Island Life

  

    As we continue living our Island life, I would like to share some of the hardships we have had to put up with. The hustle and bustle of the city has never made it here. Everything here is on “Island time”, meaning…   “ when I get to it ”.  

  Stores  or businesses that have posted opening or closing hours,  are just used as a guideline. We stupidly went to the laundry that said, “open 8:30 am”, and showed up right on the dot. Only to find it still closed. After calling the owner and told he would be there in 15min. we were let in at around 11:00am

Remember:  ISLAND TIME

There are some things that are hard to get used to.  After numerous close calls attempting to cross the road, I think it has finally sunk in that they drive on the other side.

   Some of the other things that are different are:

·        Laundry and the meat market  pick you up and drive you there, in the back of a pick-up truck (note: you need a seatbelt if you are in the cab but not in the back)

·        Best baked goods and vegtables are sold under a palm tree.

·        Marine charts, sold at the boutique

·        Garbage collection, at the gas station

·        DVD sold at the hardware store

·        Seafood, sold at the hair salon

·        Internet, at the bar

·        Water at the grocery store dinghy dock

·        And best of all AA stands for alcohol appreciation

Last week here in Georgetown they held the Family Island Regatta. It was started in the fifties by a group of working fishing boats who joined for a race, and a party afterwards. From its humble beginnings this event has grown into a yearly gathering for the last 60 years.

Sailing is truly part of the Bahamian heritage, they showcase it well. We were rooting for the boat, Lady Muriel, last year’s champ, who this year was overtaken by Red Stripe.

 

We had a meeting today with other cruisers, it is sad but it is time to hoist the sails and head further south to sit out hurricane season. We will be heading to Turks and Caicos, then on to Luperon, in the Dominican Republic. We will miss the beautiful beach, which we have renamed, “Our Beach” because we are usually the only ones on it. We can walk five miles of beach and never see another person, very good for taking baths and naked snorkeling. I guess it’s the hike over the hill which serves as a great wind barrier from the strong east wind, that also keeps people from enjoying  the ocean beach.  Another one of our favorite places is the blue hole which is full of fish. We feed them every day. I know they will miss us.

The women in the liquor store will be able to take some time off, now that we are gone.

We have just gotten used to the wet dinghy rides 1 ¼ miles across the harbour to Georgetown to get water, groceries and, most important beer and rum. We have learned to do this in bathing suits because we will be soaked anyways. The harbour is usually very choppy, no chance at staying dry.

We're still here in Our Paradise

Everyone keeps asking us, where we are now?

We are chill-axing in Georgetown, Exuma Island  The pirate Captain Kidd came here in 1699 and made it one of his favorite places to hang out. You can see why. We have dreamt about sailing to a beach in paradise for many years before we started this trip, why should we rush?

   All the way here I thought I did a fairly good job to keep up this blog. But as soon as we got here, to the Bahamas we fell under, what they call...."Island time".  Internet her is very slow, but available at the local bars by ordering a drink.  Kalik, the local beer is my choice. Start the computer go to your email reader. By the time you get through your messages you've consumed let say, more than one beer and you don't remember a damn thing your read or done.
    Our days our spent on one of the most beautiful beaches, approximately 5 miles long , usually alone, searching for treasure the tide brings in.

   Seabeans are actually seeds from common trees and vines that grow in the tropics, washed out of the rainforests these seeds are carried to the ocean by streams and rivers like the Amazon. Floating in the sea only the hardiest of seabeans endure the long voyage in the ocean currents which may finally bring them to rest on a foreign shore. Seabeans are known as symbols of good luck and longevity. There are two types, Entada gigas or sea heart and Mucuna sloanei or hamburger beans, with a variation that is flat on the top called purse beans. Native to Africa, Central and South America and many Island nations of the South Pacific which all distribute themselves by floating in water. Some for many years. We have found quite a few since we started looking for them.

     Another interesting find is sea glass which is pieces of a broken bottle that are washed up on the shore polished smooth by the sand . Sea glass or beach glass is physically and chemically weathered glass found on the beach. The weathering process produces natural frosted glass.

    We also have collected beautiful shells too numerous to mention. Also we have collected lot of beautiful pieces of coral in very different shapes. Muriel hopes to make jewelry for everyone.

    Every afternoon at 2pm, the cruisers meet underneath the Casuarina trees on Volley Ball beach to play or listen to the talks that are put on. Last week we attended one, on Re connective therapy, so we both got reconnected back to the grid on Mother Earth.

There was a big gathering this week with fellow cruisers who are going  on to the Dominion Republic. In the evening we attended a huge pot luck held , where else, on the beach.

 Life is Good.