March 1, 2013
We are currently anchored at Thompson Bay/Salt Pond on Long Island. Most boats anchor in the northeast corner of the bay, but we have been located about a mile south near the government dock, predominately amongst local fishing boats.
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| A neighbor - Trawler 'Southern Comfort' |
Although slightly shallower, this location has a number of advantages, most importantly a short dinghy ride to the Long Island Breeze dock, the center of cruiser activity in this area. It is also somewhat calmer in the moderate southerly winds that we have been experiencing since we arrived. Additionally, the northern bay has, uncharacteristically for the Bahamas, a fair amount of silt making it less suitable for water making. Our current anchorage is, however, unprotected from the west, and we will soon move north for the upcoming strong north west winds.
The Long Island Breeze http://longislandbreezeresort.com/ is a very nice restaurant/small resort that was just built and opened in 2008. The owners' timing was, of course, unlucky in that they opened right before the global recession. They are nice folks and we hope that they can weather these economic times.
Yesterday we rented a car and toured the southern part of the island. We first traveled about 20 miles south on the Queen’s Highway to Clarence Town and visited the Flying Fish Marina www.flyingfishmarina.com/. This marina is one of the southernmost marina facilities in the Bahamas and is used as a base by sport fisherman for the rich fishing grounds to the east. It is also used as a staging point for cruisers heading to the eastern Caribbean.
We scouted out the restaurants there and found a couple that offered the usual fried fish/conch and burger menu that one somewhat tires of in the Bahamas. It is actually somewhat difficult to find ‘authentic’ Bahamian cuisine in the islands. Luckily we stumbled on the ‘Le Pon’. It had the profile that we have come to identify – small and plain, off the beaten tourist path, predominately takeout, and visited by a stream of locals. Also as typical, the menu is brief and changes daily – today’s entrees were ‘steamed fish’ and chicken wings. I had, the steamed fish, Joyce had the wings. The name of the fish dish is a little misleading, in that it is a whole small fish, deep fried, but then finished by being cooked briefly in a sweet onion sauce. It came with coleslaw and grits. The grits were fantastic – they were somewhat like peas and rice, but with grits as a base. The plate was overflowing (I wish I took a picture) and I didn’t think I would finish it, but I did – it was all delicious!
Highlights of the trip include visiting several of Father Jerome’s churches and Dean’s Blue Hole.
Father Jerome was an architect and Anglican priest that was dispatched to the islands in 1937 after a hurricane to help rebuild the churches there. His distinctive style is evidenced in numerous Anglican and Catholic churches on Cat and Long Island.
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St Peter's - Clarence Town |
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| St Peter's - Clarence Town |
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| Church in Dunmore |
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| Church in Dunmore |
A blue hole is a small deep area situated in much shallower water. Dean’s Blue hole at 632 feet deep is reputed to be the deepest one in the world, and its location right next to the shore also makes it unique. While we were there, a couple of young men were ‘free-diving’ from a platform that is situated in the hole. One performed a free dive to 50 meters – he was under water almost 2 minutes!
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| Dean's Blue Hole |
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| Dean's Blue Hole |
Tom
Anchored Salt Pond
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