A Quick Tour of Long Island

Thompson Bay  

Long Island spans some 57 miles from north to south, although nowhere is it wider than four miles. That is a large territory to explore today in our allotted seven hours. Blaine and Nancy (Asanté) picked us up in their dinghy at 9:30 and we sped over to Basil's dock. It was high tide and the water was up approximately three feet from when Barry and I were there yesterday afternoon. We walked around the corner and picked up the Nissan X-Trail (similar to the Rogue) that we reserved yesterday from Olivia at Seaside Car Rental. It was a right-hand drive configuration for driving in the left lane. The "Keep Left" sticker on the windshield and a small wide angle mirror mounted on the left front fender were helpful aids for Barry, our designated driver. Our first stop of the day was the Tourism Office where Lilly provided us with a map, visitor guide, and recommendations to make the most of our day. We decided to head south along Queens Highway. Nancy called to arrange a tour of Hamiltons Cave and we made that our first stop. We met Louise Cartwright, a retired school teacher, at her home and she led us by car to the cave entrance. Along the way we passed several sapodilla trees loaded with fruit. At the entrance to the cave, bananas hung in bunches from bending limbs. Louise handed us flashlights and explained how the Lucayan Indians lived here about 500 AD. Artifacts were discovered in 1936. The property is privately owned by her and her husband Leonard, and is truly a natural wonder. It is carved out of the limestone and is very spacious. Light enters through holes in the ceiling and the roots of fig trees descend to the cave floor. 

Louise told us how the cave never floods and is still used as a hurricane shelter. A small saltwater reflecting pool is fed from the ground. This is The Bahama's largest cave system and we were told it still has not been fully explored. The tour lasted about 45 minutes and then we were off again.

Our next stop was Dean's Blue Hole, the world's deepest saltwater blue hole with an entrance below sea level. It plunges 663-feet and actually gets wider as it gets deeper. A well-traveled road led to a small parking lot right at the powdery beach. The turquoise lagoon is surrounded on the other three sides by a high rock formation. The dark blue marks the deep water. As pretty as the view from the beach was, I knew it was even better from atop the rocks. I climbed up the rocky path as everyone else talked about whether they would join me.

Oh, my, what a view! Stunning, amazing, captivating ... I'm at a loss for adjectives. I took a few photos and returned to the group. After seeing the pictures they, too, climbed up for a better look. Barry and Blaine made it to the top.

I walked in the shallow water and watched a brave soul/fool jump from the high rocks into the water with his mask and fins on. Needless to say, when he hit the water, he was separated from his gear. While I was watching the jumper surface, Barry was watching me from above as I strolled along the beach.

We finished up at the Blue Hole and turned our attention to finding lunch. Lilly had recommended Lighthouse Point in Clarence Town so we took the long, straight road back down to Queens Highway. Lighthouse Point is at Flying Fish Marina. We sat outside on the patio and enjoyed the beautiful scenery and a delicious meal. We did not have time to further explore Clarence Town or points further south. We saw several stately churches, but will have to catch them on another trip. The hours were ticking away and we needed to reverse course and head to the northernmost point of the island.  

Queens Highway took us through many small villages, all named for the families who settled them. We passed a high school as the uniformed students were being dismissed for the day. Yes, they were loading onto a regular, American-style school bus. It should not have surprised me to see this, but it did. Overall the roads were in good condition. Barry did an excellent job avoiding the potholes. The most difficult thing for him to adjust to was the turn signal lever and wiper lever being reversed. Our wipers got quite a workout today, although nary a raindrop had fallen. We are all creatures of habit. Asphalt eventually gave way to hard packed gravel. We followed Google Maps until its' guidance ended. We were prepared to have to walk the last mile as some travel guides had mentioned, but that was not to be. We turned onto the best road we had traveled all day and it led us straight to the Columbus Monument. We were amazed at the beautiful and substantial infrastructure that had recently been constructed -- a large parking lot with curb stops, wide concrete sidewalks, poured concrete steps with handrails. The sign noted its opening on December 18, 2020.  

At the top of the steps we were once again surrounded with Nature's beauty while standing in front of the stone marker. This monument is "dedicated to the gentle, peaceful, and happy aboriginal people of Long Island, The Lucayans, and the arrival of Christopher Columbus on 17th October, 1492." Today, we were also happy people who were by this point getting a little tired. 

On our way back south to turn in the rental car, Barry spotted an ice cream shop. We couldn't resist pulling in and having an afternoon treat. We each had a scoop of hand-dipped coconut-pineapple in a cup. It is not uncommon to have no idea how much something will cost. Usually we underestimate. These cups were only $1 each. More reasons to be happy. We recrossed the Tropic of Cancer as we neared our destination. A quick fill up of gasoline ($6/gallon, not outrageous) later, we dropped off the car and took the dinghy back across the bay. We settled onto the flybridge just in time to watch the sun set on another day.