|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Around 9 we call ‘Freedom’ an they tell us the departure time has changed to
11 so we get ready and go ashore to try to find our pump replacement part. We
try both marine stores but they do not have it, they do not carry yacht type
stuff. But one store tells us that Fed X delivers to the bank on Tuesdays and
Thursdays and I call my folks to ask them to send the replacement part. We also
drop off our letters at the post office. All this involves numerous climbs over
the steep hills in town. With the work done we still have a little time left so
we stop at the snack shop and order soft drinks and ice cream. We make one last
stop at the grocery for some bread and then get in the dingy and return to the
boat. At 11 Rupert arrives in his dingy. He is disappointed because Freedom is
not ready, they stopped at the gas dock to fuel up. They have been there for 2
days and could have done it earlier. Also they want him to go in their boat but
he wanted to go in ours. They finally show up at 11:20 and we get under way. The
wind is light and there is not much of a swell running. The first part of the
trip does not seem too bad but there are rocks and coral heads all around but
the water is deep and the visibility is good. When we get to the ‘Devils
Backbone’ things are trickier, the deep water is only 30 yards from shore and
the coral is just 40 yards from shore. The course is pretty much as the cruising
guide reports. We think the guide may put a few extra wiggles in the course to
convince us he is necessary or to make sure nobody can reproduce exactly his
course. But it is very reassuring to have him guiding us and a wrong turn could
be a disaster. Near Harbor Island we pay the pilot off and anchor next to a huge
sailboat from Naples and several other cruisers. Freedom goes in to Harbor
Island Marina. The marinas are full as this is a popular destination but there
is plenty of room to anchor out. Freedom, the boat from Naples and ourselves are
about the only sailboats, everything else is mega-yachts and cruisers.
We put up shades and have lunch and then read and relax for a few hours. At 5 we get in the dingy and motor over to the town dock. A young boy takes our dock line and helps us tie up and I give him some change I happened to bring. At the end of the dock are a number of stalls selling straw baskets, hats, T-shirts and so on. Across the street is a shop then rents golf carts and motor cycles. The traffic here is much less than Spanish Wells even though this seems to be a bigger and busier town. We walk up the hill to the central road and then W towards the marina. We pass thru a seedier part of town with several abandon and run down buildings. We stop at a small liquor store and buy a cold ‘Hooch’, a fruit flavored beer that we last saw at Chub Cay. This tastes especially good since it is very hot today. The road eventually ends at the waterfront but we find a path running along the water, between the fences of the expensive homes and the water. It is really a nice path, the properties must not extend all the way to the water, there must be public access to the waterfront. The path ends at the Remora Club but we ignore the private sign and walk thru. There is no activity except for a waitress setting up tables. We walk out the other side past bungalows and a maintenance area. The marina is just a short way beyond the Remora Club and we investigate their bar. From the bar we can see Freedom and it looks closed up. We order a few drinks and just as we sit down Bob and Trisch walk by. Their neighbor has loaned them their golf cart and they were touring the town. We talk for a while. He worked for IBM and was laid off. He knew a Dave Marshall at IBM, maybe the same one who moved into our neighborhood. They have reservations for dinner and leave to get ready. We walk back to town and stop at the Batelco office to phone home. The package with the replacement part is on the way. We walk back to the dock and find a restaurant near it for dinner. It is dark as we get back to the dingy but there are only a few boats anchored out and we find Phoenix without difficulty. The wind has decreased and shifted to the E. I put up one wind scoop and out of the corner of my eye I see something streaking thru the sky. It is 3 green points of light following in the same path, Towards the W and downwards at a shallow angle. It is either a spectacular meteor or a piece of space junk reentering.
I took a cockpit cushion to the bow and started sleeping there. With the light wind made it the coolest spot on the boat but the dew made it a little wet. I took a glass of water with me and eventually drank several, I was dehydrated from our walk into town. Later when it cooled off I went below because the foredeck is not as comfortable as the bed.
