Black Point

January 9, 2013

 

On Monday, the 7^th, we made the trip from Cambridge Cay to Black Point, about 20 nautical miles.  The winds and seas were a bit more than predicted, but the trip was good.  As we went through the sound and rounded the cay toward the anchorage, it was actually quite calm.  Black Point is described as ‘an excellent example of a real out-island “non-touristy” settlement’, so you can imagine our surprise when we saw 40+ boats already anchored off the government dock in the community.  This was not in my definition of “non-touristy”.  But, most of the other boats were here for the same reason that we are: the predicted high winds from the east and south for the next week.  We are here for more than the protection provided; we love to meet the people in these settlements, and we need to do some chores, like laundry (almost three weeks since the last laundry), disposing of garbage (two weeks worth since the Exuma Park has no garbage disposal available), and some provisioning (a month since our last provisioning in Miami). 

 

Yesterday morning, we took our two duffels of dirty clothes to the Laundromat, which is either self-service or a full-service laundry.  We have found that it only costs a few dollars more to use the full-service than it would be for the washers and dryers in a Bahamas’ Laundromat, where it’s normally $3.50 to $4.00 per load for the washer and the same for the dryer.  So, I’ve been converted to the full-service model.  After we arrived at the Laundromat, we found that the woman that normally does the wash was off until ‘tomorrow afternoon’, and that tokens are needed for the self-service washers and dryers.  They were available at the grocery store; however, the grocery store was closed for the day.  Fortunately, we remembered that you could also drop off laundry at Lorraine’s café, the local cruiser hangout with great food, internet, and a small shop.  Lorraine’s mom, Paymon Rolle, kindly agreed to do our wash, and we later discovered that although she used to do full-service laundry, she now only does it for friends.  We felt honored that she would help us.  Paymon is a master baker of Bahamian bread, and we can attest to the fact that her coconut bread is de-lish.

 

This morning, we went for a walk around the settlement, and found a house whose yard is full of driftwood art, and has earned the name Garden of Eden.  We saw the owner (Willie Rolle) on his porch and commented that we thought his art was wonderful.  He kindly offered to take us through his masterpiece and helped us interpret the different works of art.  He described them as being similar to clouds, and you need to use your imagination to see the animal that is represented.  Willie also grows fruits and vegetables on land that most people would give up as totally unproductive, since it’s almost entirely rock.  But, Willie has planted in any hole that’s available in the rock.  It’s truly amazing.

 

So far, we have accomplished a couple tasks, the laundry and we now know how to dispose of our garbage.  Provisioning hasn’t been as successful, since it’s been a week since the mail boat has been in Black Point.  Since we have very little fresh produce left, we resorted to a third-world diet of beans and rice tonight, along with a papaya which Willie had given us.  But, we can’t be pitied since we had lunch at Lorraine’s consisting of conch and fish snacks, which are actually small dinners.  Lorraine came out and asked if we had time to spare, since the fish was currently being cleaned.  Of course, we said ‘yes’ when we heard that we would be having fresh grouper.   The mail boat came this afternoon, from Nassau, so we’ll see what provisions we can buy tomorrow.  We know we can’t go with a grocery list; instead, we need to have a wish list and see how it matches with what’s available.

 

We’re looking forward to our continuing stay at Black Point and the other friendly people that we will meet.

 

Joyce

Anchored at Black Point

Exuma, Bahamas