Two ferries come into Spanish Wells on a regular basis - one is mostly a people ferry, the other carries more freight and big stuff. We were on our way back to Latitudes at her mooring after our fish purchase when we noticed a huge cloud of black smoke and an enormous ferry gouging up a new channel with stirred up mud/sand. It was the "other stuff" ferry, hell bent on making a U-turn in the narrow channel so she could unload things off of her stern. She did make the turn, but basically blocked most of the little channel. You can see the very narrow channel left in front of her, especially as this taxi boat is heading to pass the ferry. Notice our colorful batik sun shades.
Today we splurged and rented a golf cart for 24 hours - only $35. That is cheap! Here is our chariot.
And here is the lovely painted building she came out of. Homage to the ferries, golf carts, and the main prize, spiny lobster.
Today is a special day in Spanish Wells - the two "mail boats" come in. I guess they do bring mail, but they also bring in the essentials for the island. This one was busily offloading all sorts of things as clusters of locals gathered to collect their ordered stuff.
Off in our golf cart, we first drove down the narrow harbor side street, full of pretty houses.
The older homes on the island are made of concrete. Often the concrete walls are painted the same color as the homes, and the walls go all the way to the edge of the narrow streets.
But there are still reminders that life can be hard here - old homes for sale that need lots of TLC. and money.
Down main street (there are only two streets - main street with the stores and the harbor side street)
The island's Laundromat.
Off to the shallow sound, where in the distance you can see the other mail boat approaching the channel.
Here she is up close - this is the IMPORTANT mail boat - she has all of the fresh produce for the island!
The beaches are beautiful..
Casurina trees line the beaches. These trees are actually an invasive species, but they provide the important shade on the tropical beaches.
Mr. Crab doesn't need any shade. He likes his sandy, sunny beach.
Here is the bridge to the adjacent island, Russell island.
Things are a-changing on Russell Island. Seems one fellow owned most of it, died, left the land parceled out to the grandkids, and now they have most of the island for sale in small parcels for homes. or a marina. Someone bought enough to dredge out a marina, put in building sites, and places for your boat. But it seems that no one came. The marina is empty, as are most of the building sites. The dream...
The reality...
What has remained constant is the goats.
Seems that the grass is still greener on the other side of the fence.
Back from our sight-seeing, we stopped at Budda's for a late lunch. "Budda" doesn't look at all like Budda, but he does have a snack bar/bar at his home. He cooks out of this converted bus.
the back yard has been converted to bar with tables and shade. The food was great, the place really clean, and lots of fun. We had conch and beer.
While it may look a bit marginal, it was clean, and the food good. Mrs. Budda - Joanie - also gives haircuts and has an ABC Store on site. The first ever bar and ABC store on the island in it's history. She petitioned for them by listing the location under the name of the cay rather than the town name. Seemed to pass through unnoticed in Nassau. The church folk here sure noticed but it was too late. Let's just say that they have a booming business!
To the grocery store for fresh produce and back to Latitudes for another round of grouper for dinner. The weather seems to indicate that we can leave for the Abacos on Sunday.
No comments:
Post a Comment