The Marina at Emerald Bay, part 6

March 17, 2020 - March 22, 2020

We have been monitoring the progress of the Corona Virus Pandemic in the US.  Conditions seem serious with schools closed, businesses shut down, grocery store shelves empty, and citizens required to self quarantine, shelter in place, and practice social distancing.  Bob and I are strongly considering staying in the Bahamas longer than planned.  

On Wednesday we rented a car to buy groceries and explore.  After stowing all of our food we drove north to Shoreline Beach Club, Bar, and Restaurant.  It was slightly north of Cocoplum beach.  The food was great and the beach beautiful.  I took a walk further north on the beach and got some great photos.

We walked along the pathway to
Shoreline Beach Club and Restaurant.

The beach in front of the restaurant

Coconuts are growing on a tree
behind our table on the porch.

A power boat was anchored off the beach.

Some Bahamian children turned a huge
piece of styrofoam into a swim platform
 and were enjoying the water.

A beached row boat

A large piece of delicate fan
coral washed up on the beach.

Some colorful kayaks were stored on the beach.

On the way back to the marina, we stopped for dessert at the Light House Ice Cream Parlor.  The sign on the front door said "Carry Out Only".  We saw some people on the back porch and entered from that door.  The owner was frantically wiping everything down with disinfectant.  We ordered our ice cream and watched the news on TV which gave us the reason for all of this concern - three cases of the covid-19 had been diagnosed in Nassau. We stopped to fill the car up with gas and all of the attendants were wearing gloves, washing their hands, and using hand sanitizer profusely.  We stopped at the liquor store to pick up ice and the store was only allowing two people in the store at a time.  Fortunately, Nassau is many miles and many islands north of us, but with the continued arrival of tourists to the resorts near by it made us wonder how long the Exumas would remain virus free.  Bob and I both contacted family to get a first hand report of conditions in the US.  After considering all of the information we gathered we decided to stay where we are until mid-April and then reevaluate our plans.  

Life has become a routine here at the marina.  After breakfast I take a long walk along the ocean on the near by resort's golf cart trails and the marinas roads and docks.  The resort is like a ghost town as all resorts and hotels have been closed.  Restaurants are only permitted to serve carry out.  We have not left the marina since last Wednesday.  Several boats here are still occupied, but we stay clear of each other even though most of us have been in the Exumas long before the virus became a problem - you just never know.  After lunch I usually go to the lounge and check e-mail and watch a Netflix show or two if the signal is strong enough. Bob’s back had continued to improve until Sunday when he woke up with severe pain again, causing him difficulty walking.  With continued treatment with analgesic gels, his back brace, and ibuprofen I hope he gets some relief from the pain quickly.

Keep Calm, and carry on at home!

Thank you for reading my blog.

The Marina at Emerald Bay, part 5

March 11, 2020 - March 16, 2020

Again we rented a car on Wednesday to get groceries and explore.  Unfortunately, because of the high winds the mail boat was delayed in making deliveries and the shelves were a bit bare at Exuma Market and Island Prime Meats.  We had to return in the afternoon to get a few more items.  We also stopped at Smitty’s which is a small grocery store and pharmacy to purchase some items for Bob’s back pain.  We purchased some analgesic cream and a back brace which helped Bob a great deal that day.  

Lunch at Lighthouse Cafe and Ice-cream Parlor, again, was delicious.  Afterwards we traveled north to a side (dirt) road that led to Cocoplum Beach.  The beach was beautiful and very shallow with huge sand bars that led from the beach far out into the water.  I was able to walk out to the furthest sand bar without the water getting above my knees.  The beach was noted for sand dollars and other shells which I collected a few. 

A kite surfer was taking advantage of
the strong winds over shallow water.

Drift wood on Cocoplum Beach

This panorama of the beach
shows the sand bars.

The sand bars made for good shelling.
Here's my collection from the day.

On Thursday we prepared for leaving The Marina at Emerald Bay on Friday. I stowed the bikes in the quarter berth and arranged all other items for easy access, cleaned, cooked, and did laundry.  Laundry at the marina is free, but with only two working washers it gets a bit backed up. However, its a good time to make friends with the other ladies while we wait for available machines. Several ladies were waiting on the porch and chatting.  I often go back to the boat to wait, but we had downpours off and on all day so it was just easier to wait by the laundry.  Believe me, if you aren’t there when a machine comes available you are out of luck, especially if the person who snagged the machine has three or four loads to do.  I got lucky and had two machines open up at the same time just as I was starting my laundry. Yes!!!!

