March 26 - 27, 2016
It was a little lonely with our friends gone but we met two crew members from a yacht that was in the marina. Katie and Mary had some free time and we enjoyed getting to know them and hearing about life working on a yacht. Katie is a freelance stewardess and Mary is the chef. When the wind died down and we left, we were sorry to leave Katie, Mary and Barry behind but enjoyed our time getting to know them.
Our next stop was Black Point where we had been told we needed to go to Ida's. She operates a wonderful laundromat (when cruising nice laundry facilities are a much appreciated amenity), she had a small grocery store, she cut hair and fixed fresh conch fritters every day about noon. All of this she was doing simultaneously jumping from one thing to another. Randy had his hair cut and after I saw a number of women getting theirs done I decided to go for it myself. The last haircut I had was when we were in Key Biscayne and it was the most expensive haircut I've ever had. Ida's $20 haircut looking out over the beautiful water was a special memory and she actually did a good job.
All that know Grady won't be surprised to see that he has made himself perfectly at home and has enjoyed all the perks that come from living on a boat.
We had the privilege of meeting some of the older artists on the island. This lady was sitting in front of her house plaiting the palm branches. It looked absolutely perfect and she can work without even looking at it. I had hoped to buy a basket from her but she makes sections that are sent to Nassau to be made into purses, baskets, etc.
We were told of a Garden of Eden which we were happy to find and what a treat it was. We met Willie, who is about ninety years old and has for the last 30 years been creating sculptures out of driftwood he finds. He sees a piece, looks at it from all angles and decides what he sees in it. He was very creative and enjoyed showing us around the entire property of nearly 100 of these driftwood sculptures. The one that we are standing in front of is a ballet dancer. This land is almost barren and has little topsoil in which to grow anything. However,Willie practices "Pothole Farming" where he fills holes in the coral-like surface of his yard with soil and grows fruit trees, bushes, various vegetables, and flowers.
The next day we anchored off Little Halls Pond Cay owned by Johnny Depp. We snorkeled in an area that is abundant with marine life and is part of the Exuma Land and Sea Park. The coral and variety of tropical fish were amazing! This place, like many of the other places we have visited, has to be seen to believe. How we wished we had an underwater camera! After a special day, we went to bed planning to leave in the morning. We woke up to rain and wind when suddenly I noticed the 140 foot yacht behind us was much closer (way too close!). Our anchor was dragging and we went into emergency mode! It was pouring rain and a couple of the crew from the yacht got on their tender to come to help but by then we had it under control! Randy was very calm throughout the ordeal but my heart was pounding!
After that stressful morning, we had a nice ride to Warderick Wells and spent a day and night in the beautiful harbor.
It was such a perfect night that I decided to sleep on the bridge. It was perfect weather with a light breeze and hundreds of stars! Wish I could have had a picture of the sky!
From there we traveled to Rock Sound Eleuthera. We rented a car and drove over 60 miles through one little village after another to see the glass window bridge. Originally the bridge was an archway formed by natural rock. Many years ago a powerful hurricane severed the top of the arch. There is now a man-made bridge connecting this tiny sliver of land that separates the Atlantic Ocean from the shallow Exuma Bank waters by a mere 50 feet!! It's called the glass window bridge because if you stand at the bottom and look out toward the Atlantic, it's as if you are looking through a picture window at the ocean. Of course Randy had to hike up to the most dangerous point (southern point of original arch) and climb to the bottom while I stayed on the bridge. It was spectacular scenery!
