Palm Beach

 Hi folks,

We have arrived! Here we are in the land of the esteemed boobus americanus! It really has to be seen to be believed. And the best way is by boat. We just motored the 4 miles from the anchorage on Lake Worth, where we spent 2 nights, to Palm Beach proper where we anchored for the night. It being a Saturday afternoon the ICW was jammed with watercraft, all of which were proceeding at flank speed with absolutely no regard for their fellow mariners. The wakes were epic and the ICW took on the aspect of the North Atlantic in winter. The wakes continue, well after dark, and numerous boats are decked out with various tacky Christmas decorations. I had decided to forgo our previous anchorage in order to be closer to the inlet. Forecast looks good and we hope to go outside tomorrow, at least to Ft. Lauderdale. The idea of negotiating all of the Sunday boat traffic, plus 22 opening bridges is just too much.

We did find a real gem earlier today. There is a big section of undeveloped beach immediately north of Palm Beach that was conserved as a park many years back by John and Catherine MacArthur. Beautiful! Gives an idea of what Florida looked like before it was carpet bombed with condos.

Next challenge will be navigating the digital fortress of Bahamian Customs. They have switched to doing it online before entering the country and I am totally unable to figure it out. A tech literate friend describes the site as "terrible". This is really disappointing. It is as if they are trying to discourage cruisers from coming and not pumping thousands of dollars into their economy. Our friend Jane on Aida will help us out via phone over the next couple of days. This is going to be a real challenge. At least we don't have pets or guns or other things that present additional obstacles.

Best to all!

Charlie