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It was a nice day and we went to the store that rented bikes but the person
with the key to the lock was not there so we could not rent them. We started
walking instead. We started on the road to the S of the marina which was not
paved, just dirt and rock. It went over a hill and on top was a large abandoned
house, falling apart but the cement walls were still standing. Further on we
came to a 2 story apartment and decided to take another road back N. This lead
to the abandoned hotel on the hill above the marina. We explored the ruins for a
while and then walked E to the main N-S road. To the E was a dirt path which we
followed over some dunes to the beach. We returned to the main road and walked N
to the next road going W and after a few more turns wound up at the entrance to
Bullocks Harbor. We stopped at the White Water Inn for refreshments, it had been
a long walk already. The inn has a U shaped bar in one corner and a sunken
dining area in the middle with about 12 tables. On the TV over the bar we
watched CNN headline news. On the W side of the inn is a large concrete patio
overlooking the local park which has a full sized basketball court. Parts of the
court are 4’ above the ground which must be dangerous for any player who runs
off the edge. There were also piles of building material as if they were going
to put up other facilities. In one corner was a small building which was a
take-away restaurant but it was closed. Then we explored the town which runs N
and S along the W side of the island. It consists of 30-40 houses and a few
stores. At the N end is the dock where supplies are shipped in. Just S of that
was a sign for the Grave Yard Inn. We walked down a path and found the grave
yard with a caretaker and his machete cleaning and trimming. We asked at the
buildings beyond and they said the inn had burned down. On the way back we saw
the foundation and a few twisted pieces of steel next to the sign which I had
taken for a cistern before. The S side of the town has several hills and on the
top of the highest is the ruins of another house which may have been a tavern,
it had the remains of several game machines and lots of broken bottles. At the
very S end of town is the government building with the post office and a Batelco
phone. On the way back to the marina we stopped again at the White Water for
more refreshments.
Today we are exploring around the marina. It is very deep water. We can't rent bikes because the Bahamian girl in the bike rental store can't find the key - So we walked! Past a huge beautiful old closed hotel. Past a golf course. We turned left at a cross roads and left again and then right and ended up in the little Bahamian town of Bullocks Harbor. It is about 1/2 a mile long and on the opposite side of the cut where we came into the harbor. There is a government building - Post office and "Clinic" :) ,two large churches. We looked for the Grave-Yard Restaurant - it had burned down 2 years before :). There was a beautiful peacock in the grave-yard. Stones piled on the graves. A Bahamian was there with a machete cleaning the grave sites and "mowing". We ended up back at White Water for hamburgers and fries ($5). Very reasonable and good. They have the TV going there. We enjoyed "Judge Judy" - Bahamian style. It was a long walk but nice - We found that the "causeway" we saw sailing up the channel is the entrance to Bullock's Harbor Town. When we got back we visited the girl in the store who said she would have the bike keys in the morning :). We went swimming in the salt water marina pool and ate paella and corn for supper.
In the morning I walked to the end of the harbor where the store and bike
rental office was but it was still closed. Later Jill walked down and it was
open so we both went down and selected bikes. The clerk had already taken out 2
bikes but the ones we selected fit us better so we kept them and put the others
back. We rented for the whole day at $15 each. The bikes were in good condition
but did not have baskets for carrying things. We returned to the boat and filled
the backpack with a few items we would need. I also made a tracing of the roads
from our chart although the roads had changed somewhat since the chart was
published.
We started on the road going W on the S side of the harbor and followed it up past the fuel dock and to the S side of the entrance where the swing bridge used to be. The roads all have lots of hills and we had to walk up the steepest and really screamed down them. Next we peddled to the main N-S road on the E side of the island and turned S towards the airport. We inspected the Beach Club and the airport and continued S on progressively worse roads, finally going down a dirt trail to the S end of the beach. After beachcombing for a while we returned to the Beach Club for lunch. This building is 2 circular bars with tall roofs and the kitchen between them although only the N bar was being used. The patio area around the bar had several tables and a stairway lead down to the beach. The food was great, Jill had the Angi Special which is a toasted bacon, cheese and sautéed vegetable sandwich. They did not have change for the $100 travelers check so we rode back to the boat for cash. On the way we decided to rent the bikes for Sunday also so we would have transportation since the shop is closed tomorrow. They could cash our travelers check.
