{"id":2918,"date":"2014-04-07T04:31:09","date_gmt":"2014-04-07T04:31:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/?p=2918"},"modified":"2021-08-23T06:43:25","modified_gmt":"2021-08-23T11:43:25","slug":"long-island-bahamasroadtrip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/?p=2918","title":{"rendered":"Long island, Bahamas\u2026ROADTRIP!"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s Sunday around mid-day and we are enjoying a perfect sail back to Georgetown from Long Island.\u00a0 The wind is behind us and we are cruising along with the water chuckling alongside.\u00a0 Life is good.<\/span><\/p>\n

Brenda\u2019s up in the cockpit reading and keeping watch and I am down in the cabin typing away.\u00a0 It\u2019s a beautiful day.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the view out of the cockpit.\u00a0 Puffy clouds, blue sky and perfectly clear water.\u00a0 Even though we are miles from land it\u2019s less than 20\u2019 deep.\u00a0 Such is sailing on the Bahamas Banks.\"\"<\/a>On Saturday we rented a car and toured the island with our friends Dick and Anne of Nati.\u00a0 I have written about them before and we really enjoy spending time with them.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

We stopped in Clarence Town for lunch and had the best grilled fish soft tacos EVER. \u00a0And let me tell you that there aren’t a load of places that serve great food to choose from in these parts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Long Island has some beautiful old Anglican and Catholic churches that are beautifully kept by their congregations.\u00a0 This is one that we stopped to visit.\u00a0\"\"<\/a>The interior was simple and very peaceful.\"\"<\/a><\/span>A well known priest here in Long Island was Father Jerome who had a very big impact on the island.\u00a0 One of his best known churches is in Clarence Town.\u00a0 What a beautiful spot. \u00a0Looks like the top of the right hand tower was struck by lightening. \u00a0 Perhaps one of parishioners was thinking “impure thoughts”. \u00a0 Something to think about. \u00a0Right?\"\"<\/a><\/span>You can climb up into the towers if you have the nerve.\u00a0 I had enough nerve to climb the narrow and very steep ladders, one after another, to reach the top but not quite enough nerve to do anything once I got to the top.\u00a0 Once I arrived I was just about frozen and\u00a0couldn’t\u00a0take my\u00a0hands off of the nearly vertical ladder to use my camera.<\/p>\n

Oh well, Dick climbed up the other tower and mugged for the camera.\u00a0 Reminded me of one of the characters from the old TV show Laugh In from the 60s, or was it the 70s?\u00a0 Hmm\u2026\"\"<\/a>I took this shot of the view from one of the towers last year.\u00a0 I guess I had more nerve last time. \u00a0Go figure.\"\"<\/a><\/span>We also visited the deepest \u201cblue hole\u201d in the world, Deans Blue Hole.\u00a0 In case you are wondering, it\u2019s located in Deans LI. \u00a0No surprise there but I did find myself wondering if there was a \u201cmister Deans\u201d. \u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/span>Blue holes are formed when seawater leaches away the bedrock and creates underwater caves that lead to the ocean.\u00a0 These \u201choles\u201d are all over the Bahamas with some being only a few feet across and other 100s of feet across.\u00a0 Deans has the distinction of being the deepest in the world at 660 feet deep. \u00a0Question: If it’s 660′ deep is that at low or high tide? Perhaps they are averaging. \u00a0I won’t be checking that fact myself anytime soon. \u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

