March 17 - March 31, 2007

Colleen and Marcel finally arrived in the Abacos on Monday, 3/19 after flight cancellations, flight delays and private ferry charters . We had dinner prepared for the tired travelers. After dinner and some story telling we let them rest and relieve travel stress and get into vacation mode.

We enjoyed many BBQ's at Crystal Villas, prepared by the BBQ master himself. Delicious dinners of teriyaki pork tenderloin, Lupo's marinated chicken breasts, tasty burgers, fresh mahi mahi with lemon butter sauce as well as finely grilled hot dogs.

Marcel at his best -BBQ, cigar and red wine.

Cheers!

Saturday nights at Sea Spray Resort & Marina the Hope Town Islanders (a local band) perform poolside. Junior, the marina dockmaster is the drummer. Their great sounds created alot of happy feet.

The Hope Town Islanders performing poolside.

Colleen, Marcel, Babette & Claudia with the moves.

Sunday, March 25

The big day at Nipper's Beach Bar on Great Guana Cay. The Barefoot Man (aka Jimmy Buffet of the Cayman Islands) is on the island for his annual free concert.

The Froggie's Boat

With strong winds (25-30 knots) we were unable to sail there so we hopped onboard Froggie's Out Island Adventures' boat. Destination - Great Guana Cay.

The Barefoot Man at Nipper's.

Quite a crowd was present.

We stayed for only a couple Nipper juices (rum punch) then left the crowd behind and strolled through the coconut grove to Grabber's Sunset Beach Bar on Fisher's Bay.

Steel Daddy

Steel Daddy was playing at Grabber's. A much calmer environment with good tunes. Feeling the Nipper juices we opted for lunch at Grabber's and were joined by our friends, Bruce and Kelly and their dog, Jersey from Shearwater.

Lunch at Grabber's Sunset Beach Bar.

Safely back from Guana Cay we were too tired to cook so dinner was at the Harbour's Edge Restaurant.

Monday evening was happy hour aboard Escape. Plenty of pick foods and spirits were enjoyed with friends and family. Brian and Katherine from Highlander Wanderer joined us. As the evening progressed 4 new turtles were inducted into the International Association of Turtles, Bahamas Division.

The 4 new turtles- Colleen, Katherine, Brian & Marcel

If you should see any of them please be sure to ask them "Are you a turtle?" The night continued with lots of music.

Marcel playing Tom's DeJembe drum and didn't even spill that red wine!!

We introduce Colleen & Marcel to a new hobby. We call it treasure hunting better known as sea glass picking. They collected alot of treasures for Babette.

Treasure hunting on the Abaco Inn beach on the Atlantic.

Thursday, 3/29 we headed across the harbour to the candy striped lighthouse. The winds had finally subsided to 15-20 knots so we climbed the 101 spiral staircase to the top. Views were spectacular. Marcel preferred the view from inside.

Returning to the dinghy from our lighthouse tour we met local Bahamian cleaning conch and crawfish (lobster as we call them) on the dock. He shared the secret of cleaning conch and made it seem really easy but we know otherwise. Experience is crucial.

This was his catch in about 1 hour -10 crawfish and 12 conch.

As we crossed the harbour back to the boat, we came across our friend Al from Reef Chief. Al invited us aboard his 50 ft. wooden schooner.

Marcel enjoys the helm. Yes he is in a saddle.

Friday, 3/30 we took one of Froggie's Out Island Adventures to Little Harbour, located at the southern most tip of the Sea of Abaco. The winds were still howling at 25-30 knots making the ride a bit bumpy but once at Pete's Pub we all found serenity and enjoyed a tasty lunch.

Little Harbour is also known the only brass foundry and gallery in the Bahamas. We had a foundry tour by Lambert and browsed the very pricey sculptures in the gallery.

The Gallery in Little Harbour.

Pete's Pub. A really cool place with the freshest fish, burgers and local sides.

The relaxed couple in the Bahamas.

Saturday, 3/31 has arrived and it's departure time back to New York, but guess what? It's the 1st day the wind wasn't honking and we were able to sail from Hope Town to Marsh Harbour for Colleen and Marcel to catch their flight home. What a great sail we had! Marcel had fun at the helm and even reached 7.1 knots!

What a smile - a happy sailor!

We had a great time with Colleen and Marcel and hope they enjoyed their vacation. We sure did. Now it's back to reality and making the final preparations before heading to the Central Bahamas.