At 9 Am we were in touch with "Freedom" Tricia and Bob. Bradley Newbold is going to ride on their boat and we will follow. It's about 10-11 mules to Dunmore Town on Harbor Island. First we went to Spanish Wells at 0900 to look for a diaphragm for our broken kitchen water pump. No luck. We called Mum and Dad and gave them the address of the Royal Bank of Canada where FedEx comes in here Tuesday and Thursday. :) We had a drink at the Snack Shack ( and ice cream) and were back at the boat by 10L30 AM. Mr. Newbold came to visit and wait for the other boat Freedom. He told us that the Royal Island Yacht Club was never an operating club. Bradley used to go there and help the guy work on it before WWII! There was never a dock. We were amazed because it is vast. There are service buildings and a great house with probably 15 smaller houses - cabins - a complex series of terraced walls - and a road that goes from one side of the island to the other. The other side also had a huge concrete docks built. Bradley says for years the fellow who built it would come to visit. Also Bradley said he was born at Spanish Wells as were his parents. he married a girl who (was born and ) lived 2 houses from him. He didn't notice here :) until she was 17 or 18. Hew was 24 or 25. They married with in the year 42 years ago. He is lithe and nimble! He walks around on his small boat like its the ground. As soon as Freedom finished getting their fuel they left the marina dock and came out the channel. Bradley got aboard their boat and towed his skiff behind. We took off at 5 kts following close behind. The route to Harbor Island is about 10 - 11 miles through and between several other islands - including what they call :Devils backbone: - An historical place for ships to run into coral and shallows. in some places you pass about 30 yards from a sandy shore. There are even sand dunes and palms and lush island views. you go inside, outside and around coral heads - 2 marks along the whole trip (poles). I took a couple of pictures of Freedom, Bradley, Bob and Tricia. We arrived safely at Dunmore Town about 2. We anchored out and Freedom went on to the Harbor Island Marina. The shore looks inviting with big beautiful houses built on a steep incline. We had lunch and rested waiting for it to cool off. It hardly did! :) We put on our walking shoes about 5 PM and dingied in to the 'city' dock. There were several booths right there and a little boy helped us tie the dingy... "tip" he mumbled. We gave him a handful of change.
We walked up steep hills through pretty wide and thickly treed streets. Bradley told us Dunmore was 90% black, that is in contrast to Spanish Wells, which is 100% white! Businesses here seem to have white owners. Even a small liquor store where we stopped for a cool drink was the lone proprietor. We walked along the waters edge path to reach Harbor Island Marina. it was lush and bypassed a beautiful resort and several large home sites. On a wall of coral was a sign stating the land was given by King George III in 1791. Across from that was a sign saying that land was given by England in 1936. We arrived at the marina - small but nice and got a drink - so cool ... and along came Bob and Tricia. They were getting ready for a dinner reservation but sat and visited for abut 20 minutes. She told us that some friends they knew had loaned them a golf card. They gave us a map! It shows most of the little businesses and restaurants and Batelco! :) We went there and Rich called his folks. He even spoke to Michael - who bought a 13' sailboat and is teaching Tim to sail! And I hope Leah. :) (and Jean). Dad did find the diaphragm for the water pump and sent it FedEx to Spanish Wells! We should have it Tuesday. Mr. Bradley Newbold will escort us back to Spanish Wells Tuesday AM probably. During sunset we ate supper at a nice restaurant near the main waterfront. I had a Caesar salad with lightly smoked fish - excellent. Rich ate the conch and had fresh Brussels sprouts. All white patrons - some must have come from the "pink sand beaches" on the opposite side of the island. All resorts over there. Two marinas in this side - cater mostly to motor boats. "Valentines" is the other marina. After sunset, we found Phoenix because Rich had the light (on) out. :)
We slept late and it was refreshing. After taking care of the morning chores
we got an early start in to town. We walked across the island to the ocean side.