After paying the bill at the Beach Club we started N, passing occasional beach houses and also a few on the interior. Some were spectacular mansions but most were fairly simple stilt houses. After a long time we came to the end of the road which ended in a circle in a forest of pine trees. We could not see any water for the last part of the trip so we returned to the last side road and went up it. It lead to an abandoned power house with 2 large rusty generators and no roof. We walked over the ridge and found a steep path leading down to the beach but decided not to go down but we did drink the fruit juice we brought with us. The view from the ridge was spectacular, we could see the beach stretching away N and S with dunes and scrub covered hills. The next turnoff lead to the ruins of the old resort which had a better path down to the beach. We were very hot and tired by this time so we walked down and put our feet in the surf. On the S side of the building the original landscape plants had run wild and grown into the building with a profusion of orange blossoms.
We turned of the main road to follow the road that ran down the W side of the island. This lead up a high ridge and gave a great view across the valley to the ocean and the beach houses. Fairly quickly we found ourselves back to the roads we had walked the day before and turned W to Bullocks Harbor and had a drink at the White Water Inn. Going across the bridge the wind was strong from the SW and it seemed to take forever to peddle the last few hundred feet to the bar. After refreshing ourselves we had an easy time getting back to the marina.
Up early - Got the bikes! :) First rode to the airport and Beach Club. Beach Club is a bar and grill and nice deck right on a fabulous beach! We ate lunch - delicious food - I had a grilled veg and cheese and bacon and Rich had tuna. The "locals" with the big houses go there! and visit and drink orange and grape soda :). We rode our bikes all the way to the end of the island. I saw a lobster (8") in the water. A visitor told us that there are many SHARKS out there and others go swim with them :). After a brief rest we headed back towards the opposite end of the island. Rich made us a map (No one had any at the marina stores). It was probably 5 miles up and down very steep coral hills... We went all the way to the 'circle' at the end. The "old resort" was so overgrown that we didn't find it until we were coming back - eerie... It's stone walls and some roof still stand. An old hot tub is right above the beach. We took several pictures of the beach and overgrown flowers. We also found the old generator building - Super spot, on coral high above the white beach. Quite a climb back up. We drank our juice there. (P.S. Dogs (BIG) chases us!) Very hot out of the breeze. On the way back we (some how) took the road that Rich thought went to Bullock's Harbor and White Water 0 Oh , a drink was never so good :). We rested a while (and watched :) TV) and got back to the marina about 4 PM. We then tried to make reservations at Tamboo Private Club. We read by the pool (across from Tamboo) and I went over and got the reservation while the cook and waitress arrived. Rich had to wear long pants for this one. Smile. When we entered, "cocktails from 6:30 - Buffet served at 8" - we were surprised to see and meet most of the "locals" who keep the greens up and have those fabulous beach houses. One lady, Suzanne, spoke to us for quite a while about the upkeep that she and 5 other families do for the golf course :). These people fly to New York and Chicago for shopping - and it looks like they have everything here possible in the way of a tropical get away... The drinks were outstanding and the buffet meal was ham, turkey, sweet potatoes, dressing and cheese cake with cherries or blue berries! We paid for it ($ :) ) but it was a lovely and delicious evening. :)
We decided to get up at a reasonably early hour and bike to the Beach Club for breakfast. Yesterday we were just a little late for breakfast, today we made it there by 10:30 and we both had omelets. It’s been a long time since we had eggs. After a while we walked down the beach, stopping a few times to jump in the water when it got too hot. We walked all the way to the rocks at the S end of the beach. It seemed to be shorter walking on the beach than when we rode our bikes out there but walking back it seemed longer. We got back to the Beach Club at 3:30, just in time for a lunch before the grill closed. We stayed there after it closed, reading and relaxing. 3 people in an aluminum boat came into the beach and asked for the customs office. They were from a university research vessel anchored off shore.
