Have I mentioned how much I L-O-V-E margaritas??? They are my absolute favorite!
Don’t ^^these^^ look necessary? Because they are.
What’s not to love about a margarita? Unless of course you hate tequila. But I can’t even imagine that concept.
Luckily, our boat is chock full of tequila lovers. Jereme and I must be a match made in heaven because we both definitely prefer tequila over any other liquor. …Which might possibly be why we picked up six large bottles of tequila before we left Naples. Kinda unneccesary, I’m sure. ;))
So I was thinking…this weekend is a nice long holiday weekend…so what better time to share our super simple and not-so-secret margarita (on the rocks) recipe. It’s quick. It’s easy. And most importantly, it’s delicious!!!
There’s also a ginger beer margarita recipe I’ve been dying to try…so you might hear from us again on the margarita front.
Hope everyone enjoys a fun-filled holiday weekend! You know, Monday is not only Memorial Day, it’s also my birthday!!! An even better excuse for a tasty margarita…or three, if you ask me. :))) Might as well celebrate tonight, tomorrow, and again on Monday.
Cheers!
Oh, and if you are curious about ^^these^^ LAHO glasses, I wrote about them here.
LAHOWIND Margaritas
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup of your favorite tequila
- 1/2 cup fresh lime juice (or from the bottle, no one’s judging)
- 1/2 cup Triple Sec
- 1 lime, thinly sliced
- salt (to rim the glasses)
Directions
- In a drink mixer, combine the tequila, lime juice, and Triple Sec with ice.
- Rub the rims of your glasses with a lime slice and dip into salt to coat.
- Shake mixer like crazy and pour into salt-rimmed, ice-filled glasses.
- Garnish with lime slices.
- Sit back, relax, and enjoy your awesome margarita.
While we were anchored in Blackpoint (Great Guana Cay, Exumas), we were lucky enough to meet up with some fellow cruisers, Kim and Scott, from s/v Anthyllide. Kim and Scott have been cruising for 9 awesome years and are currently headed back to the U.S. to do some land-based cruising (like the kind in a car/truck/rv)! It was so great meeting them in Blackpoint and getting the chance to pick their brains on all things cruising + sailing related.
 ^^They call them “white horses” because they resemble a running herd of horses. I kinda think the ones further back in this photo look like the horses, no?!^^
^^Scott + Kim on s/v Anthyllide^^
Aside from awesome laundry (Rockpoint Laundromat) and free wifi (Scorpio’s or Lorraine’s), Blackpoint has some really interesting things to offer if you are willing to break a sweat and squeeze a little exercise into your daily routine. Our new cruising friends were exploring some of these lesser known parts of the island, and invited us to join them on their hike to see the White Horses…the huge white cliffs on the Great Guana Cay side of Dotham Cut.
Little did Jer and I know, but we were SUPER unprepared for this hike. We actually thought we could get by wearing just our standard flip flops and carrying with us only a single bottle of water. And not a big bottle either. Big mistake. ;))
Probably not the smartest to even attempt any hike in flip flops, but that’s how we roll on this boat.
So we hiked…over the river and through the woods… ;)) And saw lots of interesting stuff along the way. Including one too many spiders.
And four hours later and about 200 miles hiked (jk! it only felt that intense), we made it to the top of the white horse cliffs!
Even though we weren’t adequately prepared, in reality, the hike was nothing short of gorgeous and I’m so glad we had the opportunity to see parts of this island that many do not even attempt. It was really worth the effort!
And somehow we even managed to make it safely back to the boat withOUT a case of heat stroke! That’s an accomplishment in my book. 😉 Although, Jer and I pretty much chugged every cold beverage we had on the boat once we were back. ;))
>>Thanks for visiting LAHOWIND sailing blog! We’d love for you to get to know us and follow our story as we attempt to navigate a whole new world of sailing, as we cruise the Bahamas + Caribbean. …Learn more about us and our sailing + cruising adventures.
Posted in Bahamas, Sailing Blog, Sailing Love, TravelTags: Bahamas, Blackpoint, Caribbean, Cliffs, Cruising, Dotham Cut, Exumas, Great Guana Cay, Hiking, LahoWind, Sailing Blog, White Horses, Young Couple
So, Jereme and I were just chatting about how we have “ALL” now fallen off the dinghy at least once. And by all, I mean Oliver included. :((
Yup, we had a doggie overboard incident the other day!
You see, Oliver really really really likes to stand on the wee edge of the dinghy (the very tippy top of the outer edge where he shouldn’t ever sit or stand). It’s a battle we are always fighting since he constantly jumps up there and we constantly yell at him to come down. It’s like a merry-go-round of Oliver teetering on the edge.
^^we wouldn’t mind if he just put his paws up like this, but he literally gets all four up on the dinghy edge and tries to balance himself.^^ The other day as we were dinghying over to snorkel the mermaid-piano sculpture, Oliver finally slipped and fell off the dinghy after trying to stand on the edge in choppy waves.
