Sunrise Tellin shell
To quote my favorite author, “It was a dark and stormy night…”
Well, it isn’t stormy, yet. But, is sure as heck is dark. We have been blessed with really clear skies the past couple of days. This is good for three reasons. First, it’s not raining. Second, our solar panels work better without clouds. Third, the stars at night are unbelievable. We are pretty much a long way away from any townships to see any sort of residual effects or light glow. At night time, before the moon rises, it is dark. And, I mean really, really dark! Cindy and I sat up on deck one evening to take in the stars. When it is this dark, the stars have a sort of 3D effect and we can see the layers of the milky way. It’s not long before we start spotting shooting stars. We kicked back to enjoy the show and our conversation turned to some of the things we really enjoy about our nomadic lifestyle. Besides looking at stars, at the top of our list is being away from city noise. We loved spending the summer in St. Petersburg, Florida. And, we loved the amenities of a city like Atlanta where we lived for years. But, the city is noisy. I guess all cities are noisy. I enjoy mornings at sunrise when I drink my tea and do the daily crossword (when we can get internet). This is perhaps my favorite time of day. The only sound I hear is water gently lapping up against Cream Puff’s hull. If I strain my ears, I can hear the ocean hitting the rocks on the windward side of Cambridge Cay. Ahhh, peace and quiet. Another thing I enjoy is the clean air. We lived in Atlanta for quite a few years before selling everything to go sailing. I recall flying into Atlanta’s airport after spending a week on the road. As we landed, from my window seat on the plane, I could see an orange haze over the city skyline. The summer smog hanging over the city caused both Cindy and I to have allergy issues. I am hoping to never return to air pollution. In the clean air of the Bahamas I swear I have developed a dog like sense of smell. Being able to breathe is a good thing.
We decided to hike to the other side of the island today for a little exercise. It can be a little hard to find the path at times. The trail is marked by the occasional well placed conch shell or by a stack of rocks. The island is pretty flat therefore it is not too strenuous of a hike. The trail is mostly sand. Palm leaves over the sand are the biggest danger. When on the ground, they are a slick as ice when stepped on. It is an easy way to lose footing and wind up on ones derriere. We had a couple of close calls but no winners. Sometimes when walking on trails like this I have the strangest thoughts. We are out in the middle of nowhere hiking across an island through the brush. I start to think how many cruisers have gone before me along this path never to return. Is it possible there are a few of them still roaming the island completely lost? I half expected to see the occasional human skull. I didn’t. My mind returned to normal once the other side came into view.
The trail starts here – somewhere here?
Here we go
Watch out for those palm leaves!
The other side
Taking it in
It’s amazing anything can grow in the arid rocky coast
Okay, now it is stormy. In our latest weather forecast it says we are going to get back-to-back cold fronts for the next four days. We just happened to be in a great location. We got here early enough to get a buoy and beat the rush of boats seeking a safe place away from the weather. We are in a natural harbor with land all about us and we are safely secured to an ELSP mooring buoy. It’s time to hunker down and get a good book.
Not every day is sunny
A little choppy on the windward side
Rainbow and Bell Rock
Dinghy name humor