We were at the Beach Club for breakfast and lunch. We rode our bikes and walked the whole length of the beach. We swam several times - lovely water. Crystal clear. Not deep. As the tide was coming in, we walked out on a long spit of sand - it was covered with water as the tide came in :). We stayed on the beach all day and sunned and read in the shade of the Beach Club. (The chickens clean up there too :) ). The time changed so we got extra daylight. We rode our bikes back and showered and went to The Warf for supper. Rich had a delicious fisherman's platter (I sampled). I ate the fried chicken... ha, ha. Revenge on these loud roosters! Rich says we get ready tomorrow to leave Tuesday AM and sail all day and all night to Abaco!!
In the morning we returned the bicycles we had rented and bought a few
supplies at the Marina Store. Jill also arranged to buy a loaf of home made
bread. Three sailboats from Miami came in around 11 AM to clear customs. They
were carrying 50 spring breakers on a week long trip thru the Berry Islands. The
captain told them about the Beach Club and renting scooters and bicycles. They
cooked chicken on the large grill near the pool and drank beer and generally
went crazy until late at night. We spent most of the day lounging around the
pool.
Doing laundry. Ordered a loaf of bread from the office ($3). A lady will make it today and deliver it tonight (4PM). Rich is cleaning sand off the boat. Will get H2O and ice. Mailed our letters and returned our bikes this AM.
After a good nights sleep we read magazines until the weather report. It was a repeat of yesterdays report. The 3 Miami boats with the Spring breakers left in the morning. The were much subdued from the night before. The wind was picking up from the E and it did not seem like a good time to leave. After lunch at the pool we walked up the hill to the old resort and explored some more. Another couple was also there exploring. On the second floor there was evidence of a fire in the roof. Several nice copper chandeliers were still hanging in one section. The views from the second floor were spectacular, large sections of the island could be seen from up here. We walked across the bridge to the ridge with a number of old collapsed apartments. Each was elevated on steel posts and 50’ in diameter. The roof had collapsed onto the floor. There were posts for about 15-20 apartments but most were just posts, no building. The views from the ridge were also spectacular, either looking out over the banks or out across the island to the ocean side.
After our walk we retired to the pool and read books and magazines for the rest of the day. The wind continued to blow from the E and it was cool in the shade but hot in the sun. At 6:30 the bugs started to come out, some mosquitoes but mostly small biting flies like no-see-ums. We retired to the boat for drinks and dinner.
Winds were still too strong. We went for a long walk exploring the resort homes up on the coral ridge above the marina. Such a view!
Another lazy day in paradise.
Walked to Bullock's Harbor and called my mother. She and daddy want to talk to us about moving (possibly) into our little house. We had lunch at White Water.
After another slow start we packed the backpack with essentials and walked to the Beach Club. We had lunch there and went swimming. Then we read and napped until it was time to return to the boat.
Spent the day at the Beach Club.
We spent the day lounging at the pool and reading. For dinner we went to the Wharf and afterwards, walked up the hill to the abandoned hotel. The moon was almost full and was shining thru a patchwork of clouds which were quickly moving E.
Spent the day at the pool I got a fish 1/2 from a Bahamian fisherman and made Gumbo. - Good!
