Monday, March 19, 2007

The Berry's

















It was a long trip from Bimini to Bullock's Harbor in the Berry's. The marina is very protected and therefore has bugs...hello mosquito bites. I think we set a new record for number of red welts that drove us crazy. The Berry's do not get alot of visitors even though they are gorgeous and the fishing is supposed to be great. We know there are Barracudas but where are all those other delicious fish??













The locals are friendly and helpful. A couple of cruise ships have leased small islands and land their passengers in make believe Bahamian Villages. These villages are far from reality but they do provide work for the local inhabitants. We had a good meal at a local restaurant. What is on the stove is what you eat but it was great chicken with the standard "rice 'n peas" (really rice and beans) and cole slaw. The proprietress has 13 kids and we were well cared for by her daughter and 11 month old granddaughter, Gabriella.








We left the bugs and Bullocks Harbor for Devil/Hoffman Cays. This will be one of our favorite places so far. We had our own private beach for almost a week until our friends Peter, Eileen, Josh and Julie found us. It is easy to stay entertained here. Lots of time to swim, snorkle and check out the "big blue hole".







This is one of the creatures from the deep in the blue hole. They like Milton's whole wheat bread. We believe them to be "Mutton Snappers". We hear they are good to eat but we did not have our fishing pole!! This might be a hint to us as to why we are not doing so well in the fishing department!












Flo's Conch Bar was the only game in town and we did spend a few afternoons there. Flo is in the background catching a nap after waiting on our group. Flo also bakes bread.... when she feels like it. You have to order four loaves or she will not turn on her oven. The bread is $4.50 per loaf for plain and $5.00 per loaf for raisin. It was worth it since our bread had been gone for awhile and the crew did not bring any yeast to make her own. The crew did, however, bring the tortilla press so there is no complaining on the boat as long as she keeps those corn tortillas coming.

We waited in the Berry's for the winds to shift from north to south so we could make our way north to Great Abaco Island to meet up with Meghan. We finally got a two day window and left our friends and favorite beach. Leaving was tough as we had to head out between two reefs as we got pounded by 6 foot swells. Once outside the reef the wind was not favorable and the chop was 6 feet plus. The crew took no time in decorating the stern of the boat with the previous nights dinner. YUUUCH! This was not the "romantic" life at sea we had imagined. The captain did well until about 3 hours into the trip and then he was moaning with a severe belly ache. We were able to muster up enough man/woman power between or ailing bodies to get to Sandy Point at the very southern tip of Great Abaco. It turned out to be a great stop. We recovered our health quickly and joined a group of 15-20 US folks for a great steak dinner at a small beach-side restaurant.

From captain and crew.

1 comment:

Sunny said...

Try to save that "stern decoration" for the coves and the fish will really be your friends. Sounds like a fab time. We are off to see Clare in Mexico tomorrow ( March 23rd ). As the time approachs, 7 1/2 months is feeling like along time since we have seen her. Sunny found out yesterday that she is definitely going to Costa Rica on June 16th. Our French exchange student will be coming back on April 15th to stay 2 months with us while she does a job internship here. Never a dull moment in our household, but turning out to be quite international.
Bye for now