About to exit Lake Victoria- Max wasted no time in devouring the pizza we saved for him

Our first opportunity to reconnect with George Town friends was Melanie’s birthday. Does two years in a row constitute a tradition? Yes, if you are a cruiser me thinks. Cort likes Grand Isle (Palapa Grill) and we all like it too. So off we went in his “new” car, getting the low down about the car on the way up. Five squeezed into the gray Impreza with right hand side steering wheel. Max had to fend for himself but we brought him leftover pizza!

The Queen’s Dock at Cort’s Place and the SUP Dude

By some miracle we were able to move over to anchor off Cort’s Place at Monument Beach and Max had caught fish with some local Bahamian friends he fishes with on occasion. I baked brownies (always a crowd pleaser, especially when Cort’s Place has no oven!). If you haven’t gotten word yet- Ghiradelli Triple Fudge Brownie Mix is the one to buy! and we enjoyed a great evening of stories (you should have seen the shocked faces when we told our Bristol Liquor Store tale), Q&A (Cort loves to ask us about our plans, etc) and catching up on life since last March.

The Before photo of Max’s grilled fresh catch of TODAY

Fresh caught that day and prepared entirely by the fisherman himself; does it get any better?

The chef with his masterpiece. Sliced, seasoned and grilled potatoes are wrapped up on the white tiles

Now you know why we are all happy!

Since most days were too windy to dinghy down to TOTW we accepted an invite to bring the big boat in for the night. Thoroughly enjoyed getting re-acquainted with the walking trails, lovely beaches and since the tide was low, we walked one section in the shallows, looking for sand dollars to place in the rock crevices.

Dinner was delicious: I provided the pork tenderloin that Melanie marinated and Paul grilled. She made homemade bread and the yummiest mashed sweet potatoes ever; and then Melanie outdid herself with lemon squares baked using lemons from the tree in their grove.

Those who know me well, know that I am not a fan of baked fruit desserts. This dessert could lay claim to perfection; the lemon not tart nor cloying sweet and the crumb crust (not graham, not pastry) paired with the lemon filling like a parrot on a peg-leg pirate’s shoulder. I reluctantly declined a second piece (cuz everyone else did).

Top of the World visit

And then there was an ARG meeting. Silly cruisers want to be clever: Alcohol Research Group. In other words, a beach party: bring what you want to drink and an appetizer to share. We finally got to meet a new sister PDQ34, Float Her. Just John this time as his wife Janice had flown back home to Canada for a few weeks.  We got to know John better over lunch a few days later at Lumina Point where the service, food and drinks rated an A.

I saw another cruiser’s posting on FB, calling the party an ART meeting- Team instead of Group- but hey that works too, only ARG sounds better doesn’t it?

ARG on Honeymoon Beach

Then, the moment we’d been waiting for… our BBB, Traveling Soul arrived. Yes, they were two days behind their intended day thanks to a very rough “we need to turn back” Exuma Sound, but their very brief stay miraculously coincided with days of hardly any wind. Such days being in very short supply this winter. And days of low humidity too, so that was a blessing.

TS as captured by TS, with Lumina Pt in background

Hugs all around and sniffy kisses with Spot. Hospitality is always abundant with Mike and Ann and this time included a surprise beverage designed to make Russ happy; and he was!–surprised and happy with Ann’s homemade ginger beer to which we added Gosling’s Bermuda Black Rum that I had to sneak over, as we always have it in stock. She and I enjoyed vodka and tonics made with her homemade tonic. The homemade tonic and ginger beer are far less sick-y sweet and to me, while fizzy, not as burpy. Yummy libations!

Sadly, TS was off to Cat Island which sits east about 50 miles and is famous for The Hermitage (click to see photos from our visit there). If only TS was a power cat and not a Jefferson 52, then you’d have a cat with a cat on Cat. 🙂

We missed Apollo II, Barefeet and Soulstice. One didn’t cruise this winter (but they will next season we hope!), another didn’t cross over (too windy?) and another didn’t come down to George Town.

Around March 7 we looked ahead to see a window for leaving the harbor we’d called home for six weeks. Happily we’d also be able to anchor with the big boats and have a farewell get together with Cort and Max. The day we moved over to the Monument Beach anchorage was the Regatta in-harbor race which we managed not to interfere with. 🙂

Some pre-race fun maneuvers- Endangered Species, Triad and ? Committee Boat on the right

Our dinner invite to Cort turned into a counter invite to the house as Walt and Lee (Cort’s friends and former co-owners of sail cat Celise/Spirit) were in the harbor on m/v Linda Lee. Wow and what a feast!  New friends of Linda Lee, s/v MoJo (Molly and Joe) who are also huge fisher people and a youthful under 30 years old!, came along and we feasted as never before. Russ eating Tuna Poke- gasp! -only like this.

M/V Linda Lee with Walt & Lee aboard anchoring- several dinghies remain that belong to racing boats- hard to judge proper position

And yes, those two new Adirondack chairs came in handy.

Caught, prepared and sauteed by Max

Feast of Friends at Cort’s Place- Fresh Conch Salad (by Walt) and fresh caught grouper fingers (Joe)

One day while anchored in The Litter Box (just before we headed over to Monument for the last time), we had several special visitors, namely larger turtles than the ones we’d seen only ½ mile away behind Rolle Cay. The older and wiser one came up by our stern enough times so I was able to get a good shot. In case you are keeping track, I’m making good on that promise.

