This week has been quiet. Aside from our trip through the mangroves on Monday (you can see our path on the Where Are We Now page), Scott’s done a lot of snorkeling and spearing of lobsters, which has made for yummy lunches! We’ve also been doing the  usual, boat maintenance and assorted projects (painting and varnishing).

Scott has been waiting to get a chance at spear fishing, and he’s finally gotten his chance here in the Berry Islands. He ventured out on Tuesday, and here is his day’s catch:

The conch shell was beautiful, and temping to keep.

We really wanted a conch shell that we’d found on our own, but neither of us wanted to attempt to get the conch out…ick. So we tossed it back.

But all in all, a good catch!

Scott is now on a mission to hone his new found spearing skills on some fish. Unfortunately, the fish and lobster seem to move around daily. We think that they are trying to stay one step ahead of the many jet skis that buzz around the wrecks that are near us.

There is a private island for Royal Caribbean in sight, just to the north. When the ship is anchored, there is a flurry of activity: parasailing, glass bottom boat tours and jet skis. Luckily, only the jet skis come in our general direction. We mainly see boats taking workers back and forth between the ship and Bullocks Harbour here.

We went to dinner in town, at Cooliemae’s. Her restaurant sits up on a high hill, with a great view of the sunset..and our boat at anchor!

On Wednesday, we planned to go to the Atlantic side of the island and anchor there. The water here is very clear, but it’s a greenish color, reflecting the grasses on the bottom. After our trip to the beach, and seeing the gorgeous blue water (comes from a sandy bottom), Scott wanted to change locations. We started out, but the head sea became too uncomfortable (head seas are the worst), so we turned around to wait for a better window.

On Friday, we took the Aluminum Princess to the dock at Bullock’s Harbour and went for a walk through town. There are just a few businesses scattered around the area: three very small grocery stores, a police station, a hardware store and the government building which houses the post office, clinic, and court offices. Of course there are also three or four bars and take away stores, where you can get something simple to eat and a cold freezer beer! These Bahamians are geniuses! We ducked in more than one, to try and cool off during our sweaty walk…freezer beer hit the spot.

Tomorrow morning, we plan to try again for an anchorage on the Atlantic side. It will take 5-7 hours, depending on the waves and our speed. Going into a head sea tends to slow us down, adding time to the journey. We’re leaving at 5 am, so fingers crossed we get there without too much banging around. Here are a few photos from this week.

Catch of the week: Lobsters! And a catch and release conch.

“Shells Sink, Dreams Float. Life’s Good On Our Boat!”