Pretty Penny at anchor at Staniel Cay
Monday we delivered the books to the Staniel Cay All Age Grade School. The school has 14 students this year, up from 8 last year. It is run by a couple who serve as teacher and principal of the school. It is one large room with dividers separating it into three separate sections. I did not see any computers in the school, however, the island now as Internet coverage available for the entire population (for a few).
The children all wear uniforms. On Black Point, it was dark green skirts for the girls and pants for the boys, and yellow shirts with the bou’s wearing men’s ties and the girls wearing a little tie at the neck that crossed. On Staniel, the bottom color was navy with white shirts and navy ties.
On Saturday, there had been a fundraising luncheon to raise money to fly the children to another island to see what another island in the Bahamas was like. Without this trip, many of the children (and some of the adults as well), rarely, if ever, get a chance to leave the island. Bob had checked in with the principal the Thursday before and told him we would be delivering the books on Friday on Monday. After the luncheon, we were followed by a little boy on a bicycle who finally said “Sir, excuse me – but weren’t you at my school last week?” Bob told him that he was and that we would be seeing him on Monday. When we arrived Monday, the children were about to leave for lunch. That same little boy wanted to know if we needed any more help carrying anything. What sweet children there are here in the Bahamas. After school, another boy was around the yacht club and appeared to be the son of one of the workers, when the gold cart tram arrived with visitors that had arrived from the airfield. He flew his whistle to announce their arrival. We were expecting our friends, Mark and Shirley, to arrive and Bob had walked out to the airfield to meet them.
Mark and Shirley had flown from the Ft. Lauderdale, Executive Airport to Staniel Cay for a week’s visit. The flight over by Watermaker Air, is a small 6 passenger plane. They arrived on a cloudy and somewhat windy day. We had anchored just off the yacht club, making it a short dinghy ride to the boat. We made plans to have dinner at the yacht club and then went to the boat to get them settled in to the guest stateroom. We had already moved the boxes of school supplies to the spot under the bed and set up the bunk as a queen size bed.
Mark and Shirley arriving with Pretty Penny in background
At 6, we went over to the yacht club and had “conch fritters” for an appetizer. That was Mark and Shirley’s first encounter with this gastronomical delight, and proceeded to have lobster, mahi mahi, and spare ribs for dinner.
The four of us at dinner.
The next day Bob and Mark went to back to the island and purchase two loaves of homemade bread and other things and returned to the boat. We then left and headed north to the Exuma Land and Sea Park. We truly love this park. You can only visit it by boat. There are no cabins or rooms to stay in on land. To arrive by air, you would have to charter a sea plane to bring you out for the day and take you back. It was a little rough going, but not too bad.
Mark and Shirley in front of the park sign
We arrived and moored for the night in the Emerald Rock anchorage, a little farther from the park office than when we were here just a couple of weeks ago. Bob made steaks gorgonzola, a la Bruce, which we all loved, and then we taught Mark and Shirley to play Mexican Train Dominos, a favorite game of the boaters and one we just learned to play ourselves this year.
Wednesday, we woke to a rather cloudy day. I could barely hear a light rain on the deck above the state room. However, it cleared off quickly and by 10 after breakfast, it was a nice sunny 75 degree day. I made a driftwood sign commemorating Mark and Shirley’s visit to place on Boo Boo hill and the four of us went by dinghy over to the park office where Shirley got to feed the Bananaquits sugar, and then we hiked up to Boo Boo Hill. It is called that supposedly because a boat had shipwrecked on the island and no one survived. It is said that there are cries heard at night on the hill. (Coincidentally, there are several blow holes nearby, so that could be the noise that is reported.)
Penny feeding the Bananaquits
Closeup of Bananaquits
Shirley feeding the Bananaquits
Bob fording the tidal creek on trail to Boo Boo Hill
Bob and Mark on Boo Boo Hill
View of the North harbor at Wardwick Wells
Mark installing sign on Boo Boo Hill
Mark and Shirley's sign below our boat sign on Boo Boo Hill
Mark and Shirley atop Boo boo Hill
View of the Sound from Boo Boo Hill
We returned back to the boat for lunch and some light reading. It was a pleasant day to laze around the boat and watch other boaters leave and the new visitors arrive in the continual dance around the moorings.
