Green Turtle – White Sound May 1-5

On Tuesday morning we separated  from our mooring ball in Black Sound and motored over to White Sound...We had decided to take advantage of the ‘”eat your dockage”, special at Bluff house for a few days.  You are credited the amount of your dockage towards food and drink purchases in their restaurant.  No generator/inverter schedule  to maintain, no anchor line checks in the wee hours of the morning, long hot showers rather than cool saltwater baths and a different fabulous fish dish for lunch poolside everyday! Cool mon!! It was a treat for Peanut as well. She enjoyed having a daily walk on something other than sand and not having to use her doggie litter box .We packed about as much fun as possible into our four day stay. Tuesday afternoon we walked around the area and visited the beach. Wednesday night we danced the night away with three other couples to the sounds of a local group, the Gully Roosters,   Having grown to love the Bahamian dance music we decided to dink over to the Yacht Club on Black Sound on Thursday evening to hear them again. The lead singer walked over to thank us for coming back to hear the band. He and Tom talked about parties they had played at in the states.  As we were leaving the lead singer gave us a CD and phone number in case we wanted them to come play for a party in the states. Friday Brian,,who runs Sundowners took us fishing.  We were sooooo excited. Our hope was to catch a few fish and learn a few things to help us.  We were successful; on both counts.We spent our last evening at Sundowners dancing to a D.J/  During a conversation with three ladies I learned that they were active in the Green Turtle Primary School PTO . It was great to hear a parents perspective on the schools. Cyndi volunteered to  take the remaining letters I had from Kolling to the school!  I was so excited, that means all the students at Kolling who wrote letters will receive one! 
                                                         Bluff House Marina
                               Overlooking the marina from the deck of Bluff house
Sasha the diving dog diving for her conch shell. Sasha lives on the sailboat across from us
                          This beautiful catamaran which is only one of four ever built             was next to us. it is 52 ft long and has a beam of 26ft.                                                                    Dave & Myra from France
                                                                  Brian and Caroline

                                                             Brian’s boat

A visit to Green Turtle Cay - Black Sound

Sat. April 28th - Tues. May 1
It was a tough day for Tom. Leaving Bakers Bay anchorage and going through the Whale Cut crossing back to the states was closing in on us and he is struggling with our fabulous trip coming to an end. Our  plan was to stop at No Name Cay for the afternoon to see the swimming pigs then move on to Green Turtle Cay but the wind direction was not going to make for a calm anchoring. Rough seas are difficult for Tom and Peanut because the Captain,( I am the Admiral according to Tom,) and our four legged first mate have difficulty with sea sickness when it gets bouncy! I know, I know, how weird is that to love the water and boating but struggle with sea sickness when the seas are rough? Green Turtle has two sounds, Black, which is near the settlement of New Plymouth and White which has two resort marinas. We choose to go to Black Sound first. We picked a mooring ball ( anchoring is not permitted in Black Sound) and started our exploration of the area.  As we approached the ferry dock a number of gulf carts with red flags adorning them were lined up in a parade like fashion.  As the ferry approached the group, all in red, left their carts and formed two lines on the dock. We stopped and spoke with one of the red shirted gentlemen to gain information about the gathering. They were there to welcome the Bahamian Prime Minister, who was making a campaign visit before the elections on the 7th. We learned that the political parties have specific color combinations. Red is FNM and purple/gold PLP. Upon his arrival the Prime Minister shook hands and jumped into the drivers seat of a gulf cart leading the parade through town. His body guard jumped into a jeep Rubicon with the local police chief, interesting! Our next stop was a little cafe' called the Wrecking Tree. While waiting for a cold drink and cracked conch the parade came past. The Prime Minister stopped and entered the restaurant to shake hands with everyone. He was nice enough to pause for a photo as well. Wow, I met a VIP! Later in the day, and each day following, we dinked over to Sundowners for their Happy Hour. We had looked forward to meeting Brian and Caroline, who manage the bar/restaurant ever since we met their son Eric, a student at ECC. We spent happy hour at Sundowners every day of our visit. We loved the atmosphere there.  Brian and Caroline are the only people working the restaurant and bar and were like two energizer bunnies. Caroline is an excellent cook!Tom loved to talk about fishing with Brian. Eric stopped in one evening. It was fun to see him again.  We really enjoyed the quaint feel of New Plymouth.

The wrecking tree restaurant - where I met the Prime Minister

Shaking hands with the Bahamian Prime Minister

                                                                  The sign tells it all

                                                   A photo of the Miss Emily's bar

                                       The inside is this small bar area with a chair and another room

                                                  The jail  - love the sign

                           The jail, probably why they have not needed it for 20 years - no crime

                                               A typical Bahamian cemetery

                                              Tom and Juice outside the wrecking tree

                                               Green Turtle primary school

Pineapple's - another local hangout