Bob made the decision not to leave on Friday, but instead we rented a car and drove to the small hospital clinic just north of Georgetown as his back pain was getting continually worse.  We had quite a wait for not only the rental car to arrive, but to be seen by the doctor at the clinic.  We thought Bob got excellent care from the staff and a very thorough doctor.  He got an analgesic/anti inflammatory shot, a prescription for ibuprofen 800mg, and instructions to see his primary care physician as soon as he got home for further tests.  Hopefully, the problem will calm down enough for him to get back to Maryland without more pain. 

Bob’s condition continued to improve with the medication, back brace, and analgesic gel. I fell into a routine here; walking in the morning, cooking lunch, cleaning in the afternoon, and reading later in the day.  Things were a bit boring, but we have to stay here until Bob feels well enough to proceed.

Thanks for reading my blog.

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The Marina at Emerald Bay, Part 4

March 5, 2020 - March 10, 2020

On Thursday I was finally able to get to the beach for a nice swim and some sunbathing.  The Grande Isle Resort seems to look the other way when guests at the marina use the beach and pool.  Of course I always feel obligated to have a drink at Sandy Toes to pay my way.  One thing for sure is I’m getting, what my sister Nancy would call, a kick ass tan even though I use 50 SPF sunscreen.

The beautiful beach at Grand Isle Resort
is just steps from Sandy Toes Tiki Bar.

 Friday was another beautiful day with chores (cleaning the cabin and laundry) at the top of my to-do list.  First though, we had to move the boat to a smaller slip to make way for a huge power boat that came into our old slip just a half hour after we vacated it.  That entailed all of the line tending and arranging in preparation for the big blow that was coming in early Saturday morning.  

s/v Rainy Days is in slip E14.

Saturday was Bob’s birthday! He picked french toast for his birthday breakfast and for lunch we went to the Palapa Restaurant at Grande Isle Resort.  The day was cool with high winds out of the north.

I had a delicious hamburger and garden salad.

The next two days brought us a major wind event.  The 26+ mph winds screamed through the rigging and banged halyards against the mast making for some impossible sleeping conditions.  On Sunday we walked to the entrance of the marina to watch the raging ocean crash waves against the rocks and beach.

The waves are continuously crashing
against the rocks and sand.

The spray over the rocks was impressive.

Nobody was coming in or out of the marina
today as evidenced by these waves.

Thank you for reading my blog.

The Marina at Emerald Bay, part 3

February 27, 2020 - March 5, 2020

It’s been a quiet week in Lake Wobe…, on no, I mean The Marina at Emerald Bay.  For two days the weather was windy and cold.  The temperature didn’t get above 68 degrees.  I mean I didn’t need a jacket or anything, but it sure seemed cold.  I did lots of cooking and cleaning.  I made pizza from scratch one day and it turned out well.  I’ll make a few corrections on my next batch, after all it’s been years since I made pizza. We’ve been having lunch on board every day instead of going out and have enjoyed beef stew (Bob’s creation), stroganoff, pasta salad, fried chicken, etc.  I’ve also been making some yummy breakfasts.  We both agree that our homemade food is better than the $100 lunches we’ve been having here in the Exumas, but we like to eat out on our grocery shopping days. I polished all of the stainless steel on deck and cleaned all of the windows.  Bob and I have continued to improve our dock lines, changing out the bow line chafe guard again.  The boat is riding better in the water now with a lot less motion even though we’ve had some strong winds.  I’ve been walking or riding my bike around the marina everyday and feeling more fit.  Since I stopped taking statin drugs for cholesterol control my muscles and joints don’t ache after exercise as they used to. 

Bob’s creative pasta salad was yummy.

On Tuesday the wind had calmed down enough for me to go to the beach after lunch.  Boy, nothing can beat this white powdery sand (that never gets hot) and the warm turquoise water.  Unfortunately after about an hour big clouds blocked the sun and it was too chilly to stay on the beach so I retreated to the Sandy Toes beach bar for some refreshment.  Bob met me there and we enjoyed the chatter of those around us even though our favorite bartender, Annette, was not there.

