The weather did not look good for a trip South for the next few days. Several boats tried to leave but were turned back by rough seas due to Southerly winds. With our pleasant introduction to the Grand Bahamas, we decided to stay and explore for a week and signed up for the weekly rate at the marina. The weekly rate was cheaper than the daily rate. Once this decision was made we could relax and enjoy the sights. Several boats spent almost a week here as well before the next window but spent much of their time discussing weather and crossing destinations. Something we are trying to learn is to not be in a rush to get to the next spot until we have explored where we are. It is easier said than done as you feel that you have to take the next weather window so tend to spend your time in a constant state of preparedness. You really have two modes of operation - traveling or staying. When you are traveling, you are closely monitoring weather and keeping the boat in a state where you can leave fairly quickly. When you are staying, things get rearranged on the boat to more comfortable living arrangements. While you still monitor weather, it does not take over your day. When you are tired of staying/exploring/partying, you shift to the other mode. Actually, we enjoyed the first week so much, that we signed up for the monthly marina rate, which was again significantly cheaper.

So, our first week in the Bahamas, we fell into a routine of doing boat jobs in the morning and playing/sightseeing in the afternoon. The Lucayan Marina is totally protected in a canal system built about 30 years ago. The marina is new, modernized in the last few years. It is surrounded by gardens and condos, and has a huge swimming pool with pool bar for the condo owners and marina guests. There is a shuttle ferry that takes you to Port Lucaya. At the Port, there is a shopping bazaar, numerous restaurants, a casino and a hotel complex on the beach. We can walk out the front of the complex and take a bus ($1/person) to Freeport for shopping or, for a few more dollars, to anywhere on the island. From our dock, we can also dinghy out the canal system to another entrance and motor to secluded, white sand beaches with crystal clear water. There are also beach bars along the beach for lunch and a reef offshore for snorkeling. What is wrong with this picture? We met a number of boaters who come here every year for a month or two and do boat jobs or just unwind before heading down island. Their comment is that this is the best marina in the islands, so enjoy. Maybe you see why we signed up for a month.

The first week was spent exploring the area, both by bus and dinghy. We went to Freeport and the International Bazaar (numerous shops and restaurants). Unfortunately the bazaar was almost empty, as the week after New Years is their slow season. We also looked for sandals as my Tevas decided to break just after we arrived. There are no Tevas on the island. We did find some sandals for the interim and I stitched my Tevas back together with sail thread as a short-term fix. On the grocery front, we could buy almost all the items that we could buy in the States. The prices varied from reasonable to expensive with bulky items like paper towels or potato chips being expensive. Everything is shipped in so bulky items are expensive, and compact items (e.g. canned goods) are reasonable. We tried to snorkel the reefs that were about 1 mile out. We felt uncomfortable being that far out by ourselves so headed back after a brief look. The reefs looked interesting but we will try it with another dinghy along in the future. We also explored some of the canal system. These canals were built when the Bahamas were going through a big development program. Works was stopped, as I believe that they were concerned about selling off all their land to foreigners. As a result, some of the canals have beautiful homes on them and some have none. There appears to be development starting again as we noticed a lot of new home construction.