Entertainment in the Bahamas
22 April 2013
Merry - Sunny, 80+,
The quiet of the Bahamas has set in. There is no television nor radio. We listen to our Ipods on our stereo and have each other to talk to. Now remember we have been married for almost 41 years so those conversations are often repeats ... so we simply now say, “You know story number 36 - okay?” “Got it - no need to repeat!” So what do we do to entertain ourselves in the Bahamas. Well for starters - (Wiley especially) we worry about all of the things that we can do, will do, or might do wrong. This starts with our decision to leave Green Turtle and head to the South Abacos.
The caravan of boats leaving Green Turtle to go through the “Whale” confirmed our decision that we picked the right time to go. Wiley had called on the radio to check and see if anyone had gone through earlier that morning and a captain responded that “it is the best he’s seen”. The “Whale” is known to have ‘rages’ that are caused by weather coming across the Atlantic and bouncing off of Whale Cay. This often rough area of water requires going out of the Little Bahama Bank into the Atlantic and then turning back into the Abacos. Jill and Steve Forsythe whom we met at West End on Teotwawki decided to join us, along with a long parade of other boats coming and going through. There were at least a dozen boats going toward the South Abacos (SV/ Carolina Moon, SV/ Soteria, were just a couple of the other boats and captains we had met in Green Turtle) and of course there was another dozen boats coming toward Green Turtle. It was a sailing freeway. It was an uneventful trip though it had 5- 6 foot rolls and a light chop. Our little boat’s mast was swinging back and forth like the other boats we were accompanying we just did it a little more often. Boats would come up and disappear from view into the swells.
After getting through this section we sailed (actually motored - once again the wind was “on our nose” so we could not sail) to Guana Cay where we picked up a mooring ball in Settlement Harbor. Jill and Steve followed us on their 42 foot boat and also picked up a mooring ball a little further into the anchorage. We were concerned that they might go aground so we switched moorings with them - a little keystone cops in the harbor.
We arrived in time to have sundowners at Grabbers restaurant. We also discovered that there was an Easter Egg (snorkeling) Hunt held by Nippers at their Sunday pig roast. While walking around Guana we noticed a small church and could hear beautiful chorals. I mentioned that we might want to attend in the morning - and as they say on the boat radio “nothing heard” - no response from Wiley. Jill came over in her dinghy in the morning and that just the two of would go to the Easter Sunday service. The message was to count your blessings and the minister mostly focused on telling jokes that usually had nothing to do with his sermon - such as the old joke about a young girl asking an old married woman how she was able to have such a peaceful marriage. The woman told her the story about how her husband took her in a wagon pulled by a donkey to their honeymoon spot. The donkey was stubborn and would just stop and her husband would count each time he had to force the mule to move. He counted off, “That’s one! That’s Two!” When he got to the third time he counted “That’s three!” and shot the donkey. His new bride was so dismayed she yelled at him and could not believe he was so horrible. He turned and looked at her and said, “That’s one!” - Jill and I could not help but look at each other and burst out laughing wondering what that story had to do with counting your blessings. The church had a small - all white congregation with a black minister who is originally from Nassau. The service included pre-recorded music as well as two women vocalist (whom we had heard earlier). It was an interesting experience and most of the lessons offered were to “do good” and not let the devil take over you or you will go to hell! After the service Jill decided to join me and become a Unitarian.
We decided to go the pig roast at Nippers for our Easter dinner. Nippers is a party place with 2 pools. It is right on the beach and there is always lots of loud music and many drinks being served at their large bar. The young and young at heart of the Abacos love to come here to party. The egg hunt was on and a lot of young kids were out snorkeling to try to find the eggs and win prizes. It was packed with lots of people from all over the Abacos.
We were missing family and went back to the boat to call family and were delighted to hear everyone’s voices. Wiley and I walked back later during the day to go snorkeling on the beautiful reef right off of the beach. Upon returning to the boat we discover that a number of boats have gone aground and some young captains were having great difficulty getting their boats off -since they have had a few too many refreshments at Nippers. We couldn’t help but watch their many attempts to power their boats off. There was a lot of shouting, slurring of words, sand and water being thrown by the motors. We were glad we would not be on the water with them once they get off. Additionally, we watch as a private helicopter takes off from Orchid Bay Marina across from where we are moored - an easy way to party and island hop if you can afford it!
So no television or radio is really needed. Our Bahamaian entertainment goes from rolling along in the waves, playing keystone cops with our boats, watching the sun set from the beach, listening to old stories, watching the results of being a “tad over served” and the tide going out, and learning how the rich play. All of which results in our having more stories to number to add to our married retells. We can imagine someday being “in the home” where our children are always threatening to put us and saying do you remember story number 47 - the one when we were in the Abacos- Guana Cay?