Big and small

We have all sizes of craft passing us as they go out to the sea or return back home on the river.

This huge craft passed and I jumped to photograph her, there were 3 people on each side with huge fenders in case! This is a narrow river with currents, bravo to that skipper!

New River Waterway

26,07.04N 80,08.92W Once in the waterway we passed Millionaire row with magnificent houses on either side or the river. Further down we reached Las Olas Waterfront and we are tied up just past that. We have green lawn one side and a Theatre on the other. Lots of restaurants and shops within walking distance. Great to be back in civilization!

Fort Lauderdale Harbour entry

This harbour has a wonderful wide entrance, we then turn right (big ships go left) and go under a bridge. This one we can fit under but it opens for yachts. This port is the largest cruise liner port in the world. The Royal Carribean 'Oasis of the seas' was in port, she carries 6000 passengers and 2000 crew!

Sailing into Double breasted cays

Sailing into shallow blue water....

Nippers Party, Guana Cay

This place is well known for its Sunday party. The punch here is deadly and after 3 everyone is dancing on the tables. It was very festive. The place is built on 3 levels. It has the sea on one side and a swimming pool too.

Flat seas

Crossing to Bimini Isl today the sea was like a pond. We could see our wake back to the horizon!

The other picture is of the sea bed, we could see 20m down to the ground!! Amazing, I spent ages staring at the sea floor, eventually saw a nurse shark, not much else.

We went over 2m deep sea for about 20 miles, a bit nervy as it went to 1m for a while.

Tomorrow we cross the Florida straights to the huge port of Fort Lauderdale. A whole new experience!

Berry islands to Bimini

Today we travelled from the Berry Islands to the Bimini islands. We had to cross the Great Bahama bank which starts at 20m and ends at 3m at Bimini.

The Tuna we caught was only half there....something bit it as we were winding it in! Still enough for yummy lunch.

We caught these 2 Baracudas (75cm) as we left the deep sea to go over the bank. We eventually pulled in the lines as we kept catching Baracudas. Lots of fish cakes and pickled fish to be made.

Hole in the Wall

On the southern most point of Abaco island is this 'Hole in the Wall' A big natural hole in the rock.Now as we make our way back to USA we are in deep water again and the lines were out. Rob got this beautiful Dorado to the boat and then the line snapped /?@* #%

The one that got away!

Day 121 Little Harbour, Abaco

26,19.60N 76,5995W.

This is a tiny bay, dominated by Pete's pub. We met Pete who was a friendly chatty chap.

While there another power cat pulled in, then there were 2. Its a charter boat from Moorings.

Checking the anchor

One of my duty's on the boat is the Anchor. Here I am checking the bridle and checking the anchor has taken hold. Every time we anchor Rob reverses the boat to check that the anchor has taken hold. It has only dragged once when we were in sea grass.

Hope Town

This is the pretty lighthouse in Hope Town, Elbow Cay. Its a quant harbour with pretty houses and a few nice shops and restaurants.

Below is the popular form of transport on all these small islands. They are powered by petrol.

Abaco Map

These are the islands we are sailing around...The Abacos. They are the most northern islands, closest to Florida (50 miles).

Fish id

OK the fish is called a 'Short-nosed batfish' It is found in the Bahamas in anything upto 70m deep. It eats crabs and small fish.
Really a cute/ugly chap that looked very vulnerable as it moves so slowly.

Great Guana Cay

This is the pool at Grabbers restaurant on this island. Our yacht is in the distance and Rob is in the pool. There was a wedding reception when we arrived so we were treated to live music.

Each pub has its own special punch/drink. These are a mixture of fruit juice and Rum and they are lethal as both Santi and I found out. Many have pools to attract patrons.

The worst tasting was gin and coconut milk! Yuk

So what is this?

Anyone have any idea what this is, It is about 30cm long and moved forward slowly by kicking softy with its back legs. The short point is the front.

