February 20, 2013
We are currently docked at Emerald Bay Marina just north of Georgetown on Great Exuma. We have rented a car and, in addition to helping us get a lot of provisioning done, it has allowed us to explore the relatively large island of Great Exuma and Little Exuma, the smaller cay to the south.
First a quick story about the ‘small world’ of the Exuma Islands. When arrived at Emerald Bay we were assisted by a delightful young African Bahamian woman named Telecia. As we talked to her we learned that she had been raised in the small settlement at the north end of the island called Barraterre. The caretaker at the closed Marine Research center at Lee Stocking Island, that we had talked to while we were there recently, was from Barraterre so near the end our conversation, Joyce said do you by any chance know Ikemond? She got a funny smile on her face and said ”Ikemond Black”? We indicated that we didn’t know his last name and we both were not sure what exactly she was going to say about him, but she then said “Does he has hair like mine (dreadlocks)? He’s my brother”!
We later drove to Barraterre and found a little straw work shop near the government dock owned by a woman named ‘Juletta’. Juletta was born and raised in Barraterre but left to become a teacher in Nassau. After retirement she returned to Barraterre. She makes all her crafts herself. Straw work is a traditional craft in the Bahamas, but in recent years has been diminished due to the availability of cheap imports from the Far East and other islands. A recent change has banned the import of straw work and it appears to have revitalized the local industry. Everywhere we went in Black Point, you saw people doing the weaving (plaiting). They gather the Silver Palm fronds locally and do the weaving, and then most send the weavings to shops in Nassau where they are sewn to create baskets, hats, and other straw items. Juletta does it all, from gathering to sewing. We enjoyed talking to her and bought several items as gifts and Joyce got a beautiful straw summer purse.
Another car trip took us south across the one-lane bridge to Little Exuma and another small settlement called Williamstown which had a number of interesting historical sites. The first was the ruins of a Loyalist plantation. The roadside sign said ‘Tombs’ and while there was a tomb, there were other buildings including the plantation house with the adjoining kitchen and slave quarters. There is no map of the site so it takes a little exploring to find everything, but if you go there just follow the faint paths. The buildings are not maintained and are in bad shape. In particular, the plantation house was in much worse shape than it was in pictures we found on the Internet. The huge termite mound on the roof may be related to this decline. It will be a shame when these artifacts are gone. The plantation, as with most Loyalist agricultural efforts, was a failure. Even with money, equipment, and slaves, the Loyalists were not able to succeed agriculturally. Most either left or turned to the sea for a living.
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| Plantation house with detached kitchen - note termite mound on roof |
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| Slave Quarters |
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| Peg-nail construction - iron nails were scare & expensive |
Next we visited the ‘Salt Monument’. High on a hill overlooking the salt pond, the monument guided ships in to pick up salt. Salt was a valuable and scarce commodity in the 19th century and the Bahamas was a major supplier. The salt was obtained by a labor intensive process of drying sea water in the salt ponds.
Yesterday we had lunch at Big D’s in Steventon, a small settlement north of the marina, including conch salad, a Bahamian specialty. We had been meaning to have this dish, but had not had the opportunity and this was a great way to experience it. Alvin, prepared it before our eyes at an outdoor ‘kitchen’. He started by opening a conch which he explained had been in the water this morning (fresh!). He then finely chopped tomatoes, onions, green and hot peppers and of course the conch, topping it with freshly squeezed lime juice – it was delicious! At the request of another guest, he prepared some coconut water, another Bahamian specialty and offered us a glass. While interesting, it was not our favorite part of the meal.
We have enjoyed exploring Exuma and will probably have a few more days before we get a weather window to travel further east to Long Island.
Tom
Docked at Emerald Bay Marina
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