We are in the Bahamas, more precisely we are at Green Turtle Cay in the Abacos which is the northern group of islands.
After spending a week in Vero Beach preparing and waiting for a weather window we moved down to Fort Pierce. There are several spots that the cruisers use to make there way to the Bahamas and Fort Pierce is one of the furthest north. We chose this locations because it was going to be a short window and we would not have time to move further south. With advice from our weather advisor we pulled anchor at 3:00am on the 19th. We made our way in the dark out the inlet and set course taking into consideration that the gulf stream would be crabbing us north. It was another motorboat ride with the winds not cooperating. The seas had not had a chance to calm after the previous winds and it started out as a rough ride with it calming as we continued on. By the time we crossed onto the Banks the seas were down to two feet and less. We continued overnight and arrived at Green Turtle Cay at 7:00 am Friday morning. We anchored outside the settlement and waited for high tide to move into Black Sound and tie up at Donny's Docks.
Saturday morning we were up and walking into town to enjoy our favorite Bahamian breakfast of stew fish or in this case stewed grouper. Of course being the weekend the ice cream shop was open and we made the trip there three evenings in a row. Christmas was close and Cori joined in several morning for the 5:00 am caroling, I only made it on Christmas Eve. This is a tradition on Green Turtle to welcome the spirit of Christmas. Christmas Day was quiet and we were invited for dinner with friends.
We have been hanging out with friends, attended several evening social hours, Cori has done some beach combing and we have been acting like tourists. There have been a couple of days that Donny is out giving tours and once again Cori and I are tasked with running the marina helping boats come and go.
New Years Eve was quiet on the boat and we didn't bother to stay up untill midnight. New Years Day however is a big day on Green Turtle. It is the annual Junkanoo, similar to Carnival in the Caribbean. The event is highlighted with a parade of costumed dancers of all ages, drummers and cow bells. It is very colorful and very loud. The town is small so the technique is to find a spot to watch and after the parade passes we move to another location and catch the end of the parade. There are many vendors selling their wares, food and drinks. It is a very festive day.
The one problem we have is that the thermostat for the refrigerator has broken. We are able to bypass it and keep the unit running but getting a replacement is a problem. I put out a request for a repair person and got the number for the same person that repaired the refrigerator when we were here ten years ago. Now we are waiting for the part before we continue on.
