Post #71: “We’ve Got Magic to Do, Just for You”

 Wednesday, March 3, 2021

It’s been a month since I last wrote in this blog but now that we’ve turned northward and are back in the same harbor as on February 28, it’s time to stop procrastinating! So here goes:

We left Black Point with clean clothes, plenty of water, and 2 loaves of yummy bread (we quickly realized this was not enough!) Our passage took us along the shores of Musha and Rudder Cays, owned by the famous magician and illusionist David Copperfield.  You, too, can rent the villa and 5 guest houses for a mere $60,000 per night. For an additional fee, the resort will arrange a treasure hunt for you and your 11 guests which includes “clues filled with magic and wonder” to guide you to visit “live pirates, hidden beaches and cliffs, and a petrified lake.”  We sailed by albeit reluctantly but stopped to snorkel over the intriguing underwater sculpture Mr. Copperfield had commissioned and installed for all to enjoy: 

Our destination was Lee Stocking Island, once the home to the Caribbean Marine Research Center, one of NOAA’s National Undersea Research agencies. Unfortunately, due to a lack of funding, the center was shut down about 10 years ago and now seems eerily like the set from Lost or The Walking Dead as the buildings, airstrip, laboratories and docking areas are in various stages of deterioration.  

On the other hand, the fauna on Lee Stocking was thriving, especially the coconut palms. Some of our group came prepared with backpacks and shopping bags to carry samples back to the boats.  That night we even toasted coconut for a delicious treat at a beach bonfire!

Tomorrow we will arrive in George Town, for many the cruising Valhalla of the Exumas.  David and I have been reading and talking about it for months.  I wonder if it will live up to our expectations??

(Here we are searching for the trailhead to lead us to the abandoned research center—8 people, 8 different ideas—you can imagine what that was like!)