And, it\u2019s the site of competition \u201cfree diving\u201d where folks hold their breath and swim down, and back up, on a single breath.\u00a0 Sounds nuts to me.\u00a0 There\u2019s a plaque nearby that commemorates three swimmers that have lost their lives here.\u00a0 And, I know that another diver lost his life last fall and wasn’t listed so that\u2019s four at least.\u00a0 It\u2019s a very dangerous sport.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While we were there the current champion free diver was practicing. His current record is 100 meters.\u00a0 That\u2019s over 300 feet deep. \u00a0 Just the thought freaks me out. \u00a0He’s the guy with the cute cap. \u00a0Pretty “hunky” guys. \u00a0Yes?\"\"<\/a>They swim off of a platform that has a wire suspended that they follow on their way down and back up again.\u00a0 The wire is reeled down to a chosen depth to guide them so that they know when they have reached their goal. \u00a0\u00a0They also wear wetsuits and carry just enough weight to counteract the buoyancy of the suit. If you are also interested, you can buy a decent man scuba suit<\/a>, here.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another popular pastime here is to jump off of one of the surrounding cliffs.\u00a0 Not sure I\u2019d have the guts to do this either.\u00a0 Here\u2019s a guy that did.\u00a0 I took some solace in seeing him stand there for quite a while till he took the plunge.\"\"<\/a>Oh yeah, and here\u2019s a shot of one of the \u201clocals\u201d that was peeking out of a hole in the surrounding cliff.\u00a0 He, I guess it was a he, was sharing his \u201chome\u201d with a little hermit crab. \u00a0Brenda opted to pass on trying to pet him.\"\"<\/a><\/span>On our way back to Pandora we were going to take a guided cave tour. However, the \u201cproprietor\u201d was out at the airport picking up a friend so there was \u00a0nobody to take us. \u00a0 I expect that he was the “chief cook and bottle washer” too. \u00a0 No luck there. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We also tried to visit the Long Island museum, which we have heard is terrific. \u00a0Alas, closed.\u00a0 Of course you\u2019d expect it to be closed on a Saturday afternoon, right?\u00a0 Not\u2026<\/span> So, what are a couple of tourists on \u201ctour\u201d for the day to do?<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an idea.\u00a0 How about a visit to a local bar?\u00a0 It must be 5pm somewhere.\u00a0 No wait, it was Saturday afternoon so it\u2019s OK.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Confident that it was indeed a “good time”, we followed a sign on the side of the road and there it was, “Seaside Village”.\u00a0 Perfect. Actually, the entire \u201cvillage\u201d consisted of a dock with a bar perched on the end.\u00a0 I guess he could call it a village as there was a half finished guest house, no make that 20% finished, along with a goat and chickens. \u00a0You heard it, goats and chickens. \u00a0 Here’s the main attraction. \u00a0The bar.\"\"<\/a>Not exactly a resort or much less a village but a lot of fun. \u00a0Here’s our crew. \"\"<\/a>When\u00a0<\/span>was the last time you were at a bar with a goat?\u00a0 Probably never, I\u2019ll bet.\u00a0 Then you have never been to the Bahamas mon.\u00a0 Chickens?<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s Brenda, fiber lover, petting the resident beach bar goat.\u00a0 A moment later she butted Brenda in the leg. \u00a0“bar fight!” \u00a0I guess it\u2019s his\/her way of showing love.\u00a0 What a hoot.\"\"<\/a>Did somebody say goat? Here’s \u00a0a few (sheep actually) I spied earlier in the day hanging our at the Clarence Town police station. \u00a0Yes, the police station. \u00a0 \"\"<\/a>That evening, not to let a moment pass unproductively, we headed over to Chez Pierre for dinner.\u00a0 The owner and chef is Pierre, as you would expect.\u00a0 I think he\u2019s been running this place for about 15 years and is known for having one of the best dining spots in the Bahamas.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s also perhaps the most remote as it is located several miles off of the beaten path down a badly rutted dirt road.\u00a0 It\u2019s so far from the road that Pierre has never had power lines run from the main road and uses his own generator that purrs along all day and night.\u00a0 Pierre also has a few guest rooms.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a beautiful spot, right on the beach.\u00a0 However, as the water is so shallow, the closest that we could get with Pandora to shore would be about \u00be of a mile. The view from the dining room is very peaceful. \"\"<\/a>The building is fairly rustic but inside it\u2019s a different story. \u00a0Quite unique.\"\"<\/a><\/span>We had a terrific time.\u00a0\u00a0 I think that the only other folks dining that evening were guests that were staying in the cottages on the property.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As a funny anecdote, Pierre has a selection of wines to choose from with prices penned on their labels.\u00a0 When I asked him about a French Chardonnay that I was considering, he grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me over to another guest\u2019s table. \u00a0He picked up their bottle of wine from the ice bucket and poured a taste for me. I couldn’t believe it.\u00a0 He gave me a taste from someone else\u2019s bottle, without asking\u2026<\/p>\n

It was good, so I ordered a bottle, and everyone seemed to be amused by the incident.\u00a0 Just try doing that in New York.\u00a0 You\u2019d stand a good chance of being shot or at least punched. \u00a0“Hey you, buddy! Skinny guy! \u00a0What’s you think you doin, sippin on my Chianti? \u00a0I’m gunna punch your lights out. \u00a0Get outa hea!”<\/p>\n

All and all, a lovely day.\u00a0 And, we even were able to find our way back to Pandora in the dark, a 1.5 mile ride from the dock where we landed.<\/p>\n

No, we still haven’t arrived in Georgetown and are still sailing along merrily.<\/p>\n

Today, it is indeed \u201cabout the journey\u201d and a lovely journey it is. Alas, as they say \u201cit\u2019s better in the Bahamas\u201d.\u00a0 Indeed, roadtrip or not.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s Sunday around mid-day and we are enjoying a perfect sail back to Georgetown from Long Island.\u00a0 The wind is behind us and we are cruising along with the water chuckling alongside.\u00a0 Life is good. Brenda\u2019s up in the cockpit reading and keeping watch and I am down in the cabin typing away.\u00a0 It\u2019s a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","_s2mail":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2918"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2918\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11905,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2918\/revisions\/11905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}