If you know please email me at wolffs@absamail.co.za

Starfish

We went to shallow beach around the corner and found these 'Large Florida Starfish' red brown and yellow.
Also watched a few sharks who come in daily as the locals feed them scraps from the lunch they do for boat charters. Could not get close enough for a good pic....

Green Turtle Cay

26,45.73N 77,19.89W here Rob and Goltz walk along the waterfront of the small village of New Plymouth. The old jail has just 3 cells, built many years ago. This is a peaceful place with no crime at all and 1 very bored policeman. The speciality is spicy chicken wings, very tasty.

Cooper Town

We did a stop over at Cooper Town, a very small village. The sea went super calm and I took this as dusk. Note Searenty on the right.

It was a wonderful evening but to sit outside in these bays you need to spray lots of Tabbard!

Besides the mostquitos and horse flies there are tiny flying bugs called 'noseeums' ...because you cant see them. They bite.

Its wonderful sailing here as you only need to sail for a few hours to get to another cool spot.

Double breasted cay

No idea where the name comes from. This is a spectacular little bay that is very shallow so entering it was very tense! Wonderful white sand and shallow water so it that magic blue.

Rob is feeling the fine sand, very soft so not easy to walk on.

Searenity joined us for sundowners and Santi took the photo of me.

Baracuda

On our next trip Rob caught a Baracuda....just look at those teeth! We were warned not to eat any Baracuda that was longer than Robs arm. They eat the coral fish and the coral fish eat the coral which is poisonous. The more fish eaten the more the poison buildup in its flesh. So if you eat the flesh of a big baracuda you can get violently sick.
We ate this one he was 70cm long. Good eating but not as good as Dorado.

Large tins

Were in Big land again...everything here is imported from USA. Rob is holding a double can of iced tea.

The Bahamas are very desolate islands with very little agriculture as the soil is sandy. Reading about there history is one sad episode after another.

One of the wealthy times was the days of Privateering. Legal pirates. The English Crown allowed the Bahamian Privateers to attack the Spanish and French ships. The pirates were registered and there were two women amoung them as well.

Removing Conch shell meat

Here Robert removes the flesh and trims off the unwanted bits. The clear jelly he removes is the spinal cord. Its tasteless. I got to keep the shell. If you want a shell with no holes they boil the whole thing to get the meat out. This is not as nice as fresh Conch.

Breaking the Conch shell

This video shows the breaking of the shell. Note the huge pile of shells they are standing on.

Conch salad

We were treated to a demonstration of how a Conch Salad is made. First the fresh shells are collected from the holding basket in the sea. A hole is made in the back of the shell and the flesh cut from the shell. Its then pulled out and trimmed to keep the white meat for the salad. This is cut up into pieces and combined with onion, tomatoe, green pepper, orange juice and lemon juice. Tastes chewy but not tough.

This was all explained by Robert whos family have lived in this house for 3 generations.

West End

We entered the Bahamas at West End, Grand Bahama Island. Goltz has a friend here and we were able to tie up to his dock next to his fishing boat. We spent a wonderful week here with new friends and learnt something of Bahamian culture of Conch Salad and fishing.

Day 112

22.11,73N 78.17,29W Double breasted island. Bahamas. Wonderful group of small islands.

Bahamas

We needed fuel and so popped into Key Largo, USA for 2 hours to get Diesel and stores. What a culture shock after Cuba. The huge marina full of huge stink pots(power boats), blatant wealth all around! They are abit concerned that the oil slick could damage their pristine coral reef if the winds change.
Then off to West End, Grand Bahama. 26,42.38N 78,59.71@W
We are moored against Searenity at a friend of theirs home. Really friendly folk and we have had a wonderful stay here. Eating fresh Conch (Conk) salad.

