Last night Jono and I went on top of the boat to stargaze. Light pollution is very low in this part of the world so it’s a great venue to watch the night sky. As expected it was grand… we saw orbiting satellites and shooting stars moving among the blanket of other worldly / apparently stationary stars. This morning Jono showed me some of his pictures from the previous day’s beach landing. Yesterday was indeed extraordinary and the night sky gave us a sweet dessert.
This morning’s breakfast was hot coffee, scrambled eggs and cheese on corn tortillas. Jono cooks much better than I do. I just grab some ham, or make up a single dish dinner. While Jono doesn’t rival Linda’s cooking he sure does a better job than I do with the pots and pans!
This morning we are listening to music letting the wind blow. It’s supposed to be strong for two days then slip back to normal on Tuesday. Jono brush cleaned a conch shell to a high luster this morning. Other than that there’s not much happening, our daily plans are pretty fluid.
10:45 we just got back from “walkabout” on the eastern shore of Norman’s pond. After a short dinghy ride to the boat ramp and dock nearby we walked up the road then took a left and made our way to the ocean side beach. Collecting rope scraps and shells we walked north for probably a mile where the beach played out at someone’s summer camp by the name of “Breezeway”. From the beach the wooden respite appeared to be deserted, but after walking up to the house it was evident there had been people there not that long ago. The architecture was beach rustic… not much fit and finish but some neat areas and a gorgeous view of the ocean. The driveway was a combination of local stones and cement, quite an impressive undertaking. It was lined with short walls on both sides and a capstone the entire driveway’s length. Walking down the driveway we found where all the beach bounty was hiding!
Taking the road back to the dinghy we passed some homes under construction and adjacent properties that are built with current building materials, they seemed well maintained with fresh paint and clean windows. We did see a Ford truck drive by from a distance and heard a 4 wheeler pass when we got back to SYL so people do live here. We made a nice trip of it, and will likely repeat the process on the western shore this evening. The expected blow is keeping us cool, but it did not bring much overcast so the day is very pleasant here inside “the pond”.
3PM – After an early lunch of frito pie, we circumnavigated the inside of “the pond”. Our first quest was to find an ocean side beach to hunt beach booty, but that didn’t work out. We walked quite a ways on the NE corner of Normans checking the coast but there were no accessible beaches. Most of the NE shoreline is steep rock with a 60’ drop off. Walking back to the dink inside the north pond shallows Jono found another fish net float so that saved the long walk from being a total bust. From there we dinghied up to the inside beaches on the western side of the pond, not much to explore there…. The entrance on the south end held some interest but not much booty, our way back down the eastern shore was pretty with a couple very small sandy spots and some shallow caves, so the ride back was nice but again not remarkable.
We just took a nap after the nice walk and boat ride, I think we can say we “did” Norman’s Pond today. Looking at the charts there seems to be some kayak options just south of the pond. We may bring the Hobie revolution kayak down there tomorrow, we may even change anchorages to facilitate an easier launch for the small boats. I understand Shroud Cay is the kayak / small boat paradise. We will have to do that one with Mike and Laurie.
I talked to Mike on the phone earlier, we are talking about meeting back up Tuesday at Allens Cay. We are both locked in to our anchorages due to high winds today and tomorrow. Conditions are due to moderate for several days after the current winter like blow.
I love beach combing.. there are always plastic trash and flip flops of every description, but sometimes you get lucky and find something cool. I love anything with beach “wear” on it. A common piece of wood can be beautiful if it is mistreated long enough by the sun and waves.
I always heave an eye out for that washed up pirate treasure…. Gold doubloons glistening in the sand… I can dream can’t I? The float ball Jono found today was from Spain. Much of what washes up here in the Bahamas comes from Europe, but more often points South. Part of the allure of beach combing to me is that much of the fodder has traveled long distances.. crossed oceans. It may have been afloat for years before washing up at my well-tanned feet. My arm hair is white again, the tops of my feet have a nice base coat to match the rest of my sun dried parts. I am actually drinking more water this trip and using sun tan lotion. In the past I have let myself become dehydrated, over-tanned and grumpy… I’m taking better care this trip.
I can tell you one thing.. two guys on a boat use a third the water and when Linda and I sail. Jono and I often take salt water baths then a quick rinse in the shower. I probably use 2 quarts of fresh water for the final rinse. We haven’t put on water since Islamorada and we are still over half full. I may start running the water maker when we travel to top back off, but more than likely I’ll stop for gas at Staniel Cay and refill our water tank there.
6PM Jono whooped up a great dinner… he thawed out two servings of Linda’s chicken spaghetti and added a side of corn and carrots infused with wickle juice and topped it off with a line of club crackers.
It is without a doubt the best meal we have had. The best thing about it is, we only used half the chicken spaghetti Linda made so we can do it again! On top of that I invented a new drink today…
A fellow I met in Louisiana makes his own muskedine wine…. and I have some on the boat. It packs a punch but I can’t drink much of it. It’s very sweet (and I like sweet wine) so I discovered a way to make a collage of flavor using the sweet home made elixir… I invented a new mixed drink I named the “Bellybuster” Like the actual dive (it’s namesake).. it’s quite impressive but you don’t want to do it a lot. First think semi sour key lime taste… I rolled a key lime on the table under my palm to juice it up, cut a hole in the side and squeeze a little juice in my mouth.. not much. I just coat my tongue with it and let it set a while. Then I introduce the mix of the sweet home made southern wine and Ricardo white rum. 2/3 wine to 1/3 rum. With that lime flavor tingling your tongue, take a small sip.. not even a sip just enough to coat your tongue of “Bellybuster”…. Wow.. the flavor is like liquid sushi.. it goes all over the place and hits you hard at the same time! It’s great because you only need small amounts to make the flavor happen! You laugh….. but I’m pretty proud of not only the complex taste, but for coming up with the perfect name! Unfortunately it’s hard for the general public to recreate. To make it you have to first… know my friend, then you need Bahamian white rum, and to top it all off you need small silver dollar sized key limes…. Sorry it’s probably an SLY exclusive. RCS