We’ve been steadily moving our way down the islands of Bahamas and Turks and decided that we wanted to spend more time in the Bahamas, vs going further south into the Caribbean. It was a tough decision but will ultimately give us more time to have fun and not worry about schedules and rushing. We’ve learned our lesson from that already!

SOOOOOOOOOO, with that – I take you to the largest of the cays of the Exumas. Though it spans only 37 miles and joins with another cay (Little Exuma) by a small bridge; they are oft referred to as Great Exuma.

Emerald Bay

The first part of our adventure in Great Exuma begins in Emerald Bay. There was some pretty horrific and stormy weather approaching, go figure! As if we haven’t had enough of that. But this actually looked REALLY bad, so we opted to stay at a marina. We haven’t stopped in almost a month so it will feel good to take a break. We were also in need of some major boat cleanup and we were out of clean clothes.

We purposely arrived the day before the bad weather. It was a gorgeous so our travels were easy and uneventful

The only real downfall of this area is the exposure to the Exuma Sound and constant ocean surge. Boats can get trapped for a long time if the weather is just wrong. Our slip was at the very back corner, furthest from the channel and exposure to surge. YAY. Upon arriving, someone recognized our boat name on the VHF. It turned out to be a fan of our YouTube channel! How wacky is that?!?!

It took some time to get settled. The dock lines and fenders had to be rigged SUPER tight so that the boat wouldn’t dance around the slip (due to the constant surge). For several days, all we did was catch up on boat chores, provisioning and all that stuff that goes on the back burner during cruising-life.

The marina, itself, is very nice. A beautiful captain’s lounge, a gym, huge shower room, FREE laundry and a very safe and secure area. Its actually part of the Sandals resort and is impeccably maintained. The main downfall besides the surge is the fact that there isn’t much around the marina in the way of a town. Good thing we have our folding bikes, which came in handy to go to nearby towns!

Fun With New Friends

Emerald Bay hosted a few activities encouraging guests to socialize; not that they need much prodding. A weekly happy hour with free appetizers AND booze made for a very enjoyable time. During our stay, we met several other cruisers; some new friends and others’ we’ve already met.

Our friend’s from the Berries (White Cay / Great Harbour), Bel Canto (Dave and Sandy from Denver) were staying just a few slips down from us. We hung out with these guys the most during our stay. They invited us over to their boat for beers one night, and we ended up breaking out our guitar and showcasing some of our AWESOME musical talents back from when we were The Firebird 4000 Project (aka – FB4K).

With the bad weather upon us, we found some great ways to pass the time, including an impromptu jam session featuring US. Dave organized it and did a really good job getting word out, because there were at least 20 people in our audience. We only had one guitar, but Dave wrangled up an old bucket for drums and someone else brought another guitar. For the first hour or so, we played originals. Another guy could play and serenaded the crowd with some French songs (as they were French Canadian). There were a group of what seemed to be professional choir singers who sang acapella. It was so good! Eventually everyone joined in and we ended out the evening with some fun cover songs. It was a great way to pass an otherwise dull evening.

From these activities, we met another boat, Anomaly. They are a family of 4 traveling on a huge catamaran. Their kids, Wes (11) and Kathleen (14) were super cool. We hung out with them several times, paddling, kayaking and beach-playing. It was fun splashing around the shore while the waves were raging out there (they were at least 10-feet).

Jake spent time playing pool and hanging with these guys while I helped Dave learn photo-editing software. We even organized a movie night with everyone of our new friends. Naturally we had to watch Captain Ron, the quintessential cruiser movie. Can you believe some of our group had never seen it?!?! Everyone brought snacks, popcorn and candy for all to share. It was a rare night that we felt like normal humans doing normal human things (not just crazy cruisers).

Rolleville

We explored much of this huge island on foot, on bikes and by motor vehicle. There were so many little villages scattered about.

One in particular was only a few miles north of us, called Rolleville. We met some locals who turned us on to a fantastic restaurant, Lighthouse Cafe. It is run by the reverend (Oswald) and his family. They are known to have some of the most delicious, homestyle food at cheap prices. Another interesting thing is that they don’t serve alcohol (being the local reverend) and instead serve ice cream – WAYYYY better in my book.

We LOVED this restaurant and its owners. The food was unbelievably tasty. We went back a few times to enjoy meatloaf, potatoes, pork chops, conch fritters and of course, ice cream. We met the entire family during our visits, and they were all SO NICE! We even met their dog who looked a whole lot like our Bosco dog whom we’ve dedicated our boat and adventure to.

