First 3 Months in the Bahamas

Here I sit in Great Guana Marina after the last 3 months traveling through the Bahamas.  I could not capture all that we have been through.  What a wonderful experience.  The Exumas were wild and filled with open beaches on undeveloped Cays filled with spear fishing snorkeling and playing.  Warderick Wells national park was amazing.  We spent a week there and would have stayed longer if we did not run out of food and water (Park has no development or amenities).  At Staniel Cay we got to watch 20 nurse sharks and 8 rays fight for fish scrap and during the melee Jake got to pet one of the nurse sharks.   We went from never seeing a shark to being almost accustom to their presence.  Several times I had my hunting expeditions interrupted by Reef Sharks and extremely large Barracuda (4-5 feet long).  I found out that Barracuda are not to be feared unless their coloring changes, but when they come so close that you are staring into their cold black eyes, I'm out of the water.

We have traveled off and on with about 7 other boat families.  I have had several fishing and hunting buddies that I had to say goodbye to, and the kids have had several teary goodbyes to new friends.  At Lee Stocking Island (Research Island that lost its funding), Kevin from Solange and I made a Conch hunting trip to Normans Cay that resulted in 14 mature Conch in 15 feet of water and 2-3 knots of fighting current.  We were able to feed the whole anchorage that night.  I have gotten pretty good and opening, cleaning and cooking Conch fritters. 

Black Point Settlement was one of my absolute favorites.  The local Bahamians were extremely friendly and the kids even got to go to school one day with their new friends.  Lorraines Mom's home made bread was a staple for us that week (we ate 8 loaves), along with speared trigger fish and other local fair.  I got Jake and Evan (from Sucia) to dive on a cool 50 foot wooden sailboat wreck that was about 40 years old and still complete with balast bags on deck.  Truly one of my favorite wreck dives.  Rachel got in the habit of making me open a fresh coconut every day that has persisted for 2 months now.  I am now able to open and crack the nut so that it forms 2 almost perfect cups.  I have been making these coconut cups into lights that I have given to friends and that we now use to light our cabin at night.  These lights use very little power (old license plate bulb fixtures that I got in Eleuthera) and not only give off a warm glow but only use 0.3 amp hours.   

Georgetown was an extreme let-down to us because it was so crowded and the town was very dirty and run down.  We can't understand why people rave about this place other than it is a big anchorage.  We stayed there long enough to provision and wait out a front and then we were gone to Long Island. 

Just a bit about the weather.  IT IS ALL ABOUT THE WEATHER WINDOW.

We find that once per week a  cold front comes through with high winds and somewhat violent squalls.  We travel from protected anchorage or harbor to the next so as to be protected from the next front.  I have taken some amazing pictures of fronts coming through.  Some look like crashing waves in the sky and others look like solid defined walls of clouds with discreet edges that are ruler perfect.  The weather issue has forced Chris and I to spend about 1-2 hours every morning learning about the up coming weather  (Chris Parker at 6:30am, GRIB downloads till 7:30-8:00am).  We now even understand what a TROF is.

I have been hogging the computer so I now turn the next section over to the Admiral - Chris

The internet availability and connection is scarce and spotty, so lease forgive us if we have not kept in touch. I started updating the website in Eleuthera, and the power went out and all was lost.  Andy didn't get a chance to mention surfing at surfer's beach in Eleuthera, exploring Thunderball Cave ( from the 007 movie) snorkeling in Staniel Cay, and a wonderful enormous land cave at Rock Sound, Eleuthera. It had the roots of Banyan trees hanging down like vines. Hopefully, I will get a chance to download some pictures, but the process is very slow. Andy also forgot to mention the Five F Festival at Little Farmer's Cay, we volunteere and ran the Flea Market and Children's treasure hunt, but the biggest thrill was that Andy and friends ( Kevin, Scott, and Ray from Solange, Sucia and Meander) got to participate in the Class C sailing Race/ Regatta in a Bahamian boat. It was quite the experience!! I will let him tell the story, but  " Up the Pry Boards, Man" has become a frequent call. Te kids also went to school in Rock Sound and Hatchet Bay ( both in Eleuthera. School is quite different here. All the kids wear uniforms, and the school are quite small, often combining grades. There is a significant religous(Christian) component  as part of the main curriculum of the public school, and the day opens and closes with prayer. It is interesting to note the differences from the US. No island is so small that it does not have one or two or churches. Everyone we have met from the Bahamas, especially the Exumas and Cat IS. and Eleuthera, have been so warm and friendly, offering us rides places,etc. One car even stopped, turned around just to apologize for being too full to give us a ride as we walked back from the grocery store.

