Leaving Green Turtle Cay

February 7, 2007


The main drag in New Plymouth, Green Turtle Cay



The old jail in New Plymouth

We’re getting ready to pick up our anchor and leave Green Turtle Cay. Our destination: Manjack Cay, a whopping 3 miles north of here. Several of the boats anchored here are heading that way to have a beach party today and tonight, so we’re joining in with all the fun.

Parties seem to take place every other day around here. On Monday night we were invited over to John, Terry and Jen's house on dry land. They are visiting the island for two weeks and have rented a place. They know Robbie from last year when they did the same thing, so we were invited by extension. It was a fun night with great food and intense card games.


The party crowd at the end of the night on Monday. Left to right: John, Betty with her dog Idgy, Mike, Robbie, Jamie (in front), Sybill, Kristen, Anne, Neville, Brad, Jen, and Jerry.


John, Jen, Terry and Brad, play some kind of card game...


Everyone gets a little excited during the Texas hold'em poker game.

For the past few days the weather has been cloudy, windy and cold (by Bahamian standards at least). But today the sun is out and it looks like a great day to go snorkeling, since the water is very calm. Yesterday morning we biked to town to get some groceries. In addition to produce and other staples, we found some terrific Irish sausage (yum!) and a loaf of fresh-out-of-the-oven Bahamian bread. Kristen spent a couple of hours with Robbie, our snorkeling guide, trading music for her iPod.

Later we went for a long walk around the north end of the island. It was low-tide, so we were able to walk along the beach circumnavigating half of the island. We came across two houses where they had brand new sea-planes “parked” just off the beach. We talked to the owner of one of the planes. He and his wife lives in Canada in the summer and fly their plane to the Bahamas for the winter. He said that it is a pretty uncomfortable plane to fly long distances in, but once in the Bahamas it’s ideal, because you can land anywhere. Not a bad life.

Last night we were invited over to a boat from Newburryport, MA, for dinner. Jerry, our host, cooked up a great dinner with the sausages we had bought earlier in the day, as well as some pork chops and mashed potatoes. It was a real feast. He entertained us with stories of harrowing sea crossings (including an ocean dinghy ride in 8 foot seas, and also of a Gulf Stream crossing with 52 knot winds out of the north)… and we thought that our crossing was a bit bumpy.

After tonight’s party on Manjack, we’ll head south again, either to Treasure Cay or to Great Guana Cay.