So… we made some friends.
They have a plane…
Mark and Darren from England…
The controls in the cockpit slightly different than Louise…
Tara, Louise, and another random vessel anchored outside of Staniel Cay Yacht Club. We flew so low over the water, surely we would de-mast our houses…
Whaaaaat…?
Is that a painting…?
Did you know that Katie flies planes…?
Normal people fly to exclusive islands, to have lunch…
I thought Katie and I were weird…
We landed on this cement thing…
A man named Richard Nixon came to pick us up…
Richard Nixon opened the doors of his restaurant just for us…
We did not read books at Richard Nixon’s restaurant…
She’s a busty one ain’t she…?
What beautiful features you have wooden mermaid on the wall…
Conch fritters please? Sorry, we are out. Snapper please? Sorry we are out, would you like a burger snack or a chicken snack? What is a chicken snack sir? Chicken and fries. Okay. Two burger snacks, two chicken snacks please…
I cracked the wing after being heavily weighted from my burger snack…
Tie me to the wing, and let’s fly back…?
Wowww…
Traveling island to island at 140 miles per hour seems wrong. Dangerous. What if you hit a bird? If we encounter a bird on Louise, we consider it our pet and hope that it never leaves…
I have spent a lot of time flying around in the sky… but never…never have my eyes beheld scenery this majestic…
Sure enough, what is an entire days travel on Louise, took 15 minutes in a Cessna…
Apparently I fly planes as well? Questionable…
Flying low over Staniel Cay…
Tara and Louise, patiently waiting for our return….
Meeting Mark and Darren was an ultimate highlight in the 10 months we have been traveling. These two were ridiculous. And by ridiculous, I mean completely wonderful. Just as we are island hopping via sailboat, they are island hopping via plane. These two entertained Katie, Nick, Hil and I for three days straight. They kept us fed, slightly intoxicated, and cracking up. It wasn’t long before all 6 of us were speaking in English accents.
A moment of true happiness kicked in when we took off in the Cessna and flew over the waters upon which we have been traveling. The seas that have given us hell, the wind and waves we have fought to get such a short distance. We barely knew these guys, maybe they were faking it. Maybe they were terrible pilots. Maybe something would go wrong. Maybe we would crash. I didn’t have a care in the world. I would have died happy. Would have gone down smiling. Don’t worry. We were fine. Mark and Darren were great pilots, and made us feel very comfortable. Sort of. Until we did the “negative G” maneuver. I’m not going to explain. Those of you who know… know.
Having a birds eye view of our surroundings was fascinating. Soaring over the different shades of blue, the depths, the contours, the sea life, the coral heads. Colors we use as an atlas while sailing, colors that determine our highways. An extraordinary difference traveling at such a quick rate of speed. Why didn’t we do all of this in a plane? We could be Katieandjessieonaplane.com. Good idea? Once again – Grateful.
I think I speak for Mark as well when I say that meeting the two of you (& Nick and Hil of course) was also certainly the highlight of our rather speedier trip around the Bahamas. We arrived at Staniel with no accommodation and no plan and ended up with 3 hilarious and great nights! Our flight home to the US via Nassau was rather more subdued than the previous few days expeditions…… Have a great and safe journey home!!
Hey guys. Are you looking at the weather? We hear there is a tropical storm headed for the Bahamas.