It was bound to happen sooner or later.
The good news is that Jereme and I have discussed our “Oliver overboard” protocol at length and Jer knew to immediately shut off the dinghy engine. We have always said if Oliver falls off, he could quite possibly fall out AND under the dinghy, and the last thing we would want to do is run him over with the engine. While I was yelling “engine off, engine off, engine off,” luckily Jereme had already turned off the engine and I was able to somehow snag a handful of fur on Oliver’s head and hold him towards the front of the dinghy before he slipped under. Oliver’s not the world’s best swimmer, although we’ve seen him hold his own on occasion. We quickly pulled him back into the dink and had a firm “talking to” with him about “staying inside” (aka not standing on the edge of the dinghy). Regardless, our sopping wet poodle was quite proud of himself and happily wagging his soaked squirrel tail immediately after re-boarding the dink. Typical. ;))
^^this is usually as far as Oliver likes to go…chest deep, no more.^^ Speaking of things going overboard, we’ve also started a running log of everything we’ve dropped into the ocean. Here’s where we’re at so far and I’m sure this list will continue to grow on our travels…
- A brand new LED flashlight (never recovered)
- Jereme’s iPhone (recovered but no longer works)
- Our grill insert (never recovered)
- 2 allen wrenches (never recovered)
- Several cans of food (never recovered)
- 1 stuffed pig dog toy (never recovered)
- 1 stuffed bunny dog toy (recovered via dinghy)
- 1 stuffed squirrel dog toy (recovered via dinghy after noticing several seagulls dive bombing it)
- 1 pair of prescription sunglasses (recovered via snorkel thank god!!!)
Side note, we just peeked at the price of a case of Budlight here in George Town today. Any guesses on the going rate for a case?????
Well, a single case is $52!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes, fifty-two.
Dollars.
Whoa! That’s insane. So glad we brought 312 cans of bud light from Naples (that would be 13 cases if you are doing the math)…although our supply is starting to run thin. :(((
Oh and we sorta got our wifi situation fixed. A little.
We took our SIM card over to the Batelco office here in George Town and had them cut it to fit the iPad instead of the stupid MiFi mobile hotspot device that only supports the 2G network. So at long last, we are now rocking 3G wifi on one device. Yippee!!!!
Happy Tuesday!
>>Thanks for visiting LAHOWIND sailing blog! We’d love for you to get to know us and follow our story as we attempt to navigate a whole new world of sailing, as we cruise the Bahamas + Caribbean. …Learn more about us and our sailing + cruising adventures.
It’s video time again! Woot woot! :)))))
And Thunderball Grotto in the Exumas might possibly go down in the record books as one of the best spots we will EVER have the chance to snorkel. It definitely takes the cake so far. I mean, seriously. It was AMAZING!
I literally had to edit all my GoPro footage because I kept shouting “holy crap, Jereme, holy crap!!!” through my snorkel gear. ;)) And honestly, our video does not even come close to doing it justice.
But regardless, I am SO thrilled we have a >>GoPro<<for fun little underwater excursions like this. We made sure to bring it along with us while we snorkeled at the grotto and also while we swam at the Exuma Land + Sea Park in Warderick Wells. So this video is “technically” a combo of both spots, but mostly just the grotto.
And in case you are wondering…Thunderball Grotto lies just west of Staniel Cay. It’s been showcased to the world as the location of many of the scenes in two James Bond movies, Thunderball and Never Say Never Again, as well as Into The Blue with Jessica Alba and the Disney movie, Splash. Aside from its Hollywood fame, Thunderball Grotto (or Thunderball Cave, as it’s also known) is renowned as one of the top scuba-diving locations in the world.
There are several entrances to the actual grotto, and once inside, you quite literally find yourself in an aquarium of epic proportions. There are hundreds of varieties of fish, coral, and sea life swimming right before your eyes. The rock ceiling is dotted with natural skylights where rain has eroded the rock, allowing the sunlight to stream in. We heard from other cruisers (after we visited the grotto) that you can actually climb to the top of the rock and jump through the skylight holes into the water. Pretty nuts! I’m kinda glad we didn’t know that little fun fact until after we had snorkeled the grotto.
While we were anchored off of Big Major’s (next to Staniel Cay), we dinghied over to the grotto at low tide (which happened to be at 8:45am that morning) and were lucky to find only one other couple leaving the grotto…so we had it all to ourselves!!! I love when that happens. At low tide, we were able to tie up our boat to the nearby rocks and just swim right in.
Here’s our fun little GoPro snorkel video… (another snorkel video is in the works with lots of other neat underwater adventures since we hit the grotto!) Enjoy! :)))
>>Thanks for visiting LAHOWIND sailing blog! We’d love for you to get to know us and follow our story as we attempt to navigate a whole new world of sailing, as we cruise the Bahamas + Caribbean. …Learn more about us and our sailing + cruising adventures.
