Shifting to Bahamian time.(Oh, well...)
08 April 2012 | West End to Memory Rock
Merry
We settled in at Old Bahama Bay at West End and became quickly accustomed to the beautiful waters, great pool, Tiki Bar, and friendly people. We snorkeled in the beautiful shallow white beach/bay area noting the many southern stingrays (Yikes! - be careful when entering the water! - Thoughts of Steve Irwin!!), juvenile angel fish, schools of grunts, many bright red/orange large starfish, lots of spiny urchins, etc. We also found a couple of Lionfish. Lionfish, while fascinating to see, are a problem in that they are not native to these waters. They have arrived as a result of aquarists in Florida releasing them into ocean waters after they no longer wanted them. They are an invasive species and in June there is a Lionfish contests to see how many can be killed. Otherwise these creatures (lacking any natural predator) destroy the balance of life on the reefs. The days are spent swimming, snorkeling, and eating... our evenings have been spent stargazing - the constellations are spectacularly clear.
We reveled in having “arrived” and enjoyed watching boats entering the harbor, going through customs, and celebrating their arrival at West End. We were delighted when returning from snorkeling we spied our friends Barbara, Merle, and Mozart, and their big trawler Endurance with its yellow Q flag flying. We found them walking Mozart along the beach. Endurance, made crossing the gulf stream seem easy - though even they waited an extra day for some weather to pass before crossing. We loved having the opportunity to share another “sundowner” with them before retiring for the night.
We quickly made friends with Mary at Teasers’ Tiki bar - (she makes the best Yellow Bird rum drinks! ) and Harold the manager of Teasers Tiki Restaurant. Harold has a 100 Watt smile, the manners of a gentleman, and the skill of making everyone feel special. Wiley shared many conversations with Harold about politics and he was always eager to respond. There are two main political parties in the Bahamas, a liberal Peoples Liberation Party and the conservative party, the Free National Movement. However, while there are many disagreements about the best way to govern the Bahamas there seems to be less political tension and animosity than in the United States. It is interesting to note that they represented by districts with proportional representation in their Parliament and many of their issues are the same as ours. A couple of issues that seem to prevail is the difference between the support areas like Nassau and Freeport receive and what areas like West End receive. There is certainly a division of the “have” and “have nots”. The current Prime Minister is from the FNM. Harold, however, is active in the PLP party. He is well known on Grand Bahama. When John Travolta’s son died near here, Harold was the first person he called. He also knows Lady Gaga! Harold gets around and is working to get his political message out as well.
Merle, Barbara, Wiley and I decided to use the bikes offered at the resort and ride into town. We thought we might purchase a few things at the local grocery store and find a great spot for lunch. As we rode toward the town we noted that many of the buildings were boarded up, stores closed, dogs running loose, and humungous piles of conch shells piled near the beach areas along the way. The Teaser’s restaurant serves conch fritters, conch salad, and conch dinners and we now know what happens to all of the shells. It takes away your appetite for ordering conch. Along the way we stopped to purchase some stamps at the post office and found that they did not have change for a twenty dollar bill. The lady at the P.O. stepped out of the building to ask some local people in car that was parked outside of the P.O. if they had change. It all worked out. One of the things we are learning about the Bahamas is that things are not always accessible and patience is key. The Bahamians are used to ‘making do’ with whatever is available. If something is not available - the attitude is “oh well”. The further we rode toward town the less there seemed to be and the more litter we noted. Flotsam from boats is a problem - especially plastic and styrofoam. The bakery we had read about in our Bahamas guide was closed and so were the restaurants. However, a beautiful church that had a well cared for garden stood out as we pedaled along the main road. Most of the stores we did see sold liquor and the signage along the way focused on Kalik - Bahamian Beer. We bought a couple of bottles of wine, beer, and some gin. I ducked into a small grocery store along the way and bought a 1/2 gallon of milk. Everything is, as expected, much more expensive that in the states. The milk was $5.00 for 1/2 gallon. Everything is imported. Taxes and duty increase the prices of most things.
While staying in beautiful Old Bahama Bay Marina in West End we discovered that our radio was not transmitting. We found a full- service marina in Freeport that would come out to the boat to repair what we thought at the time to be a faulty connection. However, it turned out that it was not only a faulty connection but a faulty radio (a 20 year old radio that decided that it preferred listening rather than sending information). We kind of liked the idea of being able to send out info - especially if we should need help. We therefore purchased a new radio and had it installed. We waited to receive the bill the morning we planned to sail to White Sand Ridge to snorkel with dolphins. However, Bahamian’s live by a slower clock - the pace is S-L-O-W - so we did not get the bill until later than expected. We debated the bill with the service provider ( a US company based in Florida) to no avail (a radio that would cost $120. in the US was about $340 in the Bahamas) and, of course, we were billed for travel time and mileage to and from Freeport (two trips) and even for electrical tape (the tech probably used 6”). The result is that when we get home, we will have the only $1200. $120. radio on J Dock.
So, we left Old Bahama Bay and headed west and then then head northward to try to meet up with dolphins and to take our minds off of the money we had spent. After all, as we keep telling our kids, it is only their inheritance that we are spending. We got as far as Memory Rock (which is literally a rock with a ‘nonworking’ light on it) and decided that we would anchor. The water was a beautiful crystal clear aquamarine blue. We would then head up to White Sand the following day. The weather reports were for very calm seas, clear skies, and low winds. It was a good plan.
We sailed around the shallows to a suggested anchorage in white sand and set our anchor. We watched the anchor and chain clearly settle on the bottom. Wiley dove it to be sure it was set and then we both jumped in to swim in the crystal clear 85 degree water. Since it was later in the day we donned our masks and fins to spend some time scrubbing the boat’s bottom while we looked around for any interesting creatures in this shallow water. We are constantly amazed by how quickly barnacles, other creatures, and fauna attach themselves to the boat even though the boat has anti-fouling bottom paint. We scrubbed for about an hour and then dined on the boat looking out at the beautiful waters anticipating a good night’s sleep..
SURPRISE! The wind shifted and the waves picked up as we prepared to settle down for the night. The later it got the more the current pushed one direction and the waves another. The boat responded by leaping up and down. I did not sleep a wink and Wiley slept for a mere few hours. It was like trying to sleep inside a washing machine that was being thrown up and banged down about 4-6 feet every couple of minutes while at the same time someone was banging on the lid. The main sail halyard runs through the main cabin and clangs against the mast support below deck when the boat is thrown about. Dimples added to the cacophony of sound effects with one of my favorites- “her loud gum chewing noise” that she makes when she sloshes up and down near the boat. Wiley offered to switch berths with me so I might sleep - but it didn’t work. I laid awake watching stars appear and disappear through the hatch as we jumped up and down and listened to the ships clock bell chime as I counted the hours until daylight. When light broke we decided that while we were very motivated to snorkel with the dolphins there was NO WAY we could spend another night at an anchorage like this.
So, we are adjusting to the Bahamian life. It is absolutely a simply breathtaking place to be and at a pace that allows for conversation as well as relaxation. Along with this come a few challenging times where we have learned to just hold our breath for a while be patient and wait for them to pass. In the end the Bahamians are right - oh well,...