Oh My Goodness! How do we see and do it all in a month!

March 28th
Time, a subject that makes its way into our daily conversations. What time are we leaving. What time are we arriving. How long are we staying. How much time do we have left? As much as it frustrates us because we don't want to be pressed for time. It happens and it happens often. This was happening with us here in Georgetown. There is so much to pick and choose from. You can try and do it all, be satisfied with what you can do, or relax on your boat or the beach doing nothing at all. If walking along a beach, searching for treasures is what you like, and that happens to be one of my favorite pass times, your in for a treat here with 6+ beaches.  If you enjoy snorkeling and or diving, places abound. If you’re a social butterfly, there is yoga, volleyball and various other games on the beach, water aerobics. great Bahamian rake and scrape music playing in town three nights a week, Texas hold um tournaments twice per week, boaters socials and more. I think you get the idea. If your not spending the entire winter here you must ultimately pick and choose what you will see and do. We woke to blue sky's and sunshine every day but one. The sun was warm but the ever present wind provided the needed breeze to make it comfortable. The winds did make for wet lumpy rides to town but you cant have everything, right? Our two biggest challenges? Deciding which items on wish list had to be left off and sacrificing a day of fun to work on needed boat jobs.

                                       Flip Flop Beach, all made from found wood and stones

The tables and bar area at flip flop beach

 

 Someone made a trail and lined it with conch shells. The trail leads from flip flop beach to the beach on the ocean side

 

                                  
 The beach in front of chat and chill on a Sunday afternoon. The boats are lined up along the beach and the music rocking from the boats

I was drumming on the table while enjoying the Rake and Scrape Band at Eddies. One of the drummers came and got me. Said I had good rhythm and needed to play so he could have a break. So I did.

 

                                                                  Side shot of me playing

Tom sitting in the shallows of a beach we found at the end of Stocking Island. It looks like he is sitting on glass instead of in the water!

                             I found a bar bell made out of a pipe and two round cement weights!

The Bahamians making conch salad at the little booth on the beach keep the yucky pieces in a bucket. These pieces are used to feed the large Rays that come looking for food several times a day. I decided I wanted to feed them

They suck the conch from your hand and let you pet them. If you stop feeding them  they come up on your feet looking for more

Floating off the back of the boat on a warm afternoon

One of the dinghy socials on Sand Dollar Beach

 

 

 

                                             

Getting to know Stocking Island

March 25
We quickly learned that although peaceful, Monument beach anchorage was quite the distance from everything. Chat and Chill, Sand Dollar, Georgetown etc.  Add brisk winds and the dink rides were bumpy and wet. The six of us spent our first three days hiking, hunting sand dollars at sand dollar beach, where else right, and chillin at the beach outside Chat and Chill. We played chicken foot and diamonds and marbles at Volleyball beach and visited the shops and straw market in Georgetown. Both Charm and Sun Storm began their trek back North on Tuesday, the 24th, Tom and I decided to move closer to all the activities by anchoring at the beach in front of Chat and Chill. Unfortunately engine trouble prevented that from happening. Tom had changed the filter on the port engine the day before and when it wouldn’t start he realized that air had gotten in the system. We had an air lock. He did what he knew to bleed the lines but it didn’t work. A fellow boater, Tom from Andonte, came over but still no luck. He gave Tom the name of a boater who is was knowledgeable and willing to help others as another option. We tried to reach him via radio but had no luck. That evening we met a couple from Canada during a Texas Hold um game. Don offered to come over to help the next morning. He showed Tom where all the fittings were and how to bleed them.  Soon we had two engines running, what sweet noise that was, and were moving to volleyball beach. We found a spot at the edge of the activity area that was so close I could probably swim to the beach if I wanted to. We were excited.

                                                                                             

                                          Hammocks on the beach near Chat and Chill

                               There is a conch shack on the beach and this is his garbage pile of conchs

                                                             Inside Chat and Chill

 

kids playing on the challenge activities

A view of the monument and anchorage below, where we started out

We hiked to the top of the hill to see the monument. This is the ocean side view

Another ocean side view

We hiked down the other side of the hill to the ocean side beach

Someone built this wall of rocks along side one of the paths on top of the hill.

