January Pictures
Snark our neighbor at Honeymoon Beach, also waiting for weather to head south from Georgetown
.
FINALLY, after almost 2 weeks of waiting we're heading to one of our
favorite places
from our last trip, Thompson Bay on Long Island. Notice the lack of full beard,
Amy had a mishap on
her last trim before I went home causing me to start over again.
Lady Galadriel and Mon Ami from San Francisco and Duxbury, MA in
Thompson Bay, Long Island.
Our dinner partners at Thompson Bay Inn....all you can eat local food buffett
and happy hour for $28 per couple.
The dollar is finally worth something
Heading across the island to the ocean side for a lunchtime picnic and to go hamburger bean hunting .
This is the perfect habitat for beans....a deserted beach facing east and full of washed up trash.
Perfect beaning as far as the eye can see, and, it continued around the corner.
Our view from the beaning beach out to a very calm ocean.
Amy helping us thread the low spots into Hog Cay
More of the same. We were heading off to the upper left corner where the depth was 6 feet or so behind a little coral reef.
.
This is our spot behind the reef at low tide. A very nice spot for cocktails and sunset watching.
This was the view toward the shore at sunset.
This is Conception Island, many people's favorite spot in the entire Bahamas. It certainly is one of ours. Unfortunately we could only spend from 3pm until 8am the next day here. We hoped to spend 3-4 days. The weather allowed us to move south so we had to go while the going was good. We'll return later in the Spring.
Here's our anchor in 12 feet of water at Conception. Not like Massachusetts/Maine or the Merrimack River!
Underway the next morning to Rum Cay. Sad to leave so quickly.
Our last view of Conception's Wedge point.
Shango at her anchorage in Rum Cay. "Stonehenge of the Bahamas!!"
Our neighbors at Rum. Wind Dance III, the cat, from Austria and Free Spirit from outside Atlanta
Downtown Rum Cay, population 100.
Amy finishing Breakfast at Rum, not too stressed just yet.
Milo likes Rum Cay as well.
The weekly supply boat, Lady Frances, passes by John's Chancy.
The main government (and only) dock on the island
Amy taking advantage of the trash can at the dock. One of the most
desirable
features of an island is whether they accept visitor's trash.
Michael Strachan was at the dock awaiting wood from the supply ship and
gave us several tips on where to visit and eat.
No Island walk is complete without Amy finding flowers that she can admire and smell
Another specimen
The Anglican Church. The building stock on the whole island was very well maintained.
Several More Typical Roadside Settings
On our walk we met up again with Bo from Free Spirit who is more or less on the same route to Luperon as we are.
This is the restaurant, Kaye's, that Michael recommended. I spent a great time after our walk chatting with the guy seated in the middle about the Bird, Parrish, McHale era of the Boston Celtics. He agrees with me that that team was one of the very best in our lifetime.
Kaye's restaurant, bar, pool hall, and general island meeting place. Note the sand floor
My grandmother's maiden name was Strachan as well. And she like members of Kaye's family came from Scotland. I learned later that they were probably the servants of the Strachans that came to the Bahamas around the time of the Civil War.
Werner and I gas up our trusty off road golf cart for a wonderful tour of the island.
Here's the crew in our trusty vehicle. As always Amy assumes navigational responsibilities.
A typical stretch of road outside the main downtown area.
All of the Bahamas is still recovering from horrendous rains from the Fall's only major hurricane, Noel.
Christina and the crew had to "de-cart" every so often so I could get navigate the worst sections.
This was one of our destinations; Maria's house almost complete on a stunning section of pristine and private beach behind a protective reef.
The view north
The view south.
We are seriously thinking of renting the house next winter.
Another destination. The top of the hill overlooking the Salt Ponds and the Ocean.
The view North to the open Atlantic and a protective reef.
The view south toward downtown and Shango.
The view inland to the abandoned Salt Ponds.
Werner and two island girls
A rose between two thorns
Back down the hill with Werner documenting the passage. Believe me it was worse than this photo implies.
We're not sure exactly what the story is here but I don't think Karen is held in high regard.
The end of our trip on the North side ocean beach. We had a picnic and a refreshing swim..
This is George, the Go To Guy on the island. He's lived here all his life. Growing up, the island had 500 residents when Morton Salt harvested the salt. Now there are only 100. He is the dockmaster, mechanic, air conditioning guru, tourism bureau, and unofficial mayor.
A wonderful man. I hope to return to Rum again to say hi.
All ready for our overnight passage to Mayaguana
Safely anchored in Abraham's Bay, Mayaguana with Independence and Princess of
Tides after
after a rip roaring overnight from Rum
Just after leaving the harbor at Rum, Werner caught a Mahi Mahi
Modern world non-sequitor....an advertisement to get connected with your
wireless phone right next to the
village cistern....go figure
Not sure what was going on here, but this sight was common on Mayaguana, an external hot water tank next to the well
A shy little boy amusing himself at his own play house after school
Having a beer at a very, very loud bar
Amy getting a haircut from Christina while we were at Mayaguana
Celebrating the finished product
The messy job of shelling Conch
Ready to enjoy our conch dinner aboard Windance III
The southeast point of Mayaguana where we staged for our next overnight to Provo, Turks and Caicos
At Mayaguana we have begun to see cactus plants
At Southeast point we also saw our first pink flamingos, the national bird of the Bahamas
Shango behind the reef at Southeast point all ready to head off to Provo that night
Amy and Christina enjoying the view atop a hill in Provo, Turks and Caicos
A stunning house house to the left of Amy and Christina
Ah the cruiser's life....acquiring some water on a Saturday afternoon
at the unguarded Provo water de-salination
plant.
Amy and Christina wishing they could be part of a beach side wedding reception at a Provo resort