As mentioned in the previous post, we lucked out when it came to moving all our gear down to Puerto Rico and onto Heritage. Certainly no Uhauls available to the Islands so when my company needed someone to deliver the Seaplane down south for the winter I quickly volunteered. Packed to the brim I departed Connecticut and made it down to Ft Lauderdale in time to meet Alyssa and her parents for dinner. We stayed the night and then Alyssa and I departed early the next morning to complete our move down to Puerto Rico and to our new life.
We were airborne just after sunrise in the heavily laden seaplane. This leg of the flight we were both excited about. Leaving from ft Lauderdale and heading to Turks and Caicos for fuel, we would traverse all of the Bahamas! Getting to see many of the spots we hope to be in the next few months.
Of course, not wanting to miss the view I settled into a cruising altitude of 800 ft. Sliding down closer to the waves when the water looked too inviting not to get a closer look. It was spectacular! We passed Bimini where we had our first date years ago, soared past the northern tip of Andros, the biggest yet still beautifully undeveloped island in the bahamas. The tongue of the ocean gave way to the grand Bahamas bank and the water here mesmerized.
After some miles we came upon the Exumas, our flight path nearly running parallel to the chain of islands I swept down to a 100 ft to take in the beautiful beaches. Our path broke away from the island chain and we passed into the more remote islands, many on our itinerary. The fact that we couldn’t see a single boat from the air registered with us on how self sufficient we’d need to be but the beauty of the place made it seem crazy to not go.
Long Island was next followed by the crooked islands and the bight of Acklin. Then Plana cay which hadn’t been on our itinerary but was quickly added at first glance. Then finally Mayaguana, which would be our check in point for the Bahamas on our return.
Mayaguana was my key to snap out of the daydream and I climbed up and gave Turks and Caicos approach a call. We’d been lucky with the weather throughout the Bahamas, able to dodge most of the thunderstorms that had been moving through that day… But a line had formed between us and Providenciales! Rain pounded against the plane, and Alyssa’s grip on the copilot seat tightened as we got jostled about, one jolt surprising me with its strength.
The airport had a favorable forecast though and after about ten miles of the downpour and bounces the skies cleared and the Turks lay before us. Greeted warmly after landing we took just enough time on the island to clear customs, fuel the plane and to take a stroll to the nearby chicken shack. Full as could be (Both ourselves and the plane) we loaded up again and took off for the last leg of our journey, looking forward to the day we’d spend more than an hour exploring Turks and Caicos.
For the last leg we passed over silver bank, with its coral pinnacles popping up out of seemingly nowhere, easy to see why so many ships had foundered here, including some Spanish galleons heavily laden with gold and silver! That was the last of the scenery for a while though and the open blue gave us time to contemplate when we’d cross this stretch of ocean at a much slower pace. What took 3 hours will take us 5 days going back the other way!!
Puerto Rico came into sight and we navigated to the far side where Heritage awaited our return. Landing at the large but mostly unused ceiba airport, customs was a breeze and thankfully, there were a couple helping hands to unload all of our gear. We amazed them with how much gear we’d fit into the somewhat tiny 10 seat plane. It took two trucks and plenty of help and kindness but we unloaded all of our gear and even got a lift to our lodgings, a friend’s condo, which would be our base s we worked Heritage into condition for launch!
