September Song: May 3, 2009

Thursday, May 7, 2009

George Town

The Straw market

Saint Andrews Anglican/Episcopal Church

Kathy and Al, enlarge and see the seventh from the bottom

Blogging today 5-7-09 in George Town

Today we made the trip into town to pick up some things, including line to replace the line the "BIG ONE" removed from my reel, tender gas, and go to the rustic Internet Cafe'. As you can see from the pictures, it is not like your usual Internet Cafe'. "They do things a little different in the Bahamas mon" George Town is not what we expected, but I guess we had no expectations. It does have lot's of stuff you may need, but isn't anything like the Villages on the small Islands. Lot's of cars, faster pace, (but still on Bahama time mon) and not as clean. People in the villages seem to take more pride in their Islands. Tomorrow we will lift the hook and head out to the old fishing ground and see if I can get the "BIG ONE" on again. Wish me luck!
George Town is a milestone for me (Stephanie) - it is the farthest south I've ever been. And, yes, it marks the start of our journey North. Back in Georgia by 7/1.

September Song (looking for the "BIG ONE") out
Bob

Showing Stephanie how to get on line

As Doug always says, "you can't make this stuff up"

Inside the Internet Cafe'

Tammy at the front door of the Internet Cafe'

On the way to George Town

5-6-09 Hello from the farthest point South in the Exumas, George Town. George Town is a cruisers Mecca for many cruisers in the Exumas and during the winter season hosts around 300 boats. George Town is the largest settlement in the Exumas and is a great place to pick-up any supplies you may be short on and to see,taste, and explore the settlement.Now to the update. Sunday 5-3 we made the trek over to Sea Glass Beach where we filled a qt. plastic bag with sea glass. Sea glass is pieces of glass that have been washing in the surf for I don't know how long and look like colored rocks after the sand and pounding surf have done their polishing. That afternoon we played on the beach with the girls. That evening we all got together for a farewell bonfire as Gypsies in the Palace and September Song will go farther South to George Town while the others will do some more exploring as they head North and then back to the States. The sunset that evening was great, and the s'mores furnished by Tide Hiker were yummy. It was a fun evening, reminiscing about our adventures together, but we knew the time had come for the group to go their separate ways. It is always sad to say goodbye, but we all know we will meet again as our paths cross. See you soon Tide Hiker, Rickshaw, and Life's2Short. Fair winds and calm Seas.September Song and Gypsies in the Palace departed the anchorage Monday morning, waved goodbye to the others, and headed out to sea. Not so fair winds and calm seas greeted us, so we turned into Farmers Cut to continue on the inside. We went as far as Cave Cay, where we planned to wait for the tide to come in to head further south to Rudder Cut Cay to anchor for the night. By the time we were ready to leave the wind had calmed down, so we headed out to sea, this time headed for Lee Stocking Island. Tuesday morning we headed out to a beautiful day on the Atlantic so it was time to put the lines out and catch dinner. We were not disappointed! I caught a 36-inch dolphin and had another one on that was huge. After running out a bunch of my line I started to tighten the drag and get ready to take the pole from the rod holder. The monster decided it wanted to go the other way and as it did my 60 pound test line broke, and off it went with my favorite lure. I saw it come out of the water one last time and it was huge. I know, I know, the big one always gets away. It takes a big fish to snap 60 pound test line. Doug, on Gypsies also had good luck. He caught 2 barracuda, (not fun to take the hook out of) a 36 inch dolphin, and a 42 inch dolphin. Way to go Doug! We arrived at George Town early that afternoon, cleaned the fish,and that evening had fresh dolphin on the grill, Bahamian Mac and Cheese, salad, and chocolate rum cake on Gypsies in the Palace. What a way to celebrate a great day of fishing! (pinch me) Today we are headed in to explore George Town. Would you like to come along?
September Song (the dolphin slayer) out
Bob

It's a beautiful thing

Almost in!

Now that's a fish. The one that didn't get away

Black Point

5-2-09 The weather has been great, warm sunny days in the mid 80's with light winds and cool evenings in the lower 70's. Thursday we played with the girls (4 legged) at the beach and then got together with the group for sunset on the beach and bonfire that night. What a fantastic way to finish a day. (pinch me!)Friday morning we headed to Thunderball cave for some snorkeling. One side of the cave is on the ocean side and the other is on the banks side so the curent flows strong through the cave during tide change, so you need to go there during slack tide. The cave was way cool with stalagmites and stalactites and an opening at the top that lets light in. There were thousands of fish and a coral reef inside the cave. It was the coolest thing. I have never seen someof the coral colors before that I saw in the cave - dark blues, oranges, and deep reds. I need to rent the movie Thunderball to see the cave in the movie.Saturday morning we all headed to Black Point Settlement, our next anchorage, only 7 miles away. The town (it's more of a village) of Black Point is a typical Bahamian community on Great Guana Cay. We went in and explored the town, hit the "grocery store", found ICE CREAM, and made a stop at Loraine's Cafe, where we would all get together later to celebrate Todd and Brenda's 10th aniversary, and picked up a loaf of her famous coconut bread, fresh and warm out of the oven. After a little more exploring, we returned to the boat and promptly cut the warm loaf of coconut bread, slathered on some french butter, (you can't getit in the states) and pigged out. It lived up to its reputation and then some. After finishing a good bit of the loaf we needed some exercise, so we took the girls to the beach.Tonight we all gathered at Loraine's for a traditional Bahamian meal. Man was it good. After dinner we were served Loraine's wonderful chocolate pineapple cake. Do we eat well or what?I always have so much more to tell you, but I prefer to let the pictures do that. I know you enjoy the pictures more than me rambling on anyway.
September Song (full and happy) out
Bob