The W side has the businesses, marinas and restaurants, the center is a little
run down with old houses and a few shops. The E side has large mansions
overlooking the ocean. We walked along a narrow dirt path between a large estate
to the N and smaller houses to the S. The path lead down a steep sand dune to
the wide pink sand beach. The houses are built behind the dunes and partially
hidden behind palms and trees so they do not intrude too much on the beach. The
beach is 200’ wide and we walked N along the water. There were a few people
swimming and sunbathing. We stopped at a resort, the Coral Sands Hotel and swam
for a while. We were very hot as the sun was beating down on us and there was
very little wind on this side. The water was refreshingly cool and we stayed in
until we were terminally pruned up. There were about a dozen little Tiki hut
shades on the beach with lounge chairs and we rested under one for a while. Just
behind the beach is an outdoor restaurant with a large sun shade and ceiling
fans. We found a table under one of the fans and had lunch. After lunch we
explored the hotel grounds a little and then walked back across the island. We
took a shortcut thru the back alley of another resort. The path lead up and over
the central ridge of the island next to the grave yard. On the way up we found
terrace walls and a foundation made of glass bottles of various sizes cemented
together. It was very colorful. At the top of the ridge were several cabins,
apparently abandoned or used now for storage. We walked down the dirt path on
the other side of the ridge and came back to town. The N section has a few
stores along the waterfront and a number of small stalls on the beach side of
the road selling straw products and fruit. We made it back to the boat, the wind
was light and variable and the sun was beating down on us so after a while we
went swimming again and then tried to do as little as possible until the sun
went down. We had happy hour and played RummyCub and after dinner played spite
and malice. Jill could not win anything this day. A steady gentle breeze came up
at dusk and we had good sleeping weather
There is a nice breeze. I have the sun shade up. Last night Rich stayed upon deck. The moon was outstanding... It's 4 days to full moon. He was computing. He put a cushion on the foredeck and slept for a while. I was mostly below reading my mystery story under the wind-scoop :). (We just remembered the parents have an anniversary coming up!) We sent our Dads Fathers Day cards from Spanish Wells. :) About 2 PM we returned from the Ocean Pink Beach. We went to Coral Sand Resort. There are pink shells and coral as part of the white sand. The ocean water was cool and clear. The beach restaurant was above sand dunes with stairs carved up coral rock steps. We got there about 11 AM after following our map. it was only about 1/2 a mile. Lunch was outstanding. They had a salad bar with delicious fresh watermelon. I had grouper fingers - Rich had bar-b-q chicken. There were nice fresh water showers and Tiki sun shades. We took a few pictures. On the way back we found a series of walls made with bottles. We took a picture there. Weird! We walked along some other town streets and along the water front.
We both slept soundly and woke at 8. After running the engine we called the
pilot and arraigned to meet him tomorrow. We would call later to get an exact
time. We headed in to town and rented a golf cart for $45 for the day. I never
operated one before but it is very easy. One lever selects foreword or reverse
and when you push on the gas peddle the engine starts automatically and when you
break to a stop the engine shuts off. It only took a little practice to get the
hang of it. Driving on the left side of the road and not having a rear view
mirror was more difficult. We headed out the road to the N end of the island and
eventually covered just about every road on the island. The first stop was an
access road to the beach. We drove down a dirt road past a house with several
horses in the yard. The road dropped sharply down the dune and we decided to
park at the top and walk down in case the cart could not make it up the steep
sandy path. While we were getting out of the cart and getting organized, one of
the horses came walking over, it wanted to get right in our face. Perhaps it was
looking for a handout, eventually it got bored and went back to its shade tree.
