Friday: Steve and Anita arrived in the
evening for only a 1 week visit – not enough time to see all of
Grand Bahama Island but we were going to try for most of the hot
spots starting with the Port Lucaya Square where they have a live band on Friday and Saturday nights.
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| Parking is often at a premium. |
Saturday was used up quickly driving
west to the Mermaid Hole and Suzie's Bargain Store (a strange
shopping experience), then east to Banana Bay. We had a terrific lunch there and boy are they accommodating. My crab salad came with black pepper all through it despite my request of nothing spicy in it or around it. I've been told more than once that normal people don't consider black pepper a spice. I told the waiter I might be able to eat it but they whisked it away and returned it with no pepper. It was delicious, nice and bland. Next stop grocery shopping and sticker shock - $13 for a
$5 jar of coffee which I would not let Anita buy.
Mermaid Hole aka Garbage Hole - they used to throw garbage in the hole and it conveniently disappeared but after a few years it started spitting it back out so they've stopped doing that.
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| Mermaid hole aka Garbage hole |
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| Banana Bay |
Sunday: I hope they didn't suspect we were
waiting for them to get the dinghy ready for launching but Steve (and
Gerry) look pretty happy amongst the mess and Anita was a
good sport about painting the bottom (I had a migraine so missed the
fun). Beware all who plan on visiting – at least one project will
be done during your visit.
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| Guys are always making a mess. |
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| Anita's expertise in bottom paint came in handy. |
Monday was mostly sunny so we launched the dinghy and Anita and I had a chance to go snorkeling. A sudden squall
ended the trip but we were ready to quit any way – good timing.
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| The launch |
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| On the way to the reef. |
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| This is not the photo I wanted to post but promises must be kept. |
Tuesday: Chilly, cloudy and very windy so
beaching and sailing were out and kayaking was in. Off we went (in
borrowed kayaks) to Gold Rock Creek. It took about an hour to paddle
to the beach in the National Park and about 45 minutes to get back
(tide helped a little). Next time we have to time the journey to the
tide. Some of us complained about aches and pains when we returned
the kayaks to Johanne and Ken but the beer, rum and wine there might
have taken the edge off some of us.
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| Not much is finer than kayaking through the mangroves. |
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| Straight is better than sideways Gerry. |
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| Day could have been nicer |
Wednesday: Bright and sunny with just
the right amount of wind so we got Ramblynn ready and set sail.
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| Don't they look right at home. |
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| Proof that the ever-elusive sea buoy does exist. |
Wednesday is fish fry night and everyone has to go
at least once in their life. I still have sand in my shoes from line
dancing beside the bonfire with Anita.
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| Steve doesn't look convinced that the fish is edible. |
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| A face only a mother can love - do fish love their offspring? |
Thursday: A perfect day for the beach
so we did a 3 beach tour. Beach number 1 is where we can drive on the
beach at low tide, but don't tell anyone, it's against the law and
for the first time ever we actually got stuck trying to get back on
the road.
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| I always say "wow" when we do this. |
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| Anita found the perfect piece of lumber to go under the tire! |
Beach number 2 was at Bishop's
restaurant, famous for their cracked conch and after pushing the jeep
through the sand we were ready for lunch.
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| Waiting for our cracked conch. |
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| Anita beach combing. |
Beach number 3 is our most often
visited beach. Anita took the photo of this crab but I can't remember
whether it was before or after it jumped at her. I thought it was
just a left over moult because it did not run away when we approached –
scared the hell out of her when she tried to touch it and it moved! I
have to admit I laughed maybe a little bit. Okay, maybe a lot.
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| Steve trying to snorkel, way to go. |
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| Possum playing crab who would a thunk it? |
Friday, the last day was saved for
lunch at the Garden of the Groves.
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| At last, a menu just the right size. |
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| Good food, good company. |
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| Which shop, which shop? Oh, let's check them all out |
Some time during
the week Anita got Tony Macaroni to drill a just-right-for-her-mouth
sized hole in a conch shell and gave her conch blowing lessons. Some
day with a bit more practice the noise will not sound like a sick
moose. I have the utmost confidence but am glad I don't live next to
her.
Can anyone guess
what Steve is doing? No, he's not praying or throwing up. We gave
him hands on training as to what to do when the toilet no longer
flushes.
And now they're gone............... :(
Some time during
the week Anita got Tony Macaroni to drill a just-right-for-her-mouth
sized hole in a conch shell and gave her conch blowing lessons. Some
day with a bit more practice the noise will not sound like a sick
moose. I have the utmost confidence but am glad I don't live next to
her.
