The winter fronts just won’t quit, and we take refuge in the
large harbor at Rock Sound in south Eleuthera.
Two fronts are predicted, about four days apart, and will provide
intense rain, high winds, and some serious lightning. It is obvious that winter isn’t over, even if
the calendar says so.
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| Squalls approach |
In fact two friends’ boats experience a near lightning
strike. One loses its wind indicator,
and the other has a damaged VHF radio.
Although they were not hit directly, the electrical surge from the
lightning is the enemy of electronics.
We put everything electronic that isn’t permanently installed in our
oven when storms lurk nearby, as the oven can act as a Faraday cage for
protection.
Rock Sound isn’t an especially interesting place, but it
does have a nice laundry, a good grocery store, and several decent
restaurants. We avail ourselves of all
of the above. Between the fronts we head
out with our friends on s/v Delicia for
a 25 nautical mile passage further north to the more picturesque town of Governor’s Harbor. It’s a tight reach in around 20 knots of
winds, so we have a lively and fast trip there under reefed sails.
Governor’s Harbor was the original capital of the Bahamas, and
its colonial architecture and commercial area known as Cupids Cay attest to its
past. We stroll along the waterfront
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| Sea life along the shore at governor's Harbor |
and
wonder about the unusual raft floating nearby.
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| Anntiki at her mooring in Governor's Harbor |
Later we meet “Carl from Austria”,
a winter resident and bit of a character, at a coffee shop. In his heavily accented English, he tells us
that this raft, named Anntiki, was sailed from Spain by several men in their 80’s
about five years ago. They were
duplicating a trip they had taken many years prior in a traditional
sailboat. The raft made it to the ocean
side of Eleuthera
Island and then was towed
to Governor’s Harbor by Carl and several of his friends. It is now for sale and can be yours for only
$5000, although you’d have to spring a bit more for an engine.
We wander through the small town, admiring the well kept
homes.
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| Attractive cottage and plantings in governor's Harbor |
The waterfront library is
beautifully restored and a source of pride for the community.
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| Haynes Library in governor's Harbor |
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| And its graceful interior |
Next door is the
Anglican Church with its detached bell tower, something that seems typical of
Bahamian churches, although we don’t know why.
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| Anglican Church in Governor's Harbor |
Stopping by the Duck Inn, we ask
permission to visit their extensive gardens.
Rainfall has been unusually heavy this winter leaving the garden lush
and full of blooming plants.
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| Gardens at the Duck Inn |
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| And one bloom we thought was especially beautiful. |
Our main reason for visiting Governor’s Harbor is to gain
access to the Leon
Levy Nature
Center, a park within the
Bahamian National Park Service. After a
several mile taxi ride we arrive at the center.
The cost of the land and all the construction and maintenance was
donated by a successful American financier, Leon Levy. He had vacationed in Eleuthera for many years,
and as he had aged and had some health issues, he was treated by local
practitioners with traditional bush medicine which he found to be
effective. The establishment of the
preserve was his family’s way of saying thank you. The center features only
indigenous plants and has an extensive area dedicated to bush medicine plants, divided
into areas that treat specific bodily ailments. We even have an opportunity to
sample some of the bush teas.
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| A blooming plant along the trails whose leaves are brewed for medicinal purposes. |
Further
along the hiking trails we find an area displaying native agricultural plants,
all arranged by region of origin.
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| Banana trees - origin from Africa |
Agriculture is important on Eleuthera as this
is one of the few islands in the Bahamas that has decent top soil. As
we hike the well groomed trails, we see several large termite nests (Don’t want
to take these guys home!)
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| George and Burt examine the termite nest |
and a variety of orchids and bromeliads growing on
trees.
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| One of the orchids growing along the trail |
Birds abound, and we even
encounter a Bahamian Boa Constrictor which is a rather small and harmless
snake.
After the strenuous hiking we reward ourselves with dinner
at the Buccaneer Club in Governor’s Harbor.
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| George and Doreen Menke join us for recuperation and dinner. |
We have enjoyed our little
excursion with George and Doreen from s/v Delicia. We first met them in 2006 when our sailing
club in Sandusky joined with their club for a
cruise across Lake Erie. They were just about to depart the Great
Lakes to head to the Bahamas,
and we were so impressed when they described what they intended to do. And now, eight years later, we have joined
them on this adventure.
The next day we head back to Rock Sound. Another nasty front is on its way, and
Governor’s Harbor is just too open for the predicted strong westerly
winds. Again we have a fast and lively
sail back to protection. We will await
another opportunity to head further north.
