What is there to do in Georgetown, Great Exuma, Bahamas while waiting for your honey? Well, not much.
Most of the local cruisers while away the afternoon on Volley Ball Beach. They play pick up games of volley ball, play bridge, mind the kids swinging endlessly in tire swings, drink beer, and watch CNN at the Chat N' Chill bar. I quickly got tired of that esp. since Kalik beer is $4. and tastes awful. The yacht club set heads for the St. Francis hotel restaurant for club sandwiches for lunch and Trivial Pursuit at 5:30 pm. Some yachts spend endless hours chit chatting on the VHF. It's disgraceful.
Trips across the road stead to Georgetown are just for chores--gas, diesel, hardware, groceries, laundry, e-mail etc. There is no meaningful nightlife or fancy restaurants except the Four Seasons 16 miles north.
The beaches are wonderful. There is a narrow beach on the western side of Stocking Island, the protected side. That is where the dogs are walked, where newcomers jog, and where the evening get-togethers are held. There are very shallow parts where kids can play in waist deep water and adults can bathe. On the eastern or ocean side there is a long magnificent beach with steep sandy coves and rocky outcroppings. There are sandy cliffs that provide vistas. Last week there was a hugh swell from some storm far away in the Atlantic. Watching the waves roll in and break was mesmerizing. A hike of about one mile south through the jungle brings you to a blow hole that jets the breaking wave hundreds of feet into the air.
At low tide several small reefs are easily accessible by dingy. I found a small "pot hole" of near perfect coral teaming with fish all in 6 feet of crystal clear water. I have not been back since the swell has temporarily stirred up the water so much it has been opaque for a week.
There is fishing, but this is best done at the cuts. The nearest one is 3 miles away. I am going to save up for that one. Jan and I will have to take an extra gas can and a picnic lunch.
Swimming is not recommended what with 300+ boats NOT using the holding tanks. You can watch the wildlife. I see about one turtle per day. A juvenile dolphin spent all of one afternoon swimming about the boat listening to Classic Vinyl on the Sirius radio. There are very few birds here and not too many fish.
I finished every chore I could think of by the end of the first week. Without a convenient ship chandlers there is not much to do except routine maintenance.
I did go to beach church twice. Today was sunrise Easter service on the beach which was inspirational. Everyone is very friendly, but this is a couples driven society. There are a number of bachelors because so many of the women (and a few men) return to civilization. But we keep to ourselves in the manner of old timers everywhere.
I have learned that I never want to single hand sail. In fact, I now wonder why anybody does it at all! There are very few singlehanders in Georgetown. Or more likely they move on.
I am looking forward to Jan's return to the White Pepper on April 1, 2008. One fun thing that we will stay for is the Out Island Regatta (or Family Regatta as it is known locally). This is one of the biggest events in all of the Bahamas and should be very exciting. It will be at the end of April.
Most of the local cruisers while away the afternoon on Volley Ball Beach. They play pick up games of volley ball, play bridge, mind the kids swinging endlessly in tire swings, drink beer, and watch CNN at the Chat N' Chill bar. I quickly got tired of that esp. since Kalik beer is $4. and tastes awful. The yacht club set heads for the St. Francis hotel restaurant for club sandwiches for lunch and Trivial Pursuit at 5:30 pm. Some yachts spend endless hours chit chatting on the VHF. It's disgraceful.
Trips across the road stead to Georgetown are just for chores--gas, diesel, hardware, groceries, laundry, e-mail etc. There is no meaningful nightlife or fancy restaurants except the Four Seasons 16 miles north.
The beaches are wonderful. There is a narrow beach on the western side of Stocking Island, the protected side. That is where the dogs are walked, where newcomers jog, and where the evening get-togethers are held. There are very shallow parts where kids can play in waist deep water and adults can bathe. On the eastern or ocean side there is a long magnificent beach with steep sandy coves and rocky outcroppings. There are sandy cliffs that provide vistas. Last week there was a hugh swell from some storm far away in the Atlantic. Watching the waves roll in and break was mesmerizing. A hike of about one mile south through the jungle brings you to a blow hole that jets the breaking wave hundreds of feet into the air.
At low tide several small reefs are easily accessible by dingy. I found a small "pot hole" of near perfect coral teaming with fish all in 6 feet of crystal clear water. I have not been back since the swell has temporarily stirred up the water so much it has been opaque for a week.
There is fishing, but this is best done at the cuts. The nearest one is 3 miles away. I am going to save up for that one. Jan and I will have to take an extra gas can and a picnic lunch.
Swimming is not recommended what with 300+ boats NOT using the holding tanks. You can watch the wildlife. I see about one turtle per day. A juvenile dolphin spent all of one afternoon swimming about the boat listening to Classic Vinyl on the Sirius radio. There are very few birds here and not too many fish.
I finished every chore I could think of by the end of the first week. Without a convenient ship chandlers there is not much to do except routine maintenance.
I did go to beach church twice. Today was sunrise Easter service on the beach which was inspirational. Everyone is very friendly, but this is a couples driven society. There are a number of bachelors because so many of the women (and a few men) return to civilization. But we keep to ourselves in the manner of old timers everywhere.
I have learned that I never want to single hand sail. In fact, I now wonder why anybody does it at all! There are very few singlehanders in Georgetown. Or more likely they move on.
I am looking forward to Jan's return to the White Pepper on April 1, 2008. One fun thing that we will stay for is the Out Island Regatta (or Family Regatta as it is known locally). This is one of the biggest events in all of the Bahamas and should be very exciting. It will be at the end of April.
1 comment:
I am just back to work after having lunch with Bruce at home. I was reading an article in Sail Magazine about what to do in Georgetown. It mentioned the family regatta, the beach vollyball, etc. The guy writing the article was learning to weave baskets from palm leaves.... Just a thought. Maybe you could make something nice for Jan. Don't think I'm feeling sorry for you right now. As I mentioned above, I'm at work. Wish I was there, Tammy
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