Jill went for coffee and brought me back breakfast which was scrambled eggs and sausage. Jill wanted to call her relatives and we had the phone cards from Chub Cay but the Batelco phone at the Wharf restaurant was out of order so we decided to walk to the other phone in Bullocks Harbor at the government building. It was blowing hard from the NW and the sun was shining hot when we were sheltered from the wind. We stopped at the White Water Inn for lunch and then walked up several hills to the government building. On the way we passed a lady selling produce from boxes in her front yard and also stopped at a small grocery store which had been closed on our last trip. We explored an abandoned house on top of a hill overgrown with bushes and wild flowers. One side of the shack was completely down and another side bowed ominously. Lots of butterflies were darting around the flowers including some neat black and yellow ones. The phone worked at the government building and Jill got all her calls in before running out of phone cards. On the way back we bought 2 bell peppers for $1 and the lady said to take and extra one. We stopped at the White Water on the way back to use the facilities but they had a 2 day old Nassau paper so we stayed for a while to read it. There were a lot of people out today and going in and out of the tavern. Lots of people dressed up for Easter.
Had lunch at White Water. Nice walk. Called my mom to say Happy Easter. We got a loaf of delicious home made bread last week - Bought bell peppers from an old lady in Bullock's Harbor - Had to walk to the "Government Building" to call my mom.
On Easter Sunday we walked down to the Wharf for breakfast and had great omelets. After breakfast we watched CNN on the TV in the restaurant for a while and then took a walk up the road S of the harbor which was the first road we walked on. I thought that road should be the one that goes to the SW corner of the island but we had not found it before. At the top of a ridge is a large abandoned house/mansion with the roof and floors falling in. We explored it more extensively today. It is set on the ridge so the front to the road is 2 stories but the back is 3 stories. Rot and termites had caused the roof and floor beams to collapse and most of the fixtures had already been removed. The washing machine fell thru the floor and rested where it fell against a cement wall. The place had lots of rooms and each one appeared to have a bathroom. The cement walls and porches were still in tact. The walls were built with foam insulation under stucco. Slots for individual air conditioners had been cut in many walls and later bricked in and roughly covered with cement. Further up the road we came to what looked like a utility building and a driveway that lead to a gazebo. This turned out to be the back of the large hotel/resort complex at the top of the hill above the marina. A well is still running apparently pumping water into a large cistern for watering the golf course. Just E of this we found a large carport/garage area with several abandoned cars and old engines. Apparently the locals had done some auto repair here. Further up the road was the large apartment building where we turned around last time. This time we continued S on a small dirt road which lead to a dump and intersected with the golf course. The view from the golf course is spectacular as the holes are built on some of the hills and give a clear view in all directions of the island and surrounding waters. We walked down a few holes and came out near the airport. We walked over to the Beach Club and had a soft drink to celebrate another successful hike and then walked back to the Marina. We filled a bag with games and our books and went to the pool to relax. Jill won at Quarto and after reading for a while I won at RummyCub. The wind was quite strong all day gusting from the N at 25-30 Kt.
We returned to the boat and ran the engine to charge the batteries since the marina does not have 30 amp electric connections. Jill made corn beef, mash potatoes and mushroom gravy for dinner which tasted great.
All businesses are opened here. There is a big stingray living under the dock. Every AM I've been going to the Warf for coffee.
After sleeping late again we packed books and games and went to the pool for lunch. They were cleaning the kitchen when we arrived so we had a few drinks and played RummyCub until the kitchen was operating and had some great salads for lunch. After lunch we tried the dice game Yacht for a while and then went to the lounge chairs at the pool and read for a while. Later it got cool and we returned to the boat for a round of Spite and Malice. For the second time in 2 days I got trapped forever with a Joker on top of my pile so we decided to drop the Joker rule.
It was quite windy all day but by evening the wind had decreased considerably and it looks like tomorrow will be a good day to resume our voyaging.
We may leave tomorrow - at least find an anchorage. The old guy at the Dockmasters office told us that the resort at the top of the hill was only opened in grand style from '71 - '74. Again twice for 18 months and 12 months. He used to work in the pro shop. We tried to call Chris - No answer. I'll try again tonight. Today would be Aunt Gladys' birthday. All this week we have explored and eaten at the local restaurants. Also, are both reading books and true to island charisma, have lost track of the days... :) Rich called his parents yesterday.
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