Guana Cay - Nippers and Grabbers

2.3.13 GO RAVENS!!!! Today is Super Bowl Day and we are in Marsh Harbour to make sure we can go somewhere to watch the big game! But I digress, let me start back at Green Turtle. We left Green Turtle and had a good sail down to Marsh Harbour. We were hoping to catch some fish, but again it was not meant to be. We spent a few days tucked snugly in Marsh Harbour while the winds raged out on the sea. There is a wonderful grocery store here and we visited it regularly, restocking our shelves with fresh fruits and vegetables and getting some snacks for the upcoming trek to the Exumas. Mermaid Reef is a beautiful protected reef just North of Marsh Harbour, so we walked over and snorkeled that one of the calmer days. This reef is very obviously protected as there are lots of yummy things to eat there that would surely have been snatched up had the opportunity been allowed. There were large Snapper and a Nassau Grouper and lots and lots of lobster. We enjoyed the beautiful sights but oh how glorious it would have been to have taken some of those things home for dinner!! Reflecting back to our last trip, we had lots of trouble with the Verizon phone that they had told us would work. So this time, we put more research into the matter, spoke to a few representatives, both on the phone and in the stores and found the correct global phone that would allow us to have internet in the countries we were visiting as well as being unlocked in case we wanted to use another country's SIM card. HA...fool me once..... We are, again, having lots of trouble with our Verizon phone and, once again, cannot get internet. You would think we had learned our lesson, but apparently we are slow learners. So the battle rages on..... After being cooped up on one place for a few days, we were happy when the winds changed favorably and we were able to head over to Guana Cay and the world famous Nippers bar. We had told Sean about this place from the beginning and were excited to take him there. After dropping anchor, Sean and Brad snorkeled the anchor and then moved to a small coral head that was marked on the chart. Although they reported that there wasn't much to see, they did spot two small sea turtles in the grass beds. We all dinghied in the Nippers, ready to be wowed. Although the bar was beautiful as always, perched high atop a hill overlooking the beach with brilliant colors and two waterfall pools, we were disappointed to find we were practically the only patrons there. Both times I had been previously, the place had been packed. Oh well, we made the best of it. We ordered lunch, took pictures of the view, and sat around the pool drinking Kaliks and soaking up the sun. Once we were bored with ourselves, we headed back down the hill the Grabbers, another beach front bar with a pool, horseshoes, corn hole and stand up paddleboards. The bartender gave us paddles and Sean and I headed out to try them out, both of us being novices. The trip was relatively uneventful as the water was shallow and there was nothing to see. We instead turned around and raced back to shore. I, of course, dominated the race and came steaming back to shore with Sean in my wake, and then we all had another round of drinks and met a few of the other bargoers. It was a wonderful day and the evening was a perfect nightcap - picturesque clear sky with millions of stars and a bright moon that allowed us to see straight down to the bottom of the water. It seemed as if the boat was floating on air it was so serene. Absolutely wonderful! Brad and I were aawakened alarmingly the following morning when the boat began to bounce around quite a bit more than we had anticipated. The wind had made a shift early and was piping up quickly at 6:00am. We were soon being pinned in to the shore by wind and waves and we were not happy with the situation at all. We readied the boat and before first light even hit, we hauled up the anchor and got out of there. We were back in Marsh Harbour within 2 hours. So, here we sit, waiting for the Super Bowl to start. We are heading to a bar called Snappas for their gameday specials. We are heading in early to insure the best seats and to cheer on our Ravens to a victory!!! GO RAVENS!!!