Long Island Part Two

After a good night’s sleep we got up early to meet our van out on Queens Highway at 8am and it was off to see the north end of the island. We had the van till noon so we would have to make a quick trip of it. Our first stop was to hit a beach in search of sea beans and other goodies. There were about 3 beaches connected by rocky shoreline and we walked and walked and walked. We finally decided it was time to move on but that’s OK because between Dirk and I we collected 8 hearts, 2 hamburgers, 1 purse, and 2 nicker beans. I did however lose one of the nicker beans when I dropped it just as a wave came in and the ocean once again claimed it.

 

The crew in search of sea beans

 

A curious ghost crab let Dirk photograph him



The sea beans collected on the beach that day

After that we all decided to visit the monument where Columbus supposedly first stepped on shore here. It was a decent dirt road that turned into a gravel road that turned into an uneven pitted shouldn’t be driving on road. A few times we wondered if we knocked our oil pan off. We wondered if we shouldn’t pull over and walk the rest of the way but there really wasn’t anywhere to pull over. I don’t know what we would have done if we had encountered a vehicle coming the opposite way. We decided to trudge on as we all held our breath. Thank goodness this was a rental van because I would have never brought my own vehicle down here. That’s probably why all the rental vehicles on the island look the way they do. We finally made it to the end of the line and climbed up to the monument. The view was outstanding as you had the view of the ocean along with views of the beautiful turquoise bay.

The monument

It was a quick walk around as it was nearing noon and we needed to get the vehicle back. As we were making our way back we all decided that it was best for the van if we got out and walked reducing the weight and thus lifting the van higher. It was actually better walking because it was a bit bumpy in the van.

 

Everybody out......

 

The so called road

The guys directed Hank through the pits and rocks finally getting the van back to a more normal road. We made our way to Queens Highway and headed back towards Thompson Bay. It was the Friday before Easter and here in the Bahamas that is a holiday. We needed to get fuel but no one was to be open in order to fill up, or so we thought. We did find one tiny station that apparently needed money more than a day off and we were able to refill the tank before turning in the van. Hank dropped us off at our little hole in the stone wall and we shimmied through and made our way back to our dinghies. That afternoon the church was putting on a fish fry and was the only game in town so we headed over close to the government dock and ordered us a plate of fried fish, peas & rice and coleslaw before returning to Renegade later. In the evening we had everyone over to our boat for sun downers and to say goodbye to s/v Cloud 9 and discuss our next day’s destination. We were getting close to the end of lobster season and the boys were itching to hunt. We decided to head up north to Calabash Bay. It was a rolly rocky ride but not that big of a deal. We headed into the anchorage and dropped the hook as close to shore as we dare get. There was a surge but it wasn’t too bad and should be getting better as the winds shifted position. Easter morning the guys all assembled and set out to do their best to put a hurting on the lobster population. Hours later they came back all grins as it was lobster all around for Easter dinner.

Bill, Dirk, and Hank with the final lobster catch of the season

Cracked lobster, Parmesan pasta, and cucumber, tomato, onion and mint salad

Now that lobster season is over we tallied up our catch of all the fish and lobster Dirk has caught so far.

42 Lobsters

 2  Hog fish

 3  Mahi Mahi

 2 Queen Trigger

 1  Dog Snapper

 1  Nassau Grouper

After a wonderful dinner we settled in for an early night so that the following morning we could head back to George Town. Unfortunately we didn’t catch anything on the way back after crossing the deep water but we had a decent motor sail and found our way back to Volley Ball Beach where we dropped the hook.  We would stay here a couple days to wait on favorable winds to start heading north back to Staniel Cay to pick up our first guest of the season. We went into town on Tuesday to dump garbage, hit the grocery store and the liquor store to restock our cupboards.  We also decided to upgrade our Bahamian phone to a Blackberry Smart phone. With a data package we would now be able to use it for Internet and thus have Internet anywhere there is a Batelco tower rather than having to wait until we could buy a day’s worth for $10.00 a pop. So far it has been working out great. It seems a bit slow at times but it’s much better than having to wait a week to find Internet to check mail. Plus by the time we pay $10.00 hear, $15.00 there it is cheaper. So I am going to take advantage of the connection I have and post this blog. Till next time….