We had one small detour this morning on our way into Spanish Wells Yacht Haven. We wanted to pick up some diesel and called Mac at the power plant to make arrangements for coming in. It was quite an adventure pulling up to a dock obviously meant for vessels at least twice our size. Luckily, the wind was pushing us off the dock so the issue of fender placement became a moot point. We took on just shy of 400 gallons and were thankful for a high-pressure pump. We were on the south shore of Russell Island, a tall and rocky coast with an interesting cave feature. Once finished, the passing of the credit card was a little precarious, but occurred both ways without incident. From the fuel dock it was a short trip around the corner to the entrance to Spanish Wells. We arrived on a falling tide that exposed several large sandbars. The channel was plenty deep and we got backed in and hooked up without drama. Spanish Wells Yacht Haven is as beautiful as I remember it from two years ago. Palms and bougainvillea surround the pool just off the docks.
Our first order of business was to head up to the Food Fair to pick up our regular supply of milk, bread, and turkey. This is by far the best grocery store we've seen in the Bahamas with great selection and more reasonable prices. There is even a section devoted to fresh-made bake goods. The walk through town was a treat. Brightly colored houses with well-kept lawns line the streets. Pineapples, once Eleuthera's primary crop and a symbol of hospitality, decorated fence posts. Elaborate rock gardens featured flowers blossoms crafted out of sea shells. We returned with our purchases and filled up the fridge before heading back out. This time we walked east along the waterfront, through the commercial district. Fishing boats of all sizes are docked here and many boatyards and support services are located just across South Street from the water.
We picked up a few shirts and were heading back to Crossroads when a downpour dumped on us out of nowhere. Of course we had left all our doors, hatches, ports, and windows open. Thankfully the heavy precipitation lasted only a couple of minutes and it took about the same amount of time to clean up our puddles on the inside. Then we headed back out, to pick up where we left off. The rain seemed to make the colors of town even more spectacular.
Spanish Wells is two miles long and a half mile wide, but is the Lobster Capital of the Bahamas. The season just ended on April 1, but freshly emptied boxes were found in the roadside trash containers. Our dinner destination was The Shipyard at the eastern-most tip of the island. We ate on the deck and watched as a rain cloud approached from the west. We swapped photo-taking with another couple in front of the directional sign. On our walk back to the marina, we found another similar sign. Its not hard to lose your direction on this small island. A special treat to end the day was a cone of vanilla ice cream from Papa's Scoops.
We will be here for the rest of the week and look forward to catching up with extended family in the next day or so.
Our first order of business was to head up to the Food Fair to pick up our regular supply of milk, bread, and turkey. This is by far the best grocery store we've seen in the Bahamas with great selection and more reasonable prices. There is even a section devoted to fresh-made bake goods. The walk through town was a treat. Brightly colored houses with well-kept lawns line the streets. Pineapples, once Eleuthera's primary crop and a symbol of hospitality, decorated fence posts. Elaborate rock gardens featured flowers blossoms crafted out of sea shells. We returned with our purchases and filled up the fridge before heading back out. This time we walked east along the waterfront, through the commercial district. Fishing boats of all sizes are docked here and many boatyards and support services are located just across South Street from the water.
We picked up a few shirts and were heading back to Crossroads when a downpour dumped on us out of nowhere. Of course we had left all our doors, hatches, ports, and windows open. Thankfully the heavy precipitation lasted only a couple of minutes and it took about the same amount of time to clean up our puddles on the inside. Then we headed back out, to pick up where we left off. The rain seemed to make the colors of town even more spectacular.
Spanish Wells is two miles long and a half mile wide, but is the Lobster Capital of the Bahamas. The season just ended on April 1, but freshly emptied boxes were found in the roadside trash containers. Our dinner destination was The Shipyard at the eastern-most tip of the island. We ate on the deck and watched as a rain cloud approached from the west. We swapped photo-taking with another couple in front of the directional sign. On our walk back to the marina, we found another similar sign. Its not hard to lose your direction on this small island. A special treat to end the day was a cone of vanilla ice cream from Papa's Scoops.
We will be here for the rest of the week and look forward to catching up with extended family in the next day or so.
Sounds fabulous! I'll miss seeing you around Easter this year. Keep up the blog. I enjoy reading about your and Barry's adventures.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ellen, for continuing to follow along. It will be a very different Easter for sure as I break a 25-year tradition. I'll be blazing a trail to W-S sometime around June 12-16. I know that's a busy time for you, but maybe we can make it all come together.
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