Website

Hey Everyone! We are very happy to announce the new and improved website! www.outislandexplorers.com We're working on correcting a few display problems that occur using Internet Explorer, but hopefully that won't give you a problem. Just try it out in a different browser if possible :)

Please let us know if you come across any problems when you're browsing!

PS-- Thanks to all of our guests, friends and family that shared some of their great images from their trips. I love all the wonderful pictures and have many of you to thank for them--THANKS!

Post Tropical Storm Bonnie

For some reason I really got a kick out of this the other day. It's really hard to "sell" summer trips because everyone is concerned about it being Hurricane Season. Case & Point with Tropical Storm Bonnie coming through the other day. But in all reality, we seem to be in a nice little location and rarely get hit head on. I hate saying that because it's something totally out of our control, and the Lord only knows when and where. But the day after the tropical storm passed over us (which was just a few scattered thunderstorms throughout the day) our beach looked like this:

Any signs of a tropical storm lingering??? 

I just love these big fluffy clouds, sorry I don't know their official name :) Anyone up for a physical science lesson for me? 

Also, just so you know... the best, and really ONLY way to eat a Mango is while floating in the ocean. We were blessed with 7 HUGE mangoes given to us from our neighbors the other day. These things sell for $4/pop in the food store. HE continues to provide :) 

Our summer is very slow right now, so I'm taking this time to get help from Dallas (he's watching the boys a lot during the day) and I'm rebuilding the website. I'm very excited with the way it's shaping up so far. I hope to have it ready to launch before the Staniel Cay Kayak trip on August 7th. Maybe sooner, but we'll see :) 

Safe and sound...and praying for the same

I am relieved to tell you that our paddlers made it their final leg of the trip the other day. This top picture shows you how calm it was at the beginning of the trip. Their final day was the toughest paddle all week, and they were all greeted at the shore with a "You Did It!" from Joss, our 2.5 year old :) He and I were very proud of all of them. We sat off shore looking for them in the swells and choppy water for over an hour and prayed for them all to have the strength left for the last bit.

They encountered many of these little rain showers out on the water. Dallas said it was nice and refreshing (unless he was at camp trying to prepare the meals).

I just had to share this image (above) with you all because I got quite a kick out of it myself. I stay at home with the boys right now, and Dallas runs our guided trips. I don't always get the full picture of the "trips in action". This one helped put me there even more so. That's one of the portable toilets by the way--nice spot for...reflection! Thanks, Anne!

From left to right: Dallas, Anne, Steve & Agnes (and Joss peeking in from the far left--he didn't want to get far from Daddy upon his return). Way to go guys!! You were a great group to have and I know it was a challenge, but "You Did It!"

We are currently in Tropical Storm Bonnie and have a solo sailor out on the water. He's coming back in  tomorrow, but we are praying there are no complications...hopefully just more fun stories to tell!

-Photos Courtesy of Anne Ledbetter-

Trip Update

Our Staniel Cay Paddle Adventure, that is out now, is a one-way paddle from Staniel Cay in the Exuma Cays to Barratarre, off the tip of Great Exuma. The total mileage is close to 50 miles. Over the span of a week our paddlers make their way down the cays making pit stops along the way. This trip can definitely be a bit of a challenge when the wind picks up and you are forced to keep a constant paddle so you don't lose ground as you go. The first couple days of their trip they had really great and calm seas to paddle in. The weather has changed a bit and the wind is around 15-17 mph right now. It's not that bad if you're in nice and sheltered areas, but when crossing the open cuts and heading into the wind it can be quite the challenge.

Here's a link to a map that has the typical route for this journey. They spent the night at Lignumvitae Cay last night and are heading for Norman's Pond today, but they aren't quite sure how far they will actually get today.

For any adventure seekers, we have another one of these trips scheduled for August 8th-14th! We also offer shorter distances as well as sailing expeditions. We also offer a trip that includes both, kayaking and sailing: Best of Both Worlds. Just let us know what you're looking for :)

Photos Courtesy of Heather Knowles

Staniel Cay Kayak

The last week we have been preparing for our first ever Staniel Cay Adventure Paddle We had a summer discounted rate for the trip, so it was revised just a little from the usual trip. The revised trip includes a flight from Nassau to Staniel Cay, 7 days/6 nights worth of kayaking and camping (all food and beverages included), and a return flight to Nassau from Georgetown.

I've been more hands on with this trip than I have with some of them in the past. I helped Dallas by planning out the menu. We had a vegetarian and a gluten-free diet to work around on this trip. We try to accomodate as many dietary restrictions/preferences as we can on our trips. The best we can with the limited availability down here and the restrictions we have with having to pack the food in the kayaks with very, VERY limited cooling options. I'm pleased with the menu and hope that it goes over well this week. I won't give away all the secrets on our trips, but here's a few meals and treats they are having:

Fajitas, Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake, Fresh Fish, Chicken & Broccoli Stir Fry, Fresh Fruit & Veggies, Black Bean Brownies (which turned out pretty great & are Gluten-Free) and lots of other yummy meals. Hopefully they will feel spoiled and FULL out there :)

We had a beautiful morning on Sunday when we were towing the gear up to Staniel Cay to meet our guests. Can you see the pretty rainbow up above? It's always a sweet reminder of grace to me.

We met the guests in Staniel Cay after a morning of towing the kayaks up from Great Exuma. We left our house around 4 am for our trek to Staniel Cay. The tow up was relatively hassle-free. We had a few little set backs, but nothing major. The weather was gorgeous and the boys did great on the ride. I was a little tired from holding their weight for the journey there and back, but I'll take the snuggle time :)

The timing couldn't have been better. As we were pulling up to the beach, our paddlers were walking over the hill from the airport. This is the only "group" shot I got before the trip while they were packing the kayaks. I'll try to get a good one when they get back in off the water.