Posted in Bahamas, Boat Life, Sailing Blog, Sailing Love, TravelTags: Bahamas, Blog, Caribbean, Cruising, Exumas, GoPro, LahoWind, Sailing, Snorkeling, Staniel Cay, Thunder ball cave, Thunderball Grotto, Video
The Exuma Land + Sea Park in Warderick Wells is one of those places you definitely don’t want to miss if you are cruising through the Exumas!
It’s freaking GORGEOUS!!!
The Exuma Land and Sea Park is famous for its pristine beauty, great anchorages, and breathtaking marine environment. It was established in 1958 and is one of 25 National Parks and Protected Areas managed by the Bahamas National Trust.
We hunkered down there for a few nights on a mooring ball as some stronger west winds were blowing through. We spent our time exploring the park, snorkeling, and just lounging around since wifi is hard to come by there (unless you want to spend $15 per 100MB — which lasted us all of 15 minutes).
During our time at the park, we decided to explore some of the hiking trails…and with a name like “Boo Boo Hill” we couldn’t pass up this one particular trail. ;))
^^that’s boo boo hill and the view from our boat!^^
Legend has it that on a wild and stormy day many years ago, a luckless schooner sank off Warderick Wells. All souls perished in the disaster. Local folks say that if you climb to the crest of the hill at the bloom of the full moon, you can hear the voices of the lost souls singing hymns.
The hike to Boo Boo Hill was a simple one. …you know, the kind I prefer. ;))
And lucky for us, the day we hiked was slightly overcast and relatively cool, which is always an added bonus.
It took us about 20 minutes or so to hike the trail through several mangrove nurseries, a small creek, and then up the actual hill. We only spotted a few lizards on the hike there.
But we did get a nice bird’s eye view of our pretty little sailboat.
Throughout the years, cruisers have been leaving driftwood momentos at the very top of Boo Boo Hill, thereby creating a driftwood monument, if you will. We even recognized a few cruiser boat names from our travels!
We, of course, couldn’t hike the trail without leaving our own driftwood piece!
So, Jereme got to work creating our very own sign. Yes, Jereme. Not me. Surprised? He’s quite crafty when he wants to be. ;))
We hiked up Boo Boo Hill and tried to secure our “LAHO” sign in the best possible spot. We attempted to be a little “extra” crafty and added a string so the sign could hang from someone else’s driftwood piece in a prime spot.
If you happen to visit the Land + Sea Park and hike to the top of the hill, keep your eyes peeled for our LAHO sign. We’d love to see if anyone spots it in the future!!!
>>Thanks for visiting LAHOWIND sailing blog! We’d love for you to get to know us and follow our story as we attempt to navigate a whole new world of sailing, as we cruise the Bahamas + Caribbean. …Learn more about us and our sailing + cruising adventures.
Posted in Bahamas, Sailing Blog, Sailing Love, TravelTags: Bahamas, Boo Boo Hill, Caribbean, Cruising, Driftwood, Exuma Land and Sea Park, Exumas, LahoWind, Sailing Blog, Warderick Wells
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Happy Birthday Gemini 🙂 Its my birthday too!
You look like your having best time … my kids and I enjoy seeing all the cool pictures.. Taia my 6 year old just loves the piggy video 🙂
Keep safe… make lots of memories…
and maybe do some project life … giggle..
Cheers,
Jan
We are heading to Keywaydin for the long holiday weekend and I plan to make these as soon as we get there. We love margaritas as well so I’m always looking for different ways to make them. Thanks’
Kim & Randy
m/v Blue Turtle
yum ~ where do we get one 🙂
Mark and Cindy
s/v Cream Puff
http://www.creampuff.us
HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIMMY
SO GLAD TO SEE THAT YOU ARE HAVING SOOOOO MUCH FUN AND I HEAR THAT JER IS TREATING YOU TO A HOTEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NICE SHOWER, REAL BIG BED!!!! LOTS OF ROOM IN YOUR ROOM!!!! EATING OUT (FINE DINNING) ETC ( I KNOW YOU HAVE ALL OF THAT AT YOUR BOAT, BUT ITS JUST NICER WHEN SOMEONE ELSE LOOKS AFTER IT ALL FOR YOU) WE ARE BOATERS TOO AND I KNOW HOW A HOTEL FEELS FROM THE BOAT LOL!!!! ANYWAY, HAVE YOURSELF A GORGEOUS NITE AND A WONDERFUL TIME LOVE YOU BOTH AUNT DEB AND UNCLE RON
I have been following your blog and am really enjoying your adventures! I’m a native Floridian, grew up around the water, boating, etc, and LOVE to travel so this seems like an ideal life to me!! Hope you enjoy every second! Oh, btw my bday is also May 26! 🙂
Rebecca