We had an awesome season of traveling the Bahamas, and I’m compiling our top ten favorite moments this season so we can hold on to those memories! Kyle and I each wrote down our favorite moments, and I combined those lists to come up with our top ten experiences traveling around Bimini, the Berries, Eleuthera and the Exumas this season!

1. Warderick Wells

We spent a little over a week in Warderick Wells and it was the most beautiful place we’ve ever stayed. Kyle really enjoyed his trail run here, and for me it will always be memorable because it’s where I saw an octopus in the wild!

The daily hike up BooBoo Hill was a highlight as well, the scenery from that vantage point is epic! The crazy hue changes as the depth of the water changes, I couldn’t take a bad photo here if I tried!

2. Rock Sound

I didn’t expect this to end up as a favorite stop, but the beautiful Spider Caves put this solidly in the running as one of my favorite experiences this season! We also really enjoyed feeding the fish at the Ocean Hole. This was one of the first places we had really hot weather, and we found some Klondike bars that hit the spot! If I had to to do it over again, I would love to stay in Rock Sound for a longer time.

3. Hanging out with Friends at Hatchet Bay

We met up with a bunch of other sailors in Hatchet Bay, first starting a small flotilla behind s/v Consort, then moving the party over to Hobbes when it got dark. Later we celebrated the Super Bowl with friends at a little hole in the wall, it felt more like a private event than a sports bar! We cemented friendships with some amazing people over cold Kaliks and lots of laughter!

4. Amazing Snorkeling

I debated whether snorkeling was better at the Aquarium or if I preferred Thunderball Grotto. On one hand, the Aquarium was secluded and easy to snorkel. Thunderball Grotto was pretty crowded but the cave was really cool. I can’t decide, so I’m putting them both down for number four: amazing snorkeling experiences!

We saw a huge variety of fish, which forced me to learn more and more about the ecosystems underneath us! And we even swam with a turtle at Thunderball, so that’s pretty cool!

5. Queen’s Bath

We stopped here to see the famous Glass Window Bridge, but instead we were mesmerized by the waves at the Queen’s Bath. It was so enticing that the next day we packed a picnic lunch and camped out on the cliff watching the water. Finally we climbed all over the baths as the tide ebbed. We had such a good time that we changed our plans for Caleb and Amy’s visit so that we could take them here to see the landmarks!

6. That First Mahi-Mahi

We caught a couple small fish this season, but there’s nothing quite as joyous as pulling in a good sized mahi-mahi. It’s our favorite kind of fish, and this fed us for days! It was enough that we had plenty to share with our friends when we got to Georgetown!

7. Beach Bonfire

Speaking of Georgetown, the best thing we did while we were there was attend a beach bonfire / potluck with a group of friends. I think everyone who attended met someone new that night, so we all expanded our communities as we shared tasty foods and…rescued a few dinghies! This is one of the few events that I have no photos of!

8. Governor’s Harbour

Again, this one was kind of a surprise to me! We spent 24 hours here so we could go to the fish fry, but my favorite part of the day was wandering all over town! We climbed the hill and crossed the island to get to the pink sand beaches, then we headed back to town and found some freshly baked coconut bread. To beat the heat, we found a coffeeshop on the waterfront that was serving up cold beers, and while we sipped on our Kaliks we made friends with some locals! We tried to go back so we could spend more time here, but the anchorage doesn’t have much protection so we ended up leaving again without going ashore.

9. Spanish Wells

Kyle put Buddhas on his list, and for good reason! We stopped there a couple times for happy hour, once with some awesome friends on my birthday and again with Caleb and Amy later! Spanish Wells is also a beautiful little town to wander around, the waterfront is gorgeous and everyone zips around in golf carts!

It also has the best grocery store, with a huge variety and some decent prices. Meal planning can be tough in the Bahamas since you never know what you’re going to find, but Food Fair made it easy!

10. Our Best Sailing Ever

It would be a mistake not to talk about our best afternoon on the water ever. We were moving from a rough anchorage off the western side of Bimini to a better spot just north east of the island, and we had absolutely perfect sailing conditions. A good beam wind, gentle rolling following seas. It was pure bliss. It’s the first time I’ve ever wished the anchorage was a little further away!

There are so many more places and experiences I could list, but I’ll wrap up the list at ten. It probably sounds like we loved everywhere we stayed, but there were a few places that just didn’t do it for us. Usually that was because we had strong weather that kept us confined to the boat, or the anchorage wasn’t protected. Every town has it’s own charm and every community was friendly and welcoming. We loved this season of traveling!