Joaquin

What a stupid name for a hurricane. Jim, John, Jack - all good strong names for a hurricane, but this is a sissy name. Karma may get me for that observation.

This is our current view, and may change in the next 24 hours.

We will make prudent preparations today. Bread, coke, and of course a rum run. 

Some readers may remember we encountered our last hurricane while in Canada last year. This seems a much more likely venue for a named storm.

Machetes... again

Thanks to our experiences abroad we did not flinch when we encountered our first Haitian walking down the street with a machete. We were quick to recognize him as a gardener. Long time blog followers might remember the trepidation we related with identical sidewalk passings in Panama.

A small contingent of Haitians lives on Russell Island in some very third-world style huts. They walk or bike over to Spanish Wells to work, some as gardeners. There do seem to be a few shared power mowers in circulation, as I will occasionally spot a Haitian on a bicycle or motor scooter pulling a lawn mower behind him; however, much of the work involves tree and shrub trimming and the machete is a fine tool for that.

They all seem polite and not a one has failed to offer a greeting in passing. I guess this island is an improvement over where they are originally from. De Anne, on her morning bike ride to Russell Island spots them congregating at a public spigot with their five gallon containers. Clean water might be considered a step up.

Just because you live in a plywood shack doesn't mean you can't have a great view.

The bridge from Russell Island. Sometimes you can hitch a ride.

(I know, poor picture quality, but you get the idea)

One picture

From the balcony tonight.

Stormy weather

Another plus in visiting a place for a month is that when there are a couple days of bad weather it doesn't ruin the experience like it would if we were trying to see everything in a week.

We have broken out a couple books and hunkered down. Of course, there is a bit of cabin fever. Lucia's dog, Baby Bear, was glad to get out in a brief dry spell and came upstairs to visit us.

De Anne knows all the right places to scratch.

Beach walk

Our beach walk yesterday was on an entirely deserted beach. Two and a half miles of clear water and pink (slightly) sand were all ours.

We start in town where beach houses are near the water and gazebos even closer:

After about a half mile signs of civilization begin to dwindle:

I can't think of a finer way to get some exercise!

More stuff

Thursday is a big day in Spanish Wells. The supply ships come in. De Anne can have her bananas again.

Every thing from soft drinks (seen on the left) to kitchen appliances (on the crane) down to personal orders (the jumble pile on right) is off loaded at high tide very quickly.

The second ship brings in the containers also off-loaded at high tide.

My naïveté was shattered when I saw two skids of frozen lobster tails unloaded. We had the most wonderful conch fritters Wednesday night. Did that conch come off the boat frozen 6 days earlier? I shall wrestle with this dilemma while floating in the crystal clear water.

 

Free fruit

The high cost of groceries in Spanish Wells is offset by free fruit. Every day we find fruit on our stairs, left by Lucia. She rides her bike every morning and picks fruit for herself and us. Yesterday morning was an avocado and some guavas. For those of you who have never had a fresh guava - think somewhat of a pear taste with small, hard seeds that you must be careful not to crack a tooth on. 

Our porch table with fruit of the day:

De Anne liked the Buddha holding a conch shell on the lower patio:

Keeping up

I followed De Anne over the one lane metal bridge connecting Spanish Wells to Russell Island. It was a hilly ride and I struggled to keep up with her; however, there were some gorgeous vistas.

Returning to our island De Anne waited semi-patiently for me to have a drink of water and catch my breath.

Once the bikes were put away she was ready for the paddle board. She has the hang of it now and looks good paddling across the bay. The scenery is not too bad either.

She also insisted on carrying it back alone to see if she could avoid relying on me to carry it to the beach.

Stay on the left

De Anne has made the grand tour of Spanish Wells and Russell Island by bike. I have joined her on a couple shorter tours of Spanish Wells. End to end only about 2 miles, so not particularly difficult. 

The important thing to remember is that, like the British, they drive on the left. Most traffic is golf carts, which are well suited for short distance and narrow streets; however, the occasional full size pickup  truck (driven at a speed commiserate with it's size)  can make you wobble. Stop signs are seen as an option - not a requirement.

At the local park looking across the channel at Russell Island.

One thing that would never happen in America - walking back from the grocery store yesterday, three drivers stopped on the street and offered me a lift. If a big brute like me gets 3 offers, De Anne may get a dozen. This morning a guy in a pickup offered us a ride when we were carrying back the paddle board from the beach. Alas, we had only 10 more yards of the 100 yard journey left to go.

Eleuthera, Bahamas

Braving Interstate 95 and the nutty drivers that make Florida highways a religious experience we arrived at the Fort Lauderdale airport safe and on time. The rest of the day was island time.

Utilizing one of the biggest planes to frequent the North Eleuthera International Airport we spent just a few minutes checking in, went out to the runway to retrieve our checked luggage and passed customs in a breeze. 

Our host arraigned a cab/ferry for us. The driver dropped us on the dock and left to put his cab in a dockside garage. Following the advice of an airline pilot who shared the cab I made a quick run to the dockside liquor store for some cheap Bahamian dark rum. The cab driver (now ferry captain) was waiting when I got back to the boat. 

Spanish Wells is only accessible by boat.

Our host for the month, Lucia, met us at the dock, gave us a quick tour of town in her golf cart, then showed us home for the month.

We have a one bedroom apartment comprising the whole second floor and a great deck on the back.

Of course De Anne had to see the beach right away.