November 16, 2000
Location:
Great Harbour Cay, Bahamas
(Berry Islands)
Odometer:
1578 miles
Great Harbour is the largest of the Berry Islands and where we decided to
take a slip at the Great Harbour Cay Marina. We used their
"rinse water" to clean the salt off the boat, did some laundry,
and enjoyed a cracked conch dinner at the marina restaurant. The marina
was waiting for a part for their reverse osmosis system so we found a
local that would sell us drinkable water for a mere 40 cents a gallon!
November 17, 2000
Location:
Goat Cay, Bahamas
(Berry Islands)
Odometer:
1593 miles
A pretty anchorage to wait for fair weather to cross over the Northwest
Providence Channel to Abaco. Great Stirrup and Little Stirrup Cays, near
Goat Cay, serve as regular stops for cruise lines and provide passengers
with beach combing/swimming activities for the day. We enjoyed a
quiet afternoon, a peaceful evening and rose early to start our trip to
the western side of Abaco.
November 18, 2000
Location:
Mores Island, Bahamas
(Abaco)
Odometer:
1630 miles
Mores Island is a small island of about 1000 inhabitants with the
principal settlement known as "Hard Bargain". We went into
town and used the one pay phone available, which was quite a hike from the
waterfront. The people were extremely friendly but the island was
littered with trash. It is a shame that in the midst of beautiful
beaches and crystal clear water there is garbage strewn
everywhere.
November 19-21, 2000
Location:
Carter Cay, Bahamas
(Abaco)
Odometer:
1705 miles
Carter Cays consist of four medium-sized cays, several smaller cays and
countless rocks. These are uninhabited except for fisherman who stay
in a small shantytown on the main harbor. The remains of a U.S.
missile tracking station can be found on Little Carter Cay. We hiked
around the island a bit but there was little to see and most paths were
overgrown. We spent three nights here due to a cold front from
Florida which kicked up 25-35 knot winds and large waves. With our
sundeck/radar arch so unstable we did not want to risk breaking it
further.
November 19-present 2000
Location:
Green Turtle Cay, Bahamas
(Abaco)
Odometer:
1757 miles
What a beautiful island! The island is 3 miles long and 1.5 miles
wide with the primary settlement known as New Plymouth. New Plymouth
is a neat, prosperous and picturesque settlement with plenty of grocery
stores, hardware stores, private homes, and restaurants. The people
obviously take pride in their homes and town, as the area is clean and the
homes and businesses are freshly painted in bright blues, yellows and
pinks, and many are surrounded by beautiful gardens. The people are
wonderfully kind and helpful and we have enjoyed our stay here immensely.
For the first four nights we took a slip at the Other Shore Club in Black
Sound, and caught up on cleaning and provisioning. At the marina we
met handsome Kevin McIntosh, the lead singer and guitarist of a local
Bahamian band, the Gully Roosters, and watched the band perform one
evening at the Bluff House resort. We even purchased one of their
cds! We enjoyed two very potent Goombay Smash rum specialty drinks
at Miss Emily's Blue Bee Bar and some tasty local cuisine at the Wrecking
Tree and New Plymouth Liquors (they have a small cafe and art gallery).
There is a Loyalist memorial sculpture garden in town with gorgeous bronze
sculptures of two Loyalist girls arriving into Abaco and numerous busts of
notable Bahamians, living and deceased. The small stone building is
the old jail, known appropriately as "Ye Olde Jail" and
dates back to the 18th century. The small building with the golf cart in
front is the Green Turtle Cay fire station! I hope for the sake of
these nice people there is never a big fire on Green Turtle!!
We found a fiberglass contractor (great
guy) who has re-glassed our radar arch on both sides - we are extremely
relieved this repair has been accomplished and happy with a job well
done!
Ah, the joys of washing laundry in a
bucket!! As you can see from the photo, it rained one day so we washed
laundry (there are no Laundromats in Green Turtle Cay). I would kill
for a washer and dryer or just running water for that matter!
We plan to head to Marsh Harbour in
the next few days and look forward to a visit from Rod and Wendy (Chris'
parents) in December! For more local information on Abaco check out What's
On.
