Pinned

^^The calm before the storm.  

Well, we knew the wind was coming.  It was certainly not a surprise, but still….holy crap!  An afternoon squall, or a windy day is one thing, a solid week of 20-35 knot winds is another, at least here in the Bahamas.  It very much interrupts the normal activities of the day.  For one, absolutely no dinghy rides offshore, or much of anywhere for that matter unless you don’t mind being drenched. (One of us minds getting drenched more than the other) Limited dinghy exploration means limited fishing grounds.  We’ve even resorted to trying to catch fish with a fishing pole.  Not so much our talent, yet.  Not only is the dinghy range shrunk up, but so is the range of the big boat.  We’ve been bopping between Green Turtle and Manjack, these two islands are only about 5 miles apart, but for the most part have been pretty much pinned down here in Manjack.  Not a bad place to be stuck, I’ll admit.  We are working on exploring all the trails and it’s cool enough even Kai can come along even for the long ones.  But as much as I love this island, and it’s a whole bunch, the water has turned down right cold and we don’t want to be cold. We’ve even broken out the jeans and sweatshirts, which feel absolutely awesome to wear when drenched in salt water by the way. No question, it is time to head south! Fast.  Of course to head south we have to wait for the winds and seas to settle enough to make one tiny little offshore jump around Whale Cay and that still hasn’t happened.  In these winds that pass is nothing but breakers.  So we are pinned for a few more days.  That’s OK, I haven’t found the wild orchid trail yet.  It is on the mental To Do list for tomorrow. 

We aren’t the only boat pinned here, which was nice come Thanksgiving day. The rain held off allowing for a bountiful potluck dinner held on shore at a guest cottage.  Amazingly, for here, it even contained a turkey!  It was a fun afternoon filled with stories and lots of laughing and some recipe swapping. It softened the feeling of homesickness Keith and I were feeling for our friends and family back home.

^^This picture so summed up the day.  Laughing, Turkey (that is what is being carved), and…..oooh, an open wifi connection-emails from home!

^^ This photo was taken just before the winds filled in, a nice reminder of what we hope to see again next week. It is our friend’s boat “The Lucky One”  aboard which a devine dinner of chicken piccata was served and enjoyed!  Just a few more good moments for the memory bank.