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Bill relaxing inside Mariposa.
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Amie standing in the v-birth.
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Chris, the owner of Abacos Bahamas Charters assured us the Mariposa had never sunk, but whatever happened there was certainly some standing water inside the boat for a while. The water damage was visible all the way around inside up about a foot.
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The advertisement listed only an AM radio, so we didn't bring any CDs with us. We were annoyed and then elated to learn there was a CD player on board, so the first day we went out and bought $50 of local music to enjoy while sailing. The CD player ate the first CD we tried to play, proving the advertisement for only an AM radio right. This was typical of our experiences with this boat.
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All that's left of the pineapple, sitting in Mariposa's small but comfortable galley.
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Looking out the narrow Little Harbour entrance. Little Harbor is as far south as the charter company allowed us to go. The entrance to Litte Harbour is only 3 and a half feet deep at low tide, so we had to go through nearer high tide.
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A view of Pete's Pub, next door to Pete's shop where he sells bronze sculptures, the only businesses in Little Harbour. Note the boat parked well up the beach, surrounded by a deck as if it was a permanent dry home for someone.
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A rickety looking dock in Little Harbour.
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Bill, Amie and I posing in front of Pete's Pub, home of one of the only two working street lights in all of the Abacos. Sadly the pub was closed on our first day in Little Harbour, evidently resting up for Pete's 22'nd annual 40'th birthday party two days later. Rumor has it he celebrates his birthday about three times a year, but in any case it sounds like a lot of fun.
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The view of Little Harbour from Pete's Pub.
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A closer view of the open air pub. We came back the next night and enjoyed some amazing Tuna sandwiches.
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Little Harbour is on the Grand Abaco mainland, and looks out on the open Atlantic Ocean. This is the view to the north.
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And this is the view to the south, a very nice beach.
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Amie and Bill standing on the limestone looking at waves crashing in from the Atlantic.
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Some brain coral dried on the beach.
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Weather polished shells and rocks.
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You don't want to trip and fall on this limestone, it's very sharp. My flip-flop came off at one point, and I can definitively confirm that walking barefoot on the surface is unwise.
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As Bill and I wandered north to explore the beach, Amie stayed at the point near Pete's pub looking for shells and other pretty things.
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Bill getting photos to show just how sharp and rugged the limestone beach is.
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The sun starting to set over Little Harbour.
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Looking at the entrance into Little Harbour.
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Bill climbing into the brush to get the perfect sunset picture.
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Heading back to the Mariposa in the tender.
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To avoid getting stuck in little Harbour all day, we set out with the rising sun. The weather forcast implied it was a going to be a rough windy day, but we enjoyed ourselves. The breakers in the distance are where the Atlantic meets its first land after Africa.
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Amie's half awake as she takes us out of Little Harbour.
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The sunset continued to be beautiful for quite a while that morning.
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Getting ready to set an anchor in the lee of Lynyard Cay.
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Amie making first tracks on an unpopulated Cay in the Bahamas.
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We got up far too early to get out of Little Harbour with the tide, so I was more than excited when we came across this old hammock hanging in a tree on the beach.
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Walking acrosss Lynyard Cay to see what it looks like where the Atlantic beats against it.
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The latest style.
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Racing waves.
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A geiser when the waves come crashing in just right.
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Amie walking south on the outside of Lynyard Cay.
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Sitting behind a rock to get a little shelter from the constant wind blowing off the Atlantic.
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Back on the inside of Lynyard Cay, the Mariposa in the distance behind Amie.
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Lots of snails hanging out on the limestone.
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The beach was littered with conch shells.
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We sailed off our anchor by Lynyard Cay, then set our anchor again this time in the Bight Of Old Robinson. Amie and I geared up in wet suits to go snorkeling, looking for protection from the bighting 75 degree wind.
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Amie has the yellow mask and snorkel.
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I have the blue mask and snorkel.
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The sandy area we decided to explore was not very deep.
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A new game, Amie is hanging her head over the side of the skiff as we slowly motor back to the sailboat, watching the sea bottom six feet below.
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A little squall moved through as we made our way back to the Mariposa.
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My turn to watch the bottom as we cruise back to the boat.
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Amie taking us back.
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The Mariposa anchored in the Bight of Old Robinson.
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Amie diving the anchor.
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Graceful.
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A whole new adventure. Back in Little Harbour, we learned of large caves in the limestone that we had to explore. Sailing, then snorkeling, now spelunking...
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And I always thought Amie was just a tree-hugger...
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Amie was tempted to try and climb this old rope hanging within the cave, but ultimately we all decided against it as there didn't seem to be any further passages up that way.
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We can still just barely see the entrance at this point.
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Amie taking a short cut, crawling through a small hole.
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Any good cave deserves a few bats.
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Some forming stalagmites.
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Some forming stalactites.
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The bats were awake and talkative, not very welcoming to our presence in their home.
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The end of the road for us, as none was willing to crawl into a space so small.
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It looks like the cave keeps going, but you'd half to be a smurf to be comfortable going further.
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Some very pretty stalactites in the back of the cave.
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Enjoying the scenery, and the bats.
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Retracing our steps back out.
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The flying bats are evidently happy that the sun is setting outside the cave.
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Back at the entrance, overlooking Little Harbour.
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Happy after surviving our unexpected spelunking adventure.
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View of the cave from the outside.
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Getting ship shape for our trip back up to Elbow Key.
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Amie isn't so sure about what we're facing, 3-5 foot waves, with the occasional 7 foot swell coming in off the Atlantic with the winds blowing 20-25.
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The first day we needed to reef our main.
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It looks a lot calmer in this photo than it really is.
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Waves crashing over the barrier cays.
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The swells made a mess of our boat.
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Trying unsuccessfully to set an achor outside of Cracker P's pub. I'm hanging over feeling the anchor line to see if the anchor is still dragging. It was.
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Back on Elbow Cay, in Hope Town. Now we're on an important quest to get an amazing Key Lime Pie from Vernon's grocery store before they close. A local favorite, and for good reason.
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Our last morning in the Bahamas, walking the 'pink sand' beaches on the outside of Elbow Cay.
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Pink bits of coral mixed in with the sand give it a pinkish hue.
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In Amie's world the stairway keeps going up.
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They say 'Jeremiah Was A Bullfrog', I'm doing my best posing with my new friend.
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Back in Marsh Harbor, getting ready to board our flight back to America. Bummer. Amie's smiling because she likes what a day in braids has done to her hair.
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Bill suffers through a special Amie hair do.
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Getting ready to board the plane for our return flight.
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One last photo opportunity.