The past 10 days in the Exumas have been truly amazing. We have had very spotty internet and although we have written a few updates, we have not had enough of a connection to post, until tonight. They all seem somewhat outdated so we will attempt to hit some highlights and put up some pictures. 

We (and s/v Sheila) sailed across Yellow Bank to Allan's Cay the day after we cleared customs and immigration in Nassau. We had a wild night as a front came through with gusts to 40 and boats swinging all over the place in the anchorage. We had to keep an anchor watch through the night, so Amie and I were exhausted the next day. We spent 2 days exploring Allan's beaches and reefs, as well as quite a bit of time playing with the resident iguana population. We then sailed south to Norman's Cay. We spent another couple of days exploring this area, where we found the beaches and sea life to be incredible. Actually incredible does not do it justice. We were completely blown away by the natural beauty. The water colors simply can't be adequately described. The beaches are empty and overwhelmingly beautiful. We giggle and feel so fortunate. On our second day there Ted speared 6 lobster, the biggest of which was 44 inches from tail to antenna tip. Our friends on Sheila added 2 more lobster and together with a bunch of Conch collected by new friends on s/v Charlotte, we had a big bbq on a spectacular little beach. It was wonderful.

We then sailed a bit further to Shroud Cay. Here we giggled some more, gasped at the beauty of it all and explored more uninhabited paradise. Yesterday morning we sailed a bit further south to Warderick Wells. This meant we entered the 22 mile long Exuma Land and Sea Park. The bad news is that means no fishing, but the good news is that means more lively and healthy reefs because there is no fishing. We went on a nice hike to see some blow holes and then did some beach going and snorkeling in the afternoon. Again, absolutely beautiful.  Today we sailed a bit further to Staniel Cay and reentered civilization, sort of. We got a few groceries at the small one room grocery store, and then went to sea the famous swimming pigs. We have managed to sail onto and off of our anchor most of the time, and at one point we had not turned the engine on in 5 days. SO MUCH better than the ICW!!!

There have been so many moments and experiences over this past week that simply can't be captured in words. At least by my words. It felt like it took a long time to get here. Not just the past 2 months of sailing, but the past years of planning and a decade of dreaming. This past week has finally started to make sense of all of that. Ah-hah...this is why we did it.