 We have been studying the history of the Bahamas, and the settlements are mainely from the Eleutheran Adventurers, Puritans from England who settled here seeking religous freedom in the late 1600's, and Loyalists who came here from America after the Revolutionary war ( 1780's) seeking a new start. The current residents of the Exumas and central/southern Islands are mainely descendents of freed slaves who came with the Loyalists to start plantations. The Abacos and Spanish Wells are mainly descendents of the Loyalists or the Adventurers themselves. They have a unique accent in Spanish Wells and Man o War, which is a combination of Cockney , Elizabethan English and Bahamian sing song that is quite interesting to hear.

The Abacos, so far, have been more touristy and busy for us, but we have just been here a few weeks. Little Harbor was a cool spot with a foundry and gallery of artist in residence Pete Johnston, son of Randolph Johnston, who creates sculpture in bronze. We are reading the story of Randolph's life and got a tour of the foundry and the process was fascinating..

Water is a precious commodity and most of the houses, especially in the Exumas, have devices to catch rainwater and cisterns to store. It is very difficult togrow anything in the limestone rock, and we visited some people who practiced " pothole farming" that involves putting soil in the natural holes that occur in the limestone. The limestone is very pourous ( thus all the cool caves) and is very light. The first time we picked it up ( volunteering, making trails in Warderick Wells Park) it felt like movie-set foam rocks, after dealing with the granite from Maine. The islands are shallow, with only a thin lens of fresh water on top of the sea water. In fact, there are many " blue holes- inland pools that connect underground to the sea. We stayed near a " boiling hole" which, depending on the tide, would either suck water and debris down and out to the ocean in a twister like formation, or " boil" and bubble out the incoming tide. It was cool. In fact, the farmers plant with the phases of the moon, whose high tides bring the fresh water up closer to the plant roots.

So little is grown or manufactured in the Bahamas that most things are expensive. The vegetables grown here are usually CABBAGE, tomatoes, peppers, potatoes and casava, onions and bananas. I have learned to make salad from cabbage, never having been fond of it. The little stores are very interesting, and we have learned to eat what is reasonable and available. Most stores, except in the big cities, remind me of a small convenience store ( like Rusty's) back home. The kids are truly sick of peanut butter, and we may never eat it again upon return home. Great, homemade bread, is usually baked by local women in their homes, and sold right out of their kitchen. Some people take in laundry as well, though I wait for the laundramat, or use the old fashioned bucket ( rainwater)and line dry.

We have visited a few interesting ruins, one of a Loyalist plantation on Cat Island. We also visited the Hermitage, a monastery built on the highest hill in th Bahamas ( It is called a mountain but it is only a little over 200 feet). The view was beautiful! On Cat Island, there is an interesting custom of leaving the remains of a house when the last of a generation dies for the spirits to dwell in. So, as you walk along, you see the ruins of stone houses right next to new ones.

Both Andy and I are a bit fragmented, but it is impossible to put the amazing and varied experiences of three months in a few paragraphs. I haven't even mentioned, the mulitcolored hues of the turquoise, green, and indigo blue water ( depending on depth), the colorful fish, the lush palm trees and the beautiful white sand beaches.( Also, sea turtles, leaping dolphins, starfish, etc) We have made great friends, had amazing adventures. and also learned to live together and COMMUNICATE in a small space ( which seems to be getting smaller).  We love this life, but regret not being able to keep in close contact with frends and family at home. Must go now due to thunderstorm passing, but best wishes for a wonderful and renewing spring.