Our final week at West Bay...

During April 13th and April 19th while still waiting for the arrival of vital engine parts, we did a little paddle boarding, swimming, working on boat projects..never a lack of those and we rented a car and toured Nassau and Paradise Island. We went to several marine stores and did some provisioning. On one of our early morning paddle board outings, we spotted a Manatee! Actually Rick discovered it first thinking it was a giant rock with moss growing on it…then it started moving. I swiftly paddled over to see this delightful creature which I had been wanting to see since we arrived in Florida and while we have been in the Bahamas. He was a big fellow and looked a bit rough, scarred from probably boat propellers and such and he had some moss and what looked to be barnacles attached to his back. Rough looking but so cute. Being such a large mammal I was surprised how gracefully and how slowly he moved through the water. We followed him for a while as he swam between and beneath our boards. He did not seem bothered at all. Rick actually was lucky enough to reach out and pat the Manatee.

On April 19th…the best day of all during our stay at West Bay, was the arrival of our friends, Kory, Kerry, Lauren, Ellie and miss Gracie..the dog, on Hope in their Lagoon 450F. We had thought once we left them in Florida we wouldn’t be seeing them again this season. So when they glided into the bay and pulled up next to us, I was jumping up and down, and waving my arms. After they anchored, they got in their dinghy and boarded our boat and we exchanged hugs and had a nice visit in our cockpit. We talked briefly about plans for while they were in Nassau and talked about heading out as soon as we had a good weather window for Eleuthra and the Abacos. We were up for whatever! We were just happy to leave and see something new and mostly to be with them!

The next morning we rented a minivan and we all piled in and and took a drive to the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island taking the scenic route along the water. Rick was at the wheel and Kory the co-pilot. Us girls were in the back enjoying the scenery. Once at the resort, we parked and walked around this enchanted place..so cute and clean and colorful. The girls did a little shopping in the cute shops at Marina Village while the guys wandered the marina looking at the super-sized yachts. Next we walked into the Atlantis hoping to get in to see the aquarium which is located inside. Well, that was a bust! In order to get into the aquarium, you needed to purchase a day pass for $190.00 per person. No thank you! I was shocked not only at the price, but for the fact that Rick and I were able to get into the aquarium for free the week before. We didn’t even realize there was a fee at the time. I feel very fortunate we got inside when we did, but felt badly that the rest of the group wasn’t able to enjoy it as well. Next plan was lunch! We were all hungry. Nothing looked good at the Atlantis in the way of menu's and pricing, so we got back in the car, drove outside of the resort and found an outdoor restaurant nearby, Viola’s, that had reasonable prices and a large menu to choose from. The food turned out to be delicious, but the wait to get our food was almost unbearable. It must have been at least an hour before we got served. I guess we should have known seeing the sign posted in front of the restaurant that read..’On Island Time’. This seems to be the going theme in the Bahamas. After our stomachs were satisfied, we left Paradise Island and went to a marine store in Nassau which had something for both the boater and the clothing shopper and later we did some provisioning at the Super Value. In both places the guys were most helpful and good sports! They modeled clothing and hats at the marine store which was quite entertaining and they pushed the carts as we filled them to the brim. On our way back to the boat, we were finally able to reach Chris by phone (the man in posession of our engine parts). For the past few weeks, there seemed to always be an issue with the delivery from the states to his shop on the island (this is why we were in West Bay for so long), so this was great to finally be making contact! We met him in front of a park between downtown and the boat anchorage. While Rick was receiving the parts in one hand, he went to hand Chris the money owed for the parts, in the other hand ($183.00), but Chris would not take the money. He said we could catch him later. But our plan was to leave in a couple of days and we wouldn’t have a rental car after this day so we weren’t quite sure how we would be able to get the money to him. That evening, still feeling uncomfotable about the one way exchange, we texted Chris to see if we could get him the money by way of Venmo or PayPal. He simply replied, ‘enjoy your journey and pay it forward’. Our jaws dropped with his act of generosity and thanked him profusely! We had one more final stop on our way back to the boat and that was to Dairy Queen. The girls, Lauren and Ellie had been wanting some ice cream all day. They love their ice cream! And since they’d been so patient while we were doing all of our errands, we made that stop.

April 20th, the following morning, the water was very calm…a perfect paddle boarding day. We stopped at our friends boat, Rick jumped off his board, and Kerry jumped on and away we went. This was Kerry’s first time on a SUP board. I gave her a few pointers and she picked it up right away. No waffling or wobbling once she stood up and as she continued standing while paddling the rest of the time. Now Kory on the other hand…when he gave it a try, well, let’s just say he wasn’t quite as graceful as Kerry. In his defense though, the wind had piped up and there was quite a current he was up against. We were all shouting instructions, snapping photo’s and getting a kick out of his attempt at paddle boarding. Since he hadn't mastered standing, he paddled while sitting with each leg dangling on either side of the board with the paddle facing the wrong way which wasn't helping matters. We are finding that Kory is turning out to be a great source of comic relief and entertainment. Later that afternoon, Kory came over to assist Rick in the installation of the newly arrived boat parts. And I was invited over to Hope, taking up an offer from Lauren to give me a manicure and pedicure. I gladly accepted. It was fun visiting with her and Ellie while getting pampered.

We finally left West Bay on the 21st along with our buddy boating friends on Hope! Stay tuned!

*Picture of manatee was not taken by me. Since I did not have my phone on the SUP board with me, I had to borrow a photo of one from the Internet. But the picture is very similar to the one we saw.