January 23, 2004    Little Bell Island, Latitude 24° 18.0N - Longitude 76° 32.3W

Tonight I am writing from Little Bell Island where we ended up while trying to get to Staniel Cay today.  I wanted to get to a phone to call my Mom and also to submit my web reports, since I've literally been trapped in Allan's Cay for almost a week (see previous story).  Little Bell is named after the large rock on the eastern edge of the island that used to look, well, like a bell.  I've got some pictures of it, as it is breathtaking in real life, surrounded by shallow water and colorful reefs.  Little Bell is at the very southern end of the Exumas Land and Sea Park, a 176 - mile area of Cays and surrounding sea that has been set - aside as a conservation and replenishment area for the Bahamas.  Park regulations protect the fish, reefs, land, sea and all within its borders from being disturbed, and hopefully it will remain as beautiful in the future because it. 

We took a dinghy ride to visit the surrounding areas that were just beautiful.  Climbing the hills overlooking Bell Rock provided an unrestricted view of Exuma Sound and neighboring Cays.  I have now 'seen" what rough current looks like - the top of the water has thousands of little white caps going every which way, almost like when fish are in a feeding frenzy jumping on top of the water.  The current was so strong going through a cut between two cays at Little Bell, that the front of the dinghy was being sucked down into the water when we tried to move forward with any speed.  We shortened our tour of the "cut" areas, and the caves in that area and spent time looking at the local wonders in safer areas. Words just can"t describe the beauty here, and either can the pictures, but hopefully I"ll be able to download some pictures soon.