Leaving Cuba

We left Cuba on Sat, 8 May at 6pm. The officials visited the boat to check for stow-aways and we left.
Everyone has been so friendly here. Its a beautiful country. Its been so difficult to understand the differences between our worlds. They cannot travel and if they do get a chance, its without family. Even going to another city they need to prove they have accommodation with a friend or they cannot go.
All government cars have blue plates and they are obliged to give anyone on the road-side a lift. On the freeways there are gathering points under bridges where a chap in a yellow shirt organises this and ensures the gov cars or trucks stop. Makes sense.
Everyone has a job, no-one goes hungry, good education and medical is available. They have the lowest infant mortality in the world.
But the rumblings are there of wanting more, and we are sure change will come. Someone is building a huge marine in Varedero that will take 1800 yachts in 2 years time? What do they know?

Dolphin interaction

From Varedero we went on a Catamaran trip to a dolphin pool and snorkeling spot. Its built in the ocean, made of huge pylons close enough that the Dolphins cant escape, but the sea flows through. As a small group of 6 we were able to get close to them and had them swimming around us. These are Bottlenose dolphins. It was a wonderful experience.

Trinidad, Cuba

Trinidad is on the south coast and is an old city full of the history of slavery and sugar farming. The photo shows Santi, having a laugh, sitting on a donkey in the old city. Where ever we went someone would try to offer something different to make some money. We saw no begging as everyone can have a job. Working in the tourist industry is the only legal way extra cash can be made from tips.
Our hotel offered snorkeling, below is a photo of the transport to the snorkeling site. Some of our group had a good sail and snorkel all in one. The wind did pick up.

We had a great evening in the old city at Casa Musica. Its an outside restaurant with a band. The best is that all the local salsa dances come there to dance and its a dream to watch them.

Cigars and Rum

Off course you cant come to Cuba and not visit the Rum and Cigar shops. These are barrels of Rum. As there were no bottles available that day for bottling, the worker was allowed to work on his May day poster. See him in the back.

We visited a tobacco farm, Rob inspecting the leaves. The farmers crop had been counted by the gov official and noted on the door. Remember it all goes to the government and he gets a basic salary. Where he did make money on the side was selling us cigars he had rolled himself.

Next was the cigar making factory, they are small places with about 6 people rolling the cigars, then others checking the air flow through them and sorting according to leaf colour. Security was strict but as we got onto the bus we were offered cigars by a lady who had a huge bag of boxes. The penalty if caught is severe

The cigar shop was back in Havanna, and the guys had fun buying their favourite cigars. Our guide Jackie, is in the photo.

ox ride

I went for a bare back ride on this ox. Not easy to balance on as it wobbles alot. Good fun, although I kept feeling as if I would slide off!
Below is a photo taken from the bus of the ox wagon in the farming area.
Also saw them plowing fields.

Old Cars

Some oldies to look at.

Goltz birthday

On Goltz birthday we visited the old fort and watched the cannon blast at 9pm which used to signal the close of the city gates. Later we ate at another Hemmingway favourite, La Bodeguita restaurant. The 4 piece band walked around playing and here we all danced to their music.

Notice the walls are covered in photos of famous visitors to the spot and millions of signatures.

The evening was rounded off at a good jazz spot.

Havanna old city

The old city is beautiful. It is being restored and its wonderful to wander around the old buildings. There are many interesting museums.
We had drinks at the hotel Ernest Hemmingway lived in for a while. The group photo was taken in Floridita restaurant, a drinking spot for Hemmingway.

Coco taxi

We took a ride in this 'Coco Taxi' to a famous icecream parlour. The icecream here is really great. The interesting flavour is guava! Its strange as we saw no dairy farms on all our travels and fresh milk was not available in many shops that week.

Cuba has many tourists, majority are from Canada. The hotels we stayed in were full. This puts a strain on what food is left for the locals as the hotels have good variety on offer. Its was sad sitting at breakfast with a full spread to choose from when you know the shelves in the shops down the road are almost empty.

Havanna City view

Havanna city from La Torre restaurant. A busy and safe city day or night.

On May day we watched people arrive in buses and trucks to start the walk. They arrived at 6h30 with banners of Viva the Revolution or Viva Cuba. Everyone walked past the Revolution square where the politicians greeted them.

Once they had passed the point they went home. It is expected that you walk to show solidarity to the leaders. Alot walk as a group with their boss, as this shows him in good light.