Wednesday we rented a car and did our grocery shopping at  Exuma Market and Island Prime Meats. We spent $180 this week.  Next was lunch again at Lighthouse Cafe.

Here is the house next to the Lighthouse
Cafe that Bob and I fantasized about
buying to live here full time.

The beach right in front of the
house is amazing.

The colorful porch of the Lighthouse Cafe.

I had snapper fingers, beans and rice, and coleslaw.
Bob insisted on mentioning that fish don't have fingers.

We traveled south from there across the one lane bridge to Little Exuma. 

The one lane bridge

On the way to Little Exuma we photographed these
stark dead trees by Little Bush Salt Pond.

Santanna’s was our first stop where I thought I would be able to swim off the beach, but was warned by our waitress that there were sharks in the water here.  I did see a nurse shark, but nothing more threatening.

The beach at Santanna's looks very inviting to me.

This was our view from the table where we
relaxed and enjoyed a Kahlik.

Of course, we bought rum cake from Mama, next door, before we headed back to the marina.

Thank you for reading my blog.

The Marina at Emerald Bay Part Two

February 21, 2020 - February 27, 2020

One morning there was no wind, and Bob and I were both attacked by no-seeums.  The problem with these bugs is you can’t see them and the bites are just a tiny prick until the next day when they swell up and itch like crazy.  Consequently, we spent the next very windy day in a benedryl fog trying to combat the itchiness.  

I’ve also been helping Bob test each one of our four batteries which is a royal pain in the neck.  The first two batteries are in the cock pit locker so everything stored in the locker had to be pulled out and stowed in the cockpit. First thing in the morning one of the four batteries had to be disconnected, tested with a volt meter, hooked up to our electric inflator for an hour, disconnected from the inflator, tested with the volt meter, and then reconnected.  The worst part was that the electric inflator sounded like a lawn motor running inside the cockpit. This procedure was repeated each morning for four days. The next two batteries are behind a drawer storage unit that had to be removed to test each of those two batteries.  As you can see it was a long drawn out process with lots of disruption to our living space.  When it was completed Bob sent the data to the battery company and we are waiting for a diagnosis.  To me it looks like all of the batteries are OK.

Because of very high winds, we were marina bound for a couple of days. One bit of excitement was that in the middle of the night during this high wind event one of our dock lines broke and the electric cord and the spring line were the only thing holding the bow, not a good situation. Bob stayed on board to throw me a new bow line.  I jumped off the boat and with the assistance of our neighbor got a new bow line in place and pulled the boat over next to the dock.  The only thing we could figure was that the bow line chafed on the houzer pipe (the stainless steel hole in the toe rail made for lines to pass through).  The next morning Bob repaired the dock line and put a leather chafe protector on it to prevent the line from breaking again.  Fun times in paradise!

Sandy Toes is our favorite beach bar.
You can see how it gets it's name.

After lunch at Sandy Toes (great barbecue pork) we noticed that the bow line had chafed through the leather protector in just one day.  This unleashed a mad rush to fix the problem.  Bob decided the best solution was to use rubber hose as a chafe protector.  Of course, the hose was stored under the quarter berth requiring me to remove all the stored items once again.  Getting the hose onto the line was no easy task and required us to sew the line to a smaller line, feed that line through the hose, and generously grease the thicker line with vaseline so we could pull it through the hose.  We also replaced the leather cafe guards on the spring lines with rubber hose as well.  This should solve the chafing problem.  One good outcome of tearing the quarter berth apart was getting  our bikes out to use while we are at the marina. The next day we took some photos around the marina.

We found this lion fish swimming near the dock.
They are an invasive species and all are
encouraged to eat them.

We find many clever boat names on our travels.

You got to love palm trees!

For the next few days I took a bike ride up to the entrance channel of the marina and all around.  It’s great to have my bike to ride again and this marina with all of its docks and roads is a safe place to ride.  We arranged to get a rental car on Wednesday and drove down to George Town to grocery shop at the Exuma Market and on the way back we stopped at Island Prime Meats to finish our shopping.  We actually were able to get everything on our list for a change and spent a grand total of $240.  After lunch at the Lighthouse Cafe and Ice Cream Parlor we spent the afternoon exploring the northern most area of Great Exuma Island.  The roads were particularly narrow with plenty of pot holes in this part of the island making for a hair raising trip.  I had to ignore Bob’s expressions of terror and focus fully on driving on the left side of the road.

