THE BAHAMAS

We left Ft Lauderdale at 12 am for an overnight passage to Freeport in the Grand Bahamas. We chose Freeport because you just can’t wait for the perfect time to leave to get to your destination of choice. If we did, we probably would still be sitting in Ft Lauderdale!

While not being our first choice, Freeport was the right place at the right time. After all, it met our ultimate criteria; favorable winds, an easy customs check in and just finally getting across the darn Gulf Stream!

Jeff happy to replace the yellow Quarantine flag with the Bahamian Flag 

Peter, our nephew, joined us in Ft Lauderdale to help bring the boat to the BVI's. It's amazing how just one extra crew member really takes the edge off of everything from overnight passages to cooking to docking to cleaning. While an inexperienced long distance sailor, Peter is an avid traveler/adventurer and has eagerly wanted to learn and participate as an equal crew member. Not only that, he's given us great travel tips that will work on both land and sea. 

Nassau

Jeff, Peter and I enjoyed the heck out of Nassau, maybe because the vibrancy of the locale was so infectious. Nassau is a fury of color and sound. Its people are sensuous and fun-loving.

"Makin' Bacon" Mon

They are outgoing and very obviously appreciate the tourists that bring much needed revenue to their island.

Conch is a mainstay of Nassau life.

 There are Conch stands where the conch meat is harvested and fried, grilled, sautéed, chopped cold into in a sweet, citrus or spicy salad. At one tiny little stand the owner told us she harvests 400 conch per day.  Multiply that by the hundreds of stands, outdoor cafes and restaurants selling conch,

it’s almost unfathomable. These conch must multiply like rabbits! As a result Conch fishermen abound.  The beautiful empty shells are ubiquitous; in piles along the water, in the water, on the side of the road and also IN the road. Yes, the roads are literally paved with conch shells (which is probably equivalent to gold in Nassau!). They are also shellacked and sold in the market place.  Mon, these people know how to recycle!

Conch harvesting goes back generations at this small family stand. The owner's son was happy to give us a Conch harvesting demonstration: 

Fisherman abound, not only for Conch but also Lobster, King Crab, Grouper, Mahi Mahi and Snapper.

They sell their bounty anywhere and everywhere.  One evening, Jeff went to use the (uh hem) marine facilities and low and behold came back with humongous king crabs.

A local fisherman had just pulled up to the dock with his fresh catch of the day. We had a scrumptious meal of crab legs, corn and new potatoes.

We really wanted to get the flavor of the local Nassau seen so we ventured on foot through the area of town primarily inhabited or frequented by the locals. 

Lunch break

 We walked through a local marketplace loaded with vendors selling fruits, vegetables and every variation of conch imaginable situated under the bridge to Paradise Island.

Dominoes is a very popular game in the Carribean. This table on the edge of the market was constantly filled with players.

We had a beer and then dinner the next day at a local outdoor café whose owner was what I believe to be the master of Conch salad creations. Each salad was made to order. He had the meticulous and exacting quality of a true artist in his conch creation.

Peter noticing "Eat at Your Own Risk" on the menu 

We were the only tourists in the place and the locals were very friendly. This little girl was fascinated with Peter, especially his armpit hair! Peter had on sleeveless t-shirt and she kept touching the straight hair under his arms. (Why wasn’t it curly?) She also loved his sunglasses and I think Peter in general! 

There are markets housed in huge open warehouse-like buildings that are filled with the wares of the local craftsmen. The most notable of the markets is “The Straw Market”. The vibrant displays and colors in the market alone are worth seeing.

The vendors are very aggressive to say the least, making it difficult to just stop and browse. They will literally follow you down the aisle trying to convince you to buy their goods.  On the other hand, they are also very receptive to price bargaining. Finally, we walked across the bridge to Paradise island.

The home of the famed “Atlantis Resort and Casino”.  Paradise island is a major hub for cruise ship travelers and we expected the whole deal to be somewhat cheesy. However, we were pleasantly surprised with the beauty of the island and “Atlantis” itself.  

Atlantis

Exotic fish swim in pools on the grounds of Atlantis

The grounds of Atlantis provide instant picture postcards!

         

Mayaguana

From Nassau we embarked a two to three night sail, ultimate destination being Turks and Caicos. The winds were clocking more and more from the NE straight into our nose which was pointed SE. Thus as we had to motor for the last twelve hours of our journey, we chose to anchor for the day at the island of Mayaguana  which is a 24 mile island and the southernmost point of the Bahamas.

I am SOOOOO GLAD the wind clocked or else we never would have seen the most CRYSTAL CLEAR water any of us had EVER seen! The water was an electric blue color and we could easily see to the bottom at a depth of forty feet!

This is the water color on a cloudy day!

Peter on look out for coral heads which are easy to spot in this pristine water

There are no tourists on the island. We dinghyed to shore and walked the half mile or so into town.

Mayaguana Custom's office

Chickens and roosters rule the roost (so to speak!)

Alot of half built homes everywhere on the islands that are often
converted into old car lots

After enjoying a beer with the locals we moseyed back to the dinghy and low and behold some local fishermen pulled up with their catch of the day.

Proud mama! 

Peter being the intrepid and charming traveler that he is, was able to purchase two lobster tails for $10. Sweet! Again we had a delicious meal on “Grace” before pulling up anchor and heading out around 10 pm and out of the Bahamas to our next destination of the Turks and Caicos.

A wondrous journey to all,

Pam