Looking for nibbles on the hull, or directions to the East Australian Current. At February Point

We think he/she was looking for nibbles just below the waterline, as they often do on the sides of docks where the fuzzy stuff grows. Don’t you love this photo? Lacking an underwater camera and the desire of one of us to even be IN the water, a great shot like this is a rare event.

Goats! BTC tower with accoutrements

In years past, I’ve posted photos of George Town- all the hot spots. Haha.  You can look back but here’s some from this year. We seldom bring the phone/photo device into town; why risk anything awful happening?  On calm trips in when we might be expecting a call or whatever, I try to remember it.

Our 90 days would expire March 8 so on a calm day we went to the Immigration office to request 60 more days.  Thirty would be sufficient, but in case not, we didn’t want to worry. Peace and Plenty still wasn’t serving lunch when we walked in with hopeful faces on March 6, so now where? Precious few choices in town. Driftwood Café is cute but the menu too limited for Russ so BLU came to mind. It overlooks Kidd Cove and is on the Exuma Docking/ Exuma Yacht Club/EYC property. Last year we called it EYC BLU but this year it’s just BLU. Hard to keep up.

Lunch time at BLU overlooking Kidd Cove

Immigration is a short walk west from the dinghy dock. Extensions are considered Monday to Friday from 9:30 to noon only, so we made sure to arrive shortly after 9:30. A woman (not the stern guy with sidearm) behind the walled-in counter and an empty waiting space got me thinking good thoughts. You must bring your passport and your entry paperwork, then you must each fill out a new immigration form (that narrow long piece you may know from plane or any trip abroad). Russ planned ahead and got two immigration forms last year so we had those filled out already. But still one more form; you each need to fill out a single sheet and tell, among other basics, why you want an extension, why you are in the Bahamas (vacation is the closest choice) and how much time you are requesting. Politeness is essential try not to allow any pirate traits to surface. 🙂

Fortunately the powers that be were in a good mood that day and Russ made sure to wear a collared shirt, so our 60-day extension got approved very quickly in Bahamian time. Ah, life is good.

Time to request an extension to our 90 days

A short time later after lunch at BLU, Russ got a much-needed haircut at Vanria’s Salon which is located (Bahamians pronounce it with the accent on cated) in the same building as the Immigration Office, tucked in the corner. You’d miss it if you weren’t in the know, but she does advertise which helps too.

Our time in George Town would be far shorter and not as fun without Cort’s Place. One time we got to tag along on a short road trip that lasted three hours! Cort’s boat (a Twin Vee center console cat) needed pampering at the boat place so we agreed to meet at 8:30 at Minns where the car is kept. Early, yes, and the perfect opportunity to drop off laundry at where else? The Corner Laundry! I’d been hand washing and hanging dry everything but towels, so we gathered up every towel – and between bath, hand, kitchen, seating and rag we have plenty-for pampering (WDF) at the Corner Laundry. “Done by noon”- really?  Perfect- we might not need to dinghy back in if they were done while we’d still be in town. 🙂 We can hope.

We met Cort and grandson Max (age 27 and a West Coast salmon fisherman with his Dad) at Minns and headed out for places known and who knows!

In the photo below you can see Peace and Plenty hotel. The “Doctor of Libations”, Lermon Rolle was promoted from part-time bartender to Greeter/Maitre’d/Bell Hop and we were happy to reconnect with him during the Regatta Variety Show lunch, bringing greetings from Ida Patton at Black Point. The guests checking in that day must have really been wondering what the heck they’d gotten into.

Lotsa boat rentals happening at Minns- Cort’s in-town dock

Prime Island Meats was our first stop and with the size increase, we like it more than ever. Cort seldom shops at Exuma Market anymore as the meat market offers a wide selection of meats, both fresh and frozen as well as lots of frozen seafood. We snagged 4 lobster tails, 4 fresh sliced (from a huge roll) burgers and boneless chicken breasts.

Prime Island Meats- the new section- doubled the store’s size

Garden Center next stop!  Not far from the meat market, but set back from the road so you can’t see it.   So many carefully tended, lovely plants greet you once you step out back.

Colorful Bougainvillea at the garden center

Garden center owner starts almost all his plants from cuttings at his home. Formerly from New Providence, he’s owned and operated the garden center for nearly 20 years. Today, Cort was looking for 2 porch chairs. Success meant stuffing them into the trunk already full of groceries, but Russ and Max were up to the challenge.

The lid closed mostly and with some tie down twine provided by the Center’s owner, we were good to go.

The road through town is one-way so our return trip took us by the Corner Laundry. We all agreed it was chancy but why not try? Wowza- all done and folded for only $12! To put that cost into perspective, the average cost in the Bahamas to do your own wash and dry is $8, plus your detergent.

 Max knows just how to use those new chairs!

Two Turtles sits across from Regatta Park and was the perfect spot to relax after our busy morning. :-). Yes, I asked for an iced tea or lemonade. No, they had none. A weak G&T then? The bars around tend to make strong drinks, so I figured weak would be just fine but I would have liked the piece of lime left in the drink!

Enjoying an early beverage at Two Turtles

With two very productive days under our belts we felt good and although departure day loomed ahead we still had hopes of seeing our friends again. We also hoped to cross paths with a certain Grand Banks up the road a bit.