Saturday, December 27, 2008

Back Country Exuma sailing

Stray Cat Captain's Log
On Board: David, Madeline, Gary, Dana
Captained by: Mark

Thursday December 25, 2008

As I woke up on Christmas morning I quickly noticed it was still very windy here in Children's Bay Cay. We decided it would be safer and more enjoyable for all if we stayed inside the islands and weaved in and out of the shallow depths. We passed many different small cays today, that included cays owned by Faith Hill and Johnny Depp. As we were weaving in and out there were times that we were in 3.5 to 4.5 feet deep. It was incredible to see the different blues due to the depth changes around us. On the later part of our travels today we ran into 2 Atlantic bottle nose dolphins. That was exciting although they only hung with us for about 1 minute, not even enough time to get the bread treat from Madeline. Finally, after 2-3 hours of sailing we reached our final destination for the night, Little Farmer's Cay, where we fortunately were able to get dinner thanks to a nice man named Terry.
On shore was an interesting experience for me. As soon as I stepped on land I felt like I had already consumed 4 beers. My equilibrium was off and I could not find my balance at times. As we entered the Le Bleu Restaurant we were introduced to the owner Terry and we sat down for a drink at the bar. Suddenly, it went from a quaint bar with the 6 of us to a grand party with an attendance of about 15% of the islands population (approximately 60 total). Many different locals came into the bar to greet us and enjoy drinks with us. As we were waiting for dinner in the bar the officer from the island came to sit with us. We ask him several questions about his life as an officer of the Bahamas and he told us many interesting things about life as he knows. After a couple of Kaliks our wonderful dinner had arrived to our table. For dinner tonight: Bahamian Mac and Cheese, Cole Slaw, Peas and Rice, and the largest lobster tail I have ever seen.
I must tell you that I do not enjoy lobster very much, but when I was finished I looked at my plate and it was virtually empty (even the lobster was gone). I must say I have always made fun of my cousin because one time when we were younger she was absolutely sure that she hated lobster dinner. It is an ongoing family joke because when she actually tried it she loved it. Well, pretty much the same thing happened to me. I have realized that maybe I just have not liked the way it was cooked or prepared. Anyways, back to our story. So as we finished dinner the locals were starting to play bar games.
As they were playing we realized they were playing a game that we have never seen before. It consisted of a board on the wall with a hook attached, and a ring on a string about 8 feet away. The object was to throw the ring on a string to the wall and hook it. It was harder than it looked but we decided to give it a try and ended up being fairly good at it. After the festivities we decided it was time to go back to the boat for some relaxation and a movie. (continued)

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