We walked down to the beach and took pictures with the video camera. We were
just N of the Coral Sands Hotel where we swam yesterday but it was a lot easier
getting here with the cart. The sun was hot and there was only a light breeze
from the W. We then drove to the S side of the island where there is a lot of
new construction going on both on the ocean side and on the bay side. We tried
several side roads looking for some of the beach clubs mentioned on our map but
did not find them, the roads are very confusing here. We did get a picture of a
large green lizard which we chased for a ways with the cart. We made several
trips by the library/museum and even found an advertisement saying it was open
from 3:30 to 5 but it was always closed when we went by. We stopped at the yacht
club to see if Freedom wanted to go back with us tomorrow. In the morning they
were not on the boat and in the afternoon they had already left. We had seen a
poster for a benefit lunch to be held on Bay Street, near the city dock where
all the vendors set up. We watched them set up but Jill did not think much of
their food preparation methods so we got back in the cart and drove to Angela’s
Starfish Restaurant and had sandwiches for lunch. We visited several stores and
an art gallery and then returned to the Coral Sands for a drink. We returned to
the city dock and loud music was now being played on a huge set of speakers. We
watched for a while and then walked to the Landings Restaurant where we could
still hear the music just fine and had dinner. After dinner they were setting up
for a live music performance so we stayed around for a while to watch. It was
getting cloudy and the wind was blowing stronger from the NE. We decided we
could hear them just as well from the boat so we got in the dingy and managed to
find the boat even though we had not put out the anchor light. The band was
perfectly audible from the boat, the sound travels well over water and we are
down wind from them. It is blowing 10-15 with occasional gusts of 20.
We slept so comfortably last night! there was a cool breeze all-night. Awoke about 8 AM and got ready to go to Dunmore and rent a golf cart for the day! I believe it costs about $50 a day. Perfect for going up and down all the hills. We went everywhere! First along a low road toward the end of town. there were loose horses! One came over and wanted a snack. Ha Rich got the movie... ha, ha. We went to the library several times during the day - but it was closed. We found out its hours were from 3:30 - 5 PM! It is supposed to be library and museum! No luck - It is next to a graveyard. There is a mausoleum in the yard. Also a huge bust of a famous politician. Before I forget, the place is referred to by the locals as "Briland" which is the way they say "Harbor Island". With several words, they leave off "h's" and say if fast "Brăland!" We went by Harbor Island Marine - "Freedom" had left. He said he'd return to Spanish Wells with the pilot. Rich had the hang of operating the golf cart pretty good... We were flying up and down those hills :). The real trick is driving Bahamian style on the wrong side of the road! :) We went to Angela's "elegant" dining. Where a dried fish was hanging off the ceiling as a decoration. The food was good. :) I had an egg and bacon and cheese sandwich. Rich had a fish burger. It's about 95°F and we sat under a fan - comfortable - but more like a diner. We drove back to Pink Sands Hotel where Rich got a movie of the beach and we had a drink on their bar deck high above the pink beach. The whit sand has pink coral mixed in. We visited the stores. Oh, we did go by the beach front about noon and decided NOT to eat at the waterfront. They were having a 'picnic' and fund raiser - but the food preparations were not the best. That night 6 - 8 hours later, on this very hot day - they were still serving that food. We bought a book by a native, Mrs. Burrows about native traditions and some art work cards for letter writing. We bought a pineapple and 2 cinnamon rolls near the waterfront. There are very nice people here - and a great variety of churches. On Sunday there were no bells tolling though.
We ate supper at the Landing. it was built in 1800. The owner Barbara was '61 Miss Bahamas. There is a signed picture of Sidney Potier in the restaurant (he is a Bahamian). We ate red snapper and grouper. Barbara waited on our table (still lovely). I drove the golf cart some - fun! No rear view mirror. No seat belts. Before dinner we went back to Harbor Island Marina for a drink - and looked around in the old gutted mansion. The waitress told u the house was gutted in '79 when yard cuttings were being burned. There is an ariel view of the beautiful house and docks before the fire - and then a picture of the house on fire!! Sobering! The Landing where we ate supper is right next to the water front where the picnic was going on - first there was taped music and later a band came. Some people were dancing in the street. One guy walked his horse over for grazing. We listened for a while to the music - tried to sit by some dancing children, but they wouldn't quit touching Rich's hair. ha, ha so we moved. The music went on long after we had returned to the boat - 'til 1 Am Rich said. :)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|