Nassau, Bahamas - The capital city of Bahamas is a vibrant town.... lots of the familiar chains (Starbucks, where I am sitting now to use internet, KFC, Winn Dixie - a Florida supermarket chain) you would see in the States. It is quite a departure from Bimini, which sadly is quite poor and rundown. There is an abundance of trash strewn all over Alice Town - even on the pristine beaches. The people are extremely friendly giving us rides on the many golf carts going back and forth (on the opposite side of the street!! Very British!) on the one main dirt road that exists. I think they especially "take care of us" because we are with little ones. What I do appreciate about the people is their "joie de vivre." The general outlook apprears that the people of Bimini don't have a care in the world.
Here in Nassau, we are at a marina where hot showers and laundry facilities have been in much need! We left Bimini on Sunday with the idea we would power through the night to arrive here the next day. The weather started out wonderfully, but as the night progressed, the waves got a little higher, the winds a little stronger and the pounding on the bottom of the catamaran was getting tiresome, so we anchored right out in the middle of the bank at about 2am. Prior to this though, we had a bright beautiful moon and we were doing our night watches. Night watches are incredibly peaceful. The idea is that you need to lookout for other boats around you and make sure you are on course, even with an auto pilot and GPS.
We left Bimini with a man named Dave who was traveling solo in a 20 foot mono-hull. A very small boat. He had a 7 horsepower motor and even though he tried to keep up with us... we kept trying to reach him by radio and he was not answering.... he ended up getting further and further behind us. I was a little concerned about him, especially when the weather turned tricky. This morning, by radio, we asked the other boats we knew were leaving Bimini today and taking this same route to look out for him.
Monday was a rough sail as well, so again instead of heading to Nassau, we cut into a protected anchorage at Morgan's Bluff on the Andros Islands of the Bahamas. We spent a night there and picked up two other boats who all travelled together yesterday here to Nassau. We will travel together tomorrow in caravan to the Exumas, another set of islands on the eastern end of Bahamas.
The highlight of this passage was that Sebastian caught his first fish... poor Sofia and Benjie felt so sorry for the fish and wanted to throw him back in the ocean. It gave us a chance to talk about food and where it comes from - that even the nicely wrapped chicken and beef we buy in the store comes from an animal that has been killed. I have a feeling both of our kids will now become vegetarians... they both were quite sad about this topic and teary-eyed! Neither of them were keen on eating the fish and I have to honestly say that I had a little tinge of guilt for filleting the poor thing and consequently eating it. I mean, it is very different to see your food alive, actually kill it and then fry it up. Sofia kept sneaking behind her Daddy's back pouring water into the bucket where the fish was to try to keep it alive!
Another highlight is a boat that came in right next to us at the marina... from Quebec with three kids right aorund the ages fo Sofia and Benjie... The kids were thrilled to see little guys their own age and I was very impressed to see them practicing what little French phrases they know. Sofia was the first to welcome them when she the kids pull in... "Bonjour!"
We are leaving Nassau today. Next stop: Allen's Cay, Exumas, Bahamas. We met another boat about the size of ours who are travelling with 6 homeschooled kids... they will be an Allen's Cay and we are looking forward to catching up with them!
Here in Nassau, we are at a marina where hot showers and laundry facilities have been in much need! We left Bimini on Sunday with the idea we would power through the night to arrive here the next day. The weather started out wonderfully, but as the night progressed, the waves got a little higher, the winds a little stronger and the pounding on the bottom of the catamaran was getting tiresome, so we anchored right out in the middle of the bank at about 2am. Prior to this though, we had a bright beautiful moon and we were doing our night watches. Night watches are incredibly peaceful. The idea is that you need to lookout for other boats around you and make sure you are on course, even with an auto pilot and GPS.
We left Bimini with a man named Dave who was traveling solo in a 20 foot mono-hull. A very small boat. He had a 7 horsepower motor and even though he tried to keep up with us... we kept trying to reach him by radio and he was not answering.... he ended up getting further and further behind us. I was a little concerned about him, especially when the weather turned tricky. This morning, by radio, we asked the other boats we knew were leaving Bimini today and taking this same route to look out for him.
Monday was a rough sail as well, so again instead of heading to Nassau, we cut into a protected anchorage at Morgan's Bluff on the Andros Islands of the Bahamas. We spent a night there and picked up two other boats who all travelled together yesterday here to Nassau. We will travel together tomorrow in caravan to the Exumas, another set of islands on the eastern end of Bahamas.
The highlight of this passage was that Sebastian caught his first fish... poor Sofia and Benjie felt so sorry for the fish and wanted to throw him back in the ocean. It gave us a chance to talk about food and where it comes from - that even the nicely wrapped chicken and beef we buy in the store comes from an animal that has been killed. I have a feeling both of our kids will now become vegetarians... they both were quite sad about this topic and teary-eyed! Neither of them were keen on eating the fish and I have to honestly say that I had a little tinge of guilt for filleting the poor thing and consequently eating it. I mean, it is very different to see your food alive, actually kill it and then fry it up. Sofia kept sneaking behind her Daddy's back pouring water into the bucket where the fish was to try to keep it alive!
Another highlight is a boat that came in right next to us at the marina... from Quebec with three kids right aorund the ages fo Sofia and Benjie... The kids were thrilled to see little guys their own age and I was very impressed to see them practicing what little French phrases they know. Sofia was the first to welcome them when she the kids pull in... "Bonjour!"
We are leaving Nassau today. Next stop: Allen's Cay, Exumas, Bahamas. We met another boat about the size of ours who are travelling with 6 homeschooled kids... they will be an Allen's Cay and we are looking forward to catching up with them!
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FOUNTAINE PAJOT ATHENA 38 CATAMARAN FOR SALE – After our wonderful experience, BEGONIA is ready for its next sailing family – with or without children! Please contact sebastiankoziura@hotmail.com for more information.
Nice fish, Sebas!
ReplyDelete...y si es un poco triste, pero es bueno saber de donde viene la comida, no?
Un abrazo grande a los cuatro
Pablo Nepo