Today we're having a day off. The weather is cool and windy (by Bahamian standards) at about 17/18 C or 64/65 F with winds gusting to about 45/55 kph or 25/30mph. Only a few puffy clouds so at least the sun is out. We are all bundled up against the cold. This means that everyone in the anchorage is staying on their bopats and we're staying inside.
Earlier in the day when the sun was high and warming I took Rosemary on an orientation tour of the "sheds" which house workshops, storage and infrastructure. Then we took a short hike out along Julie's trail to the Sunshine Causway. We treated it like a nature walk, stopping to examine flora and fauna and geology enroute.
Then I took the sign for the other end of the causeway bridge, which I painted yesterday afternoon, out there to nail it on. Took my time coming back by detouring up the trail to Brown Dog Beach.
Now a little catch up...
Thursday: In the morning Tom took us (Larry, Graham, Trudy and I), with Leslie of the Defence Force (RBDF) along as our armed guard, out to the Seaquarium just off the northwest side of Obrien's Cay (a private island inside the park). There we erected a sign for the Park (ECLSP). This meant digging a hole, already started by Tom weeks ago, in limestone rock, dropping in the sign, pouring in quikset cement and water. A hand-painted sign was added identifying the Seaquarium. Then it was 45 minutes of playtime.
Playtime meant snorkelling in the Seaquarium. A fascinating array of coral, fish and other sealife. Colours beyond description, words are not sufficiently up to the task. It is truly breathtaking. Photos, though beautiful, don't do it justice or express the feeling of swimming within this environment but will be posted later.
We had a Happy-Hour at 4:30 just because the rough weather has most people hanging out in the anchorage waiting for a break in order to move on.
Friday: another great day. Spent the day doing trail clearing. This means walking the trails on Warderick Wells Cay and removing debris from the trails (dead palm fronds, twigs, branches, loose rocks and stones) and cutting back growth that interferes with the trail. I left HQ at 10:30 am arriving at the "plantation" wall on Beryl's tral about 2:00pm. Left the junction of Beryl's and Anita's trails to return to HQ at 2:20 arriving back at 3:50pm. The path was pretty clean on my return. Trash was picked up along the way but there was amazingly little. It got added to the heep at Slaves Dip on the sound side at the end of Beryl's trail.
Here's the route followed from the HQ building: Julie's trail to the Sunshine Causway to Ian's to Mark's to the sound (Exuma Sound - the ocean side of the island) where I stopped for a light snack. Then back along Mark's trail to Dick's to James' to Tabebuia Beach to Buttonwood to Emerald Beach to Emerald trail to Nick's (most treacherous trail) to Rendezvous Pond trail to Rendezvous Beach for a swim.
Then onto Anita's trail to the ruins. The ruins are the Loyalist Davis Plantation circa 1780. The structures were of rock and conch shell mortar walls with what appears to be smooth mortar internal walls. There is, at the end of Anita's, a dry stone wall about two feet thick that runs from Slave Dip on the sound side to Beryl's Beach on the bank side of the island. There are also several very deep banana cisterns of about 30 to 40 feet and deeper. They get the name from the shape of the cisterns which is why it is hard to judge the depth.
Beryl's trail runs along the dry stone wall. After covering the trails I took a short break to make notes about plants, animals, birds, etc. seen enroute. Then I headed back.
My return journey was much faster without the clearing work to slow me down. It was also the most rewarding part of the hike. If I had not been alone and walking silently I may not have had the luck to spot and encounter the Yellow-crested Night Heron. He (colouration indicated a male bird) followed me through the woods by flying along beside me about 10-12 feet into the trees. He flew tree to tree along with me for about 100-200 feet. I am guessing that he was what was making the same noises repeatedly in the trees along the path. Then he decided to fly right across the path near a clearing (or flat) just 5 feet ahead of me. He sat on a branch in the open just 5-6 feet away and allowed me to talk to him and get my camera out to take photos. I got several shots of which 2 turned out beautifully.
Other creatures encountered were lots of Blue-tail Lizards (1-12 inches long), a brown snake about 24-30 inches long and an inch at the thickest part (moved too fast to see any identifying marks and disappeared in the under brush), lots of curly tail lizards (they're everywhere and quite used to people) and hermit crabs (also used to people and everywhere). There was also the smell of skunk in 4 or 5 places near large burrows which I am told is the territorial markings (urine) of the Hutia. This is a cat-sized rodent that looks like a wide-bodied rat. They are reputed to be the only mammal native to the Bahamas.
While I was out the RBDF (Royal Bahamian Defence Force) team was switched. The two new guys are Stephen (lead seaman) and Scott who is here for the first time.
Saturday: Tom and Larry ferried me over to Narrow Water Cay on the west side of the northern anchorage and dropped me off at Pair-a-Dice Beach. There are 3 beaches there that needed clean-up. This means picking up the trash that blows and floats ashore from passing or visiting boats (large and small) and putting it in trash bags. Tom gave me over 3 hours to do 1 or 2 hours work. So I took my time and enjoyed myself a little. There is also a trail that cuts through from Pair-a-Dice Beach on the far westside to the eastside of the island where there is one long beach and one tiny beach. I decided that since I had plenty of time I might as well clear the trail too. When I was done, I left the trash on the eastside and went back to Pair-a-Dice Beach for a swim, actually more of a wade because there is a very large sandbank all around the island. Then I just strolled the beaches until Larry came by to get me about 1:00.
After lunch I painted the sign for the farside of the Sunshine Causway. Then at 4:30 was the usual Saturday evening Happy Hour.
It rained ever so slightly over night last night. More importantly the winds picked up and cooled off significantly. There is a cold arctic air mass passing our way which means high winds and rough seas for the boaters. It means cool days and nasty weather that forces the rest of us indoors.
So today was a slow day and now I am ready to stop here and go for my supper. The RBDF guys have cooked too much food, as usual, so I don't have to cook. They cooked chicken and I am tempted to try it. No... I will stick to my convictions and not touch the meat. I still have not had a coffe or any other caffeine since November 5th.
So long for now.
Posted by gailene at January 19, 2003 07:30 PM