Bob and I had the best lunch
we've had yet in the Exumas here.

This was the view of Paradise Bay
we enjoyed from the porch of Lighthouse Cafe.

The water is so shallow in this bay
that these sand flats appear at low tide.

Exuma Point Beach was the most northern
of Great Exuma's beaches.

An abandoned pier at Exuma Point Beach

I enjoyed another walk on the beach.

We have two more weeks left in our month long stay at The Marina at Emerald Bay.

Thanks for reading my blog.

The Marina at Emerald Bay, Great Exuma

February 16, 2020 - February 20, 2020

Sunday morning we took our cameras for a walk around the marina.

The marina office, lounge, and coffee room
is located in this building.

A lone palm tree stands on
the point of land near the beach.

The narrow beach is crowned
with golden beach grasses,

It seems impossible to take a bad picture
when surrounded by such beauty.

A view of the marina taken from the
point at the entrance channel

The sail boat is leaving the marina
through the narrow channel.

With all of our boat maintenance completed we decided to walk to the restaurants at Grande Isle Resort for lunch.  We first stopped at Sandy Toes Bar (right on the beach) for a drink before lunch as we were a little early for Bahamian lunch time which starts around 12:30 or whenever. The bartender, Annette, was fun and poured a great drink.  She suggested we should try to see more of Great and Little Exuma Islands and that renting a car would be the best way to do it. She gave us a list of interesting spots to see. Why hadn’t we thought of that?  After a great lunch at the Palapa Restaurant beside the pool we returned to the bar and met another cruising couple that was nearing the end of their month long stay at The Marina at Emerald Isle.  The month long fee is very reasonable and they told us they regularly used the pool and beach at Grand Isle with no charge.  It seems if you purchase drinks and meals at the two restaurants everyone overlooks the fact that you are using the facilities.  Bob and I started to think seriously about staying in the marina until mid March when the winds will be more favorable. 

These plaques decorated the wall
in the Palapa Restaurant,
Notice anything odd?

Bob enjoying lunch at the Palapa Restaurant.

We rented a car on Monday morning to get groceries and explore some of the spots Annette had recommended.  We had breakfast at La Fourchette and on our way south we picked up two hitch hikers who were headed to school in Mossville.  They were nice, polite young boys, one in 9th grade and one in 11th. Next stop, Island Prime Meats and grocery, where we purchased some much needed bread, meat, and some fresh produce. Unfortunately the mail boat doesn’t come in until Tuesday so there was not much fresh produce available.  We will have to remember that for our next grocery shopping trip.  After stowing all of our provisions on board we set out for lunch and some exploring.

The food was delicious at
Shirley's seafood Restaurant,
We ate on the back porch.

This "retired" work boat was
behind Shirley's.

There were several colorful
restaurants near Shirley's.

We stopped briefly in George Town and then headed for Little Exuma.  I was getting better at driving on the left, but occasionally I heard a gasp from Bob. LOL You have to understand that the roads are narrow (no shoulder, no center line) and the pot holes on the edge of the road are cavernous so driving is not that simple.  When we came upon the one lane bridge leading to Little Exuma Island I held my breath all the way across. Phew! We drove to The Tropic of Cancer Beach and then a little further south to Santana's Bar and Grill, and of course a beach. We also visited Mom’s bakery next door to Santana’s and purchased two pieces of her famous rum cake.  She shared the inspiring story of losing her husband and soon after her bakery to Hurricane Irene and how her church and neighbors helped her to rebuild.

A sign announcing our location,
we are finally in the tropics.

These stairs lead from the snack bar
to the beach at the Tropic of Cancer,

The beach was wide with soft
powdery sand that doesn't ever get hot.

The water was beautiful.

The covered picnic tables
at Santana's Bar and Grill.

The bar at Santana's had signed
hats hanging from the ceiling.

The beach at Santanna's

Mom boxing up some rum cake
for these customers.

After such a busy Monday we spent Tuesday relaxing. I spent a little time on the bow getting some sun, but the sun gets so hot I can only take a little. On Wednesday morning I took a walk around the marina to get some exercise. Late that afternoon we headed to Sandy Toes for happy Hour and I took a swim in the ocean. The water was perfect. By the way we did decide to stay at The Marina at Emerald Bay for the month.

Bye, Bye 'til next blog

Thanks for reading my blog.