Fishing ...

 

 

 

Well the Eleuthera's definitely shaped up to be our lucky fishing haven.  We departed Governor's Harbor at 6:45am and by 7:00am the Captain reeled in a nice 27 1/2 inch mutton snapper.  It is one of our favorite fishes to catch as it yields a great amount of meat.  We were hopeful that as we cruised along another fish would snag our line. Unfortunately, this was not the case.

 

But the next day things were looking brighter.  We left the Eleuthera's and headed into deep water as we cruised up to the Abacos.  Along the way my rod hooked a fish but as we brought in the fish the 60 lb line broke and we lost the fish, lure and line.  Bummer.  A while later the Captain's rod hooked a fish.  As he reeled it in he also experienced a broken line - this time 100 lb line, lure and fish were lost.  Hmmmm.... what are we attracting???  It was just about the time we were going to call it a bad day when the Captain's rod hooked another fish.  This time we saw it - a nice mahi.  We successfully brought it aboard - all 38 inches of it. 

 

Well, I guess its time to shop for more fishing gear.

 

The Admiral

 



Fish Fry ...

 

 

 

While in Governor's Harbor we popped into the Eleuthera Tourist Information office and inquired as to what there was to see.  The representative told us three times that the Friday night fish fry was a must see.  Given that, we decided that we'd better check it out and found that indeed it was a must see.  Music, fellowship and good eats were had by all.

 

The Admiral 

Governor's Harbor ....

 

 

After several delightful days in Rock Sound we decided to move on to Governors Harbor.   Aptly named as it was the original capitol of the Bahamas.  Today the community boasts of its pink sand beaches on the Atlantic shore.  Dave and I walked to the Atlantic side of the island and found the former Club Med property.  While the resort is now long gone having suffered damage during a hurricane many years ago, the beach remains beautiful and the grounds interesting as the foundations and swimming pool for the old resort remains. 

 

Beyond the pink beaches it was great to see many of the homes being restored in the area.  It is unusual as Governors Harbor has many of the concrete homes that we've seen throughout the Bahamas but they also have many old wooden homes as well.  It was many of these wooden structures that we saw being renovated.

 

The Admiral

 

PS - Of course, since we broke down and bought fish there was only one thing that would happen.  Yep - we finally caught a fish.  A nice size black grouper - yum!

 



Rock Sound ...

 

 

The Eleuthera's - what a place!  After weeks in the Exumas enjoying the remoteness of being one with nature and finding the limited markets struggling to get their supply shipments in, it was great to arrive in Rock Sound Eleuthera where we knew the markets (yes, more than one) would be plentiful. 

 

With groceries taken care of and a much needed stop at the post office to send a letter back to the US we bummed around.  Town features a large ocean hole which is also the swimming hole for the locals.  We had seen this on our previous trip.  What we hadn'r experienced, however, was the cave that other boaters encouraged us to go check out.

 

We walked along the main road until we found the preserve for another smaller ocean hole.  Walked along the trail around the hole and found a ladder.  Once down the ladder we found the very tall cave.  Trees had grown from the floor of the cave and had found the periodic openings in the cave ceiling to grow through into the sunlight.  Despite the holes in the ceiling there was still plenty of space for the bats to find dark corners in which to hide.



Back at the dinghy dock we found some local fisherman selling their catch.  Pink snapper - pinkfish - they called them.  A bag which included six fish sold for $10.  Given that we haven't had any success catching fish ourselves we considered this quite the treat.

The Admiral

Little San Salvador ....

During our trip two years ago our favorite island was Little San Salvador and this trip it did not disappoint.  On our arrival the Holland America Niew Amsterdam was hoisting anchor and would provide us thirty six hours of privacy.

I know it seems strange that our favorite island could actually be the private playground of one of the major cruise ship lines, but it is true.  I think it is because few sailors go here and the beach is impeccably maintained by the on-site staff who have no problem with us coming ashore when a ship is not in port.

We bummed around the beach and playground before taking up our favorite pastime of just sitting and swaying in a hammock.

The Admiral

Iguanas ...

 

 

 

Our next stop was Bitter Guana Cay.  We went ashore to view the iguanas and were delighted to find a more rugged terrain than what we've found on many of the islands.  Quite different.

 

From there it was onto Blackpoint Anchorage where after over five weeks I delighted in being able to do laundry.  No provisions here though as, like what we've heard at many of the settlements, the supply ships have been delayed in the US making provisioning stops few and far between.

 

The Admiral

Groceries ....

There has been lots of issues with mail and freighter traffic not making its way to the Exuma islands as of late.  At Sampson, we found the marina out of diesel and most groceries as they hadn't seen a supply boat in weeks.  Reports were that further down island most locations were out of gas and we heard on the radio that Blackpoint settlement's supply boat did not arrive as expected.  So when we arrived at Staniel and heard the Pink and Blue stores were both fully stocked, having received supplies the day before, we were excited. 

On the walk over we bumped into several cruisers carrying bags and bags of groceries.  This caused us some concern as the stores are not that big.  Once we arrived our concerns abated as we found lettuce, tomato, onions, bananas, oranges and even eggplant, squash and broccoli.  Fresh fruits and veggies - HEAVEN!  Dave even spyed some - you guessed it - ice cream in the freezer of the blue store.  The clerk offered us plastic spoons which sealed the deal and we enjoyed ice cream on the walk back to the dinghy.

The Admiral

Pig Invasion ....

 

 

At Big Majors I pulled the organic trash I had been saving in the freezer and we went ashore to feed the pigs.  They saw us coming and came out to greet us.  Unlike our prior stop at Big Majors  (2011) we were careful this time and made sure that we kept the dinghy in deep enough water so that the pigs couldn't get leverage and try to hop in.

 

Our friends Steven, Kristen, Edwin and Daniel weren't quite as fortunate.  They land their dinghy on the beach and one of the pigs bit Steven in the bum.  Ouch!

 

The Admiral

 

 





Sampson Cay ...

 

 

At Sampson Cay we found something truly unique for the Northern Exumas....a restaurant!  After several weeks of cooking and cleaning we declared a kitchen strike and ate out!  Quite the treat!

 

The Admiral

Cambridge Cay ....

 

 

From Warderwick Wells we continued south to Cambridge Cay where we enjoyed a few more snorkeling spots while still in the Exuma Land and Sea Park. 

 

At the Seaquarium, the ever curious Sergeant Majors swarmed around me and continually blocked the camera lens.  With the camea case and lanyard being a bright yellow we think they thought the camera was something for them to eat as I caught many of them nipping at the laynard around my wrist. 

 

From there we dinghied out to Rocky Dundeas.  It is the only snorkeling spot in the park which featured a cave with stalagmites and stalagtites so we were curious to see what it was all about.  We approached at low tide and were able to tuck into the rock opening.  Once inside through the opening we were in  a big dome with a skylight overhead.  Along the walls of the cave clung the stalagmites and stalagtites.  Well worth the trip in the right weather.

 

The Admiral