It's just a Short Walk: Shoeless

As we were heading over to have drinks with new friends on an IP44 Rejoice!, it occurred to me that we don’t even think about putting on shoes before we go. We just get in the dinghy with our drinks and a snack to share and climb on someone else’s boat in our bare feet. Joe’s mom used to hate that we walked around in our socks at home so I can just imagine what she would think about this new phase of our social life! One of the hardest things about going home and then back to work last year was having to wear shoes all the time. When we were in Cambridge Cay the other day, 4 boats got together for happy hour on the beach and since we were beaching the dinghy (no dock on these beautiful deserted Cays) we just swung our feet into the shallow, warm blue water and pulled the dinghy the last few feet ashore. Clearly we weren’t the first cruisers to have Happy Hour there as there was a makeshift table (stones piles up to make legs and remnants from a dock for a table) and a bench. However, the islands and cays of the Bahamas are predominantly coral so when we walk the trails or climb the rocks we do have to wear some type of rugged shoe (e.g. Keenes) to keep the rocks from tearing our feet apart. Sometimes it reminds me of moonscape with its jagged profile. And we haven’t totally lost all sense of propriety (probably most but not all). We wear shoes when going into the towns or restaurants but I don’t think it is a requirement. I have yet to see a sign that says “No shoes, no shirt, no service.” Shoeless in the Bahamas-it’s a good thing.