Tom and Jim enjoying the view from the top of the mountain

The view of the harbor from the top of monument hill

 

 

Too Many to masts to count

March 21st
Whether meeting boaters on your journey north or south there is always one question that presents itself. Where are you headed? Our answer this trip was final destination Georgetown. The responses were slanted much more toward the negative than the positive. The complaints were the same. Too many boats, crowded anchorage, to busy. The repeated negativity was disappointing but we were determined to maintain an open mind rather than be tainted by the negative remarks. The entrance channel was a bit disconcerting and I was pleased we were not leading our trio of boats.. There are two entrance routes, one for shallow draft boats and one for deep draft boats. I am still confused as to which we are at times but when in doubt take the deeper draft route.  The waves broke over rocks on both sides of us as we entered a sure sign of shallow water. Once through the entrance our turn to the port brought us along side a long sand bar whose existence was obvious from the breaking waves.  actually followed along side the very sand bar that framed the entrance. Ahead were so many masts standing tall it could be mistaken for a forest of leafless trees. Following a brief radio conversation the decision was made to anchor at monument beach. Named for the monument that rests at the top of the hill overlooking the anchorage.  The clarity of the water was remarkable making it essential to keep one eye on and trust our depth finder. We learned later that there were more than 275 boats anchored in the harbor down from the nearly 4-600 hundred that are here from December through February.  Now that’s a lot of boats!  Securely anchored and organized we set out with our boat buddies for a dingy ride over to Chat and Chill, otherwise known as volleyball beach.  Chat and Chill is the name of the restaurant and  bar located on volleyball beach. We had heard this was where the boaters hung out and found that to be true. There were picnic tables, sand volleyball courts, and challenge course activities, We decided that with all the activities, beautiful beaches to explore, plus two islands to check out we were going to like it here.                                    


                   

The channel entrance

Waves breaking on the rocks at the entrance

 

The sand bar that ran along side us going to the anchorage

Next Stop Farmers Cay

March 18, 2015

It was another 1/2 day trip to Farmers Cay. This is another very small settlement.  The boaters use this Cay as their weather staging area to Georgetown. From here to Georgetown you must go out on the ocean/sound and in windy weather it could be a miserable and even dangerous trip. 
Farmers Cay is very interesting to say the least. There are only about 60 residents and they are almost all related. You cannot open a business here unless you are a relative.  We were met at the dock by a young Bahamian gentlemen who was trying to make a few dollars by offering to make conk salad, show us where the turtles live, fetch rum etc.  He was quite the character.  As we walked toward town there were several tables set up with women selling t-shirts and straw items. The crossroads at the center of town really did not provide much that made you want to explore. We did decide to walk up the hill to a woodworkers shop. The shop owner was carving fish and African type heads. The fish were beautiful and expensive.  Following our short walk around we took a dingy ride to the Atlantic side of the island to a beach bar.  The bar had a lot of atmosphere and it sat at the end of the airport runway serving as the waiting point for those who were flying out of Farmers. The small planes used every inch of the short runway during take off and landing. If not times correctly they are in the water.  Not for me!

 

 

The Yacht club on Farmers Cay, after I took this we did see a newer building while on our way to the beach bar.

The hand made railing along the dock was really cool. Made from local trees

 

Our three dinks near the beach bar

The runway!!!!

The beach bar

The beach along the shore of the beach bar was really pretty

                                                Cindi took this shot of us leaving the beach bar

            A motley crew to say the least! We left peanut on the boat. That's Murphy in the photo

