Cay, whence they came, and no possibility of accommodation on Guana with all the rental homes occupied by other, more foresighted, partiers. Last seen they were still standing on the dock looking wistfully out to sea in the direction of their no doubt expensive and inaccessible accommodation at Treasure.

We were pacing ourselves now in terms of our progress to make sure that we had time in hand to make Marsh Harbour to meet middle son Nick and wife Tracey, due to arrive from NZ. And so we did, anchoring for a night in the harbour then choosing a marina to spend time stocking up, charging batteries etc before the kids arrived. Marsh is a bit of a third world looking town but it has pockets of nice buildings, a great restaurant row, some excellent if small marinas and a first class supermarket with everything needed for western style sustenance. Some things were a bit pricey but a surprising number were similar to US prices. Even the booze prices weren’t too bad, which was a fine thing in light of the oncoming assault on our stocks. We did a fair bit of biking around the island – there are some very nice houses and at one point the island is wide enough for only one house plus the dirt road. This makes for some spectacular sites for the homes, poised over the water on both sides. It brings up the obvious thought of what happens in a hurricane, but they had part of Sandy come through last year and they all seemed to survive that, whereas a lot of the wharves and jetties in the town have yet to be repaired after their destruction during the storm.