Once they got all the gear packed we had a quick lunch there on the beach and then we all jumped in the powerboat to see the swimming pigs and then to Thunderball Grotto.

These pigs are used to boaters coming up and feeding them, so they take off for the boats as soon as they head to the beach.

Joss & Steve were enjoying the pigs from a distance.

Next stop, Thunderball Grotto.

Joss wasn't so sure about going inside until he got far enough in and could see the opening inside. Then he could see all the fish and got really excited.

It feels like you are swimming in a huge fish bowl when you are inside here. It's beautiful and peaceful and fish are everywhere!

The kayakers headed off for their trip after this stop and we made our way back home in the power boat. We'll pick them up when they hit the mainland on Saturday.

So far the trip has gone well, and hopefully everyone is having a good time. They have done some great snorkeling and speared some yummy fish for dinner. We're praying for good weather to continue for their paddle! Until next time...

Summer News

Normans Pond Cay

Just the other day I was praying for the Lord to send us our own pilot and plane, to take us where we need to go and when, to make traveling with little ones easier and faster. Well, he kind of answered that prayer, and I think some of you might even be interested to hear the answer. Delta airlines now offers direct flights from Atlanta (ATL) to Georgetown (GGT). Normally you have to go through Nassau, Miami or Fort Lauderdale to get here, but this is a non-stop flight from Atlanta. We're hoping this will mean good things for our business as well as our family and friends visiting :) In addition to this new flight with Delta there is also a non-stop flight with AirCananda from Toronto. These flights open up so many great opportunites for our little island. They may have limited schedules (especially during this time of year), but hopefully that won't be too hard to work with.

I mentioned the other day a group from our church in Nassau that came for a Men's Retreat. You'll see Dallas on the far right holding Joss (with the red shoes), Dallas' father, Andy, next to him holding Emit, and his youngest brother on the far left, Elliott. Their family (originally from Nassau, Bahamas) has always vacationed in the Exuma Cays (pronounced keys). Partly because the northern cays are a short boat ride from Nassau, but mostly because even as Bahamians that see the ocean all the time, they just love the waters, beaches, spear fishing and turtle spotting that awaits you in the Exuma Cays. It really is the best in the Bahamas in our book! So, needless to say, a weekend with one of his brothers and his dad camping in the cays did not really feel like "work" to Dallas.

He really enjoyed getting to show his family first hand what his work is like. Granted they only went out for 2 nights and not the usual 5-6 nights, but they got a taste at least.

Apparently the turtle spottings on this trip were not hard to come by. They saw many Green Turtles, a Loggerhead and a Hawksbill, all within a very small radius. 

Dallas has been working very hard this summer to fix up our support boat; the Mako named "9 Lives". She's been a good boat to us, but we are working on selling her so we can upgrade a bit with another boat we need engines for. For those of you that saw this boat this past season you can appreciate the work he has done with her. Anybody need a boat? :)

I have been saying that it really is a shame that this time of year is really slow for our island. Nassau is booming with tourist, but it always slows down for the Out-Islands it seems. It's a little more rainy this time of year, and it can get blazing hot, but the water is AMAZING! It's so warm most days and usually very calm. A local way of referring to the calm water is to say it's "Glass", so that might give you an idea.

Not that we complain too much with a little down time to enjoy ourselves too :)

Still here...

First off I need to apologize for being so bad at posting things on here. I always make lists in my head of things to do and stuff to say and then I just never do it. I am very diligent to keep a personal blog for my family and friends with stories of our sons and life down here, so I will try my hardest to do better this time around. I think it's fair to say I haven't had a lot of spare time chasing around a 2 and a half year old, Joss, and his little brother, Emit, who is just now 10 months. But we are getting in to more and more of a routine with the business and things so hopefully I can keep you posted.

Dallas is out right now on a weekend kayaking retreat with his father and church family from Nassau. They took one of the Sea Pearls as the support boat so they could easily take ice and a few more "luxury" items for the weekend that don't fit easily in the kayaks. Last night around 2am they were treated to a nice thunder and lightning storm, but they all stayed dried and cozy in their tents. You gotta love the unpredictability of the Great Outdoors!

As I was driving the length of the island back this morning from dropping a few more people out to the group, I was once again amazed at the little things that are so different living down here. For instance back in Alabama (where most of my family lives these days) after a summer rain you see and hear frogs all over the country roads. I'm not the kind of person that likes to aim for critters in the road to see if I can squish them... on the contrary I play a game of "dodge ball" with them to see if I can save more than I kill. Unfortunately, I can't feel too sorry for them for hanging out on the ONE main road on our island though. However, down here we don't have frogs after rain showers... we have CRABS! I've seen a few really big ones before that folks say can give you a flat if you hit them the wrong way in your car, so those ones are definitely ones to miss. The crabs this morning were definitely not that big though. But they were EVERYWHERE. I had my sons in the truck with me and Joss kept saying "find more prabs (crabs)", and it never took more than a minute or two before we were right in the middle of another swarm of them. It was very distracting so I was pretty much puttering along (and if you have any experience with Bahamian drivers you'll know that doesn't really set well with most of them).

I will be posting very soon with more information about some upcoming trips and special flights that will be around this upcoming season. I am leaving for now with a fresh commitment to keep this thing up-to-date! If you have anything specific you would like for me to post on, feel free to comment and let me know what you'd like to hear.