looks like our dingy is sitting on glass not water

Black Point - a true Bahamian settlement

March 17, 2015

Black Point settlement was only about a three hour trip.  It was another windy day but the waves weren't terrible.  The anchorage was fairly large with about a half dozen boats already there. Once securely anchored we dinked to the government dock, a large usually cement dock at all the islands/Cays where the mail/supply freighter docks. We tied up to the dock near shore.  A wooden ladder had to be negotiated to get up on the dock which was quite the challenge at low tide. This is due to the fact that the ladder is very short which requires you to stand on the edge of the dink and step high. Then basically jump from the last step down into the dink to get back to the boat. We took a walk through town, which consisted of a nice Laundromat, school, restaurant, and very small grocery.  As you walked along the street there were both men and women sitting in front of their homes plaiting. Plaiting is the art of weaving green reeds into six and seven foot long by one foot wide strips. These strips are then dried in the sun. The dried product is then sent to Nassau and used to make items to be sold in the straw markets there. 
Our friends on Sun Storm took advantage of having a Laundromat while we were there.  I took some time to put together school supplies we brought from home to drop off at the school. Tom filled water jugs at the pier where there was free RO water available. 
My visit to the school was short but nice.  Tom had given me a few tomato and pepper pods to plant. Because there is such a lack of black dirt and land fit to grow anything in I decided the kids might enjoy planting.  When the principal and kids opened the box of supplies they were most excited about the black dirt and tomato plants. Who would have thought?! I wished I had brought more of this kind of thing now, but will be sure to let boaters planning to come next year know to add these items to their school supply items if they bring things.  The once per week mail/supply freighter arrived while we were in town. Supply day is quite the event, especially for the small settlements like Black Point. The dock was filled with people watching items being unloaded. The pickup trucks and cars were lined up waiting.  Crates of food, refrigerators, a mattress, and a small pickup truck were among the items unloaded. The excitement was obvious. It is a stark reminder that Bahamians live on islands that are rock. Nothing is manufactured here and very little is grown. Almost everything is imported from the states through Nassau. Once Tom told a young man he really like his Nikki shoes and asked where he bought them. The reply accompanied by a funny look,was, we order from the states!

                                                             The principal also teaches

Upper level multi-grade class

                                                    The supply freighter being unloaded

I asked this lady if she would show me how to plait. She just giggled and said it would take to long!

Her mornings work

Black Point multi-grade school. The building on the left is k-3, on the right 4-6

Main street of Black Point

Our last Day at Staniel Cay

March 16, 2015

Six of us decided to rent a golf cart to tootle around the entire island for 1/2 day then enjoy one more lunch of conch bits at the yacht club before heading out to Black Point in the morning.  The island is small allowing us to see everything easily in a 1/2 day.  We did ride in circles at one point trying to find one of the beaches. Finally stopping to ask for directions. As it turns out we passed the very large sign several times but the road was actually a very small path on the rocks cut out just wide enough for a golf cart. Now we can add off road riding up hill with branches in our face to our list of adventures!! Did I mention that the path is really just wide enough for one cart? Luckily we did not meet another cart trying to come down the path! Oh, and attempting this up hill trek with 6 people on a golf cart whose battery is dying was an added laugh. The battery was now so low that we thought we were going to have to push the golf cart back or abandon it. We crept back to one of the places along the way that rents golf carts.  They charged it enough to allow us to get back to the yacht club, the point of return.  At the club we laughed about the days activities while enjoying a cold kalick and conch fritters and bits. The nurse sharks and stingrays had gathered near the dock waiting for fish to be cleaned.  We had watched a boy snorkel with the sharks earlier in the week so I decided I wanted to try and pet one!  Ankle deep in the water, camera in hand,  I tried to attract the sharks. When one finally was curious enough to approach very near my feet, my friend Cindi yelled my name which in turn startled me and I jumped out of the water. So much for petting a shark, but we did get a few good photos. Oh almost forgot this little tidbit that Toms friends who know him well will appreciate. We passed the dump on our ride around the island. Tom saw a piece of plexi-glass on the ground at the entrance to the dump. We stopped so he could pick it up.  He was able to salvage a nice large piece and made us a look bucket!

                             Sharks and stingrays hanging out at the dock near the Yacht Club

Me taking underwater photos and trying to attract the sharks

                                        The stingrays wrestle with the sharks for pieces of fish

Our golf cart

Golf cart path to the beach

 

                        Our group of traveling companions minus Cindi who is taking the photo

                              The view from the top of one of the hills taken from the golf cart

The beach at the end of the path after the wild golf cart ride