George Town, Great Exuma Cay, Exuma, Bahamas
KORKZcrew is the blue dot on the map.
If today had a name (besides Sunday 😜) it would be Dinghy Day. While we didn't set OUT to have a Dinghy Day, I'm thinking it might be smart to have designated Dinghy Days going forward as a "thing". Especially if they could potentially cancel out Battery Day. Wouldn't that be lovely.
But we basically dinghied all over the place, beginning right after lunch. VIEWER WARNING: The scenes depicted below will involve lots of water. Because I have a REALLY bad Bahamian blue-water addiction.
First, we headed to town to go to the grocery store.
Since a dinghy ride and grocery run can really make you feel especially parched (said no one ever), we felt like a visit just down the street to Sharie's Tropical Spot was in order. Apparently getting a strawberry daquiri was in order too, although I was genuinely tempted by about everything on the menu. A customer showed us the generous plate of conch fritters he'd just been served, and since we'd already had lunch, we made a mental note to make a return visit. Probably tomorrow if I have any say in the matter. 😂 Sharie was super cute with a bubbly personality, and showed us some banana bread she'd just made that was still warm in its pan. She asked us to please share on Channel 72 that she had freshly baked banana bread available, so we gave Skeet that assignment once we got back to KORKZcrew since he's such a radio aficionado these days.
On our way back to KORKZcrew, we swung by Peace & Plenty Beach Club to see if they had any t-shirts we could bring back to friends and family at home. Peace & Plenty is just south of Chat 'N Chill on Stocking Island, and is another frequent gathering spot for cruisers. They'll often host a happy hour that's advertised on Channel 72. While there wasn't a happy hour on this particular afternoon, we still thought we'd pop in for any souvenirs we could find. Alas, the only ones they had available were rum punches. Haha! Here's to drink number two, with a beautiful view! (Good news: I'm not feeling quite as parched any more.)
How great are these rope swings, right in the water?!
Back to the dinghymobile, and as we made our way back to KORKZcrew, I asked Ron to cruise by Chat 'N Chill close to the beach so I could try to film the stingrays that congregate there, who are hoping for some stray conch thrown into the water by the beach goers. I'm learning the hard way (is there any OTHER way? Please tell me there is!) that I've got to tilt my GoPro a bit to get the proper angle on these creatures, so here's hoping I have future opportunities to improve on my lame videography "skills". But here's a first attempt for what it's worth. You can see the beach at Chat 'N Chill right before my camera submerges:
Later in the afternoon, it was time for ANOTHER dinghy ride (but of course! It's Dinghy Day, after all!), so we loaded up Steve and Skeet and decided to stretch our legs on a nearby beach that we hadn't yet explored, just north of the monument. As I've said before, part of the fun of riding on the dinghy is seeing the array of other boats around you, especially in this anchorage. Most of the anchorages we'd visited prior to George Town were pretty "quiet", so this is a special opportunity to see boats of all kinds, from all corners of the world. It's like riding around your favorite neighborhood just to look at the houses, only these are the floating variety. Skeet and Steve love it too.
Here is a quick look at our route:
We parked the dinghy at the tip of the first arrow, and walked around the point, along Starfish Beach and further north. The second arrow represents the next part of our dinghy ride, just to investigate the northernmost tip of Stocking Island.
The "x" is KORKZcrew, and the first arrow led us to this beautiful beach where Steve was THRILLED to run around . . . AND roll around . . . in everything including some particularly prickly pinestraw needles. At least they LOOKED like pinestraw, but they behaved like something that had been dunked in a vat of Krazy Glue. That boy was COVERED in these long, fine needles, and the three of us went to work to free him from his new fur coat made of straw.
What a gorgeous place for a nice long walk. I even found a starfish just off of the beach.
Back to the dinghy, and back to more exploring to check out the northernmost tip of Stocking Island from the water. On our way back to KORKZcrew, we felt like Steve's poor sandy self would benefit from a "bath", and what better bath than a nice long swim in that dreamlike water. What a good, good boy. And what an un, unbiased mother! 😂
I'd say that Dinghy Day officially wore him out, but I'm pretty sure he'd do it again.
Me too, Steve. Me. Too.
Night night!
