OKAY! A new group of pictures have just been posted that will require some explanation. So here we go...
Blow Holes:
These are just what they sound like. They are holes in the stone that have been created by many years of pounding surf carving into the "soft" limestone that forms most of the island. The crashing waves on the Exuma Sound side (east) undercut the rocky shore creating "roofs" and caverns. The pressure of the surf pounding up under the limestone cuts up into the rock eventually breaking through to the surface. The "blow" part is caused when the force of the surf forces air out the holes to the surface at high velocity. When you stand over the little holes the concentrated air being forced out is so strong that you can get knocked over if caught off guard.
The first 5 photos show very large holes of about 4-6 feet across with me sitting down inside one to give a sense of scale. The next 3 pics are of Fran and I being air blasted by a couple of small holes of 8-10 inches across.
BooBoo Hill:
This is a long story but I'll try to make it short. Many years ago a ship full of missionaries sunk in the rocky waters north of Exuma Sound. All aboard perished but no bodies were ever found and so none were buried. A monument was erected on BooBoo Hill in memory of the lost souls. Legend has it that at night you can hear the sound of the drowned missionaries singing hymns. So, to protect themselves from the Exuma Sound's treacherous waters and the ghosts of Warderick Wells, boaters make the trek up to BooBoo Hill with momentos to leave as offerings to the lost souls. BooBoo Hill has suffered through 2 major hurricanes in recent years, Michelle (2201) and Floyd (1999), which pretty much stripped it clean of all it's offerings. So Blew (resident of Warderick Wells for past 3 years) built a wooden machine gun replica to protect the hill and scare off pirates.
Noah is one of Mary & Mike's 2 kids (the other is Lidia) and he wanted his picture taken with the machine gun. The bullets actually come out of the leather ordnance magazine.
Cutlass Point is the furthest northern point of Warderick Wells.
Painting: these are pictures taken during the painting on the inside of the new generator shed/building. What you can't get from a photo is the noise we were all subjected to. The generator roaring and rumbling in a plywood "box" just outside the door, numerous power tools used in the construction of the workshop in the generator building, the pounding of hammers, the constant yelling of everyone trying to be heard over the din. So Rosemary needed ear protection (also sanity protection) and tore some bits of rag to stuff in her ears. The next day she brought us both swimmers ear plugs. Ahhh, much better.
Rosemary: as in Rosemary and Richard off "Gratitude", their sailboat. Fabulously nice couple. I would have loved to go off sailing with them. Rosemary is such a sweet, kind woman and Richard, though I did not get to spend as much time with him, seems equally sweet.
Party: one of the three last week up at the warden's house.
Eric & Rosemary (Rosie) leaving: a still photo taken about an hour before the actual departure of the 3 kayakers from Canmore (yes, the same Canmore as in "Mike from Canmore") near Banff. The actual departure was filmed as an MPEG movie which I will be sending to them via email.
Termite nest: these mounds are huge and everywhere. Termites are to the bahamas as ants are to a Canadian picnic. This one was actually pretty average at 18-24 inches. It is attached to the roots of a mangrove tree.
As per usual... if there is a picture that you want, please feel free to download it for yourself. They are in JPEG format.
Now an update...
Yesterday morning while painting in the generator shed I realized that my laryngitis seems almost gone every morning but after an hour in that building my throat starts closing and tightening. So after about an hour or so, I quit and asked for a different job for awhile. I'm not certain if it was the paint fumes (doubtful) or the diesel fumes (most likely) or the combination but about an hour after I left, the laryngitis got better.
So, as of yesterday late morning I've been working on painting the sides of the patrol boat with "PARK WARDEN" in big black letters using a pounce pattern as a guide. I got the starboard done yesterday and the port done today. I think there is another boat requiring the same treatment. Photos of this to come later.
The laryngitis is definitely getting much better and the cold is all but gone.
Posted by gailene at February 4, 2003 08:39 PM