This little town was so cool. All the buildings, restaurants, homes, whatever were very Bahemian. Some were lavish and others modest. All of them were wrapped in tropical paradise and the people who reside here are hands down the nicest people ever.

George Town

George Town is one of the most popular towns in all of the Bahamas. Its where a lot of people (cruisers and tourists alike) will spend the entirety of the season. Its very normal for hundreds upon hundreds of boats to be anchored in George Town throughout the year.

We visited George Town via car AND boat. The first visit was with Bel Canto, because one of their crew needed to visit the clinic for an injury sustained. The nearest being in George Town. Jake and I were also on the hunt for a few marine supplies and a good provisioning stop – so figured 2 birds.

George Town seemed a bustling little town. At first glance it didn’t look like anything special. With a little time and exploring, we learned why its such an appealing spot. There are tons and tons of little pubs, restaurants and hovels with lots of wonderful local activity. Music, dancing, partying. Tons of places for boats to park in completely protected areas. Lots of good shopping and food available for the cruiser and tourist alike. And of course it lays out in the most gorgeous water you can imagine.

I am drawn to the architecture of the older buildings – specifically churches. There were several ruin-type buildings but even those have a history and a visual appeal. And it still has a Bahemian feel to it. I can see the appeal, but I wasn’t as excited about the crowds. There could be as many as 400 boats parked right out in the bay – thats WAY too many for my liking.

It was fun to walk around the town. Jake and I spent a good hour or so trying to track down the marine parts we needed to no luck. But we did discover lots of interesting things and found the most awesome grocery store! Instead of spending money on lunch, we bought bread and lunch meat and enjoyed lunch on a picnic table by the water. I was also ecstatic that they sold our most favorite Bahemian bread, which is like texas toast. It is freaking delicious!!!

Williams Bay

Since we had the car for the day, Bel Canto and us decided to take full advantage and drive the entire stretch of the big island and even on to the small one. We drove as far as we could, ending in a tiny little town of Williams Bay. It was basically just tiny little streams lined with mangroves and sort of like a nature-habitat. Very cool to see that people have left some things undisturbed in this tiny and gorgeous island.

There was also a monument nearby as well as a huge salt pond, that was actually where table salt used to come from. The area is on an overlook that spans most of the island and is simply beautiful!

We also decided to stop off for a local brew at an outdoor bar up north toward Moss Town. It was packed with sand flies, which are a major nuisance when the wind stops. We all huddled around the candles that are supposed to keep them at bay until we couldn’t take it. So we moved to a local pub to get some conch fritters, which were AMAZING. And cheap! It pays to explore the lesser-traveled paths.

On the drive back north, we picked up a hitchhiker. Don’t worry its not like in the states. Hitchhiking in the islands, especially the smaller / outer islands is very common and very safe. I know it seems weird. The gentleman we picked up was probably in his early 20’s and was heading home from work to visit his grandmother. Apparently he visits her every week and they enjoy a glass of wine together and share about their lives. How cool is that? I love how family-oriented people are here. It seems that no matter what walk of life you come from, the locals are nothing but kind and giving (even if they don’t have much to spare). Its definitely a lesson that we can learn from.

Moss Town

We also ventured to the northern part of Great Exuma through several tiny little villages scattered amongst the flora and fauna of the region. The towns were tiny but had a really nice appeal to them. Almost as if they are untouched by the outside world. The homes were small and simple. Many of them were surrounded in tropical trees or right along the beach.

We were hoping to discover a place to go snorkeling. Someone told us of a location and we plotted it on our map. Unfortunately we couldn’t find a road to get us where we wanted to go. We eventually turned off on a gravel road that seemed to go the general direction we hoped. But soon we found ourselves on an off-road adventure. The road dead-ended at a pile of tree rubbish, so we continued on foot. Turns out we were right next to a beautifully maintained road – guess we missed that turn!

We were too close to turn around, so we walked over to the gorgeous, deserted beach. Jake went out to see if there was anything worth snorkeling, but there really wasn’t much. Oh well, we were here and the beach was inviting. So we walked along chatting with our buddies and picking up any interesting looking shells or coral along the way.

On our way back south, we passed several tiny little villages. There were no people around but lots of places to see. We did see several goats loitering about, so that was something haha.

I am so glad we spent time exploring in Great Exuma. Exploring these tiny, out of the way towns, is what makes this type of trip so special.