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Marina
Day 17, Monday June 23rd and we woke to guess what ??? Rain.
The weather report on the VHF said it wouldn't change in the near
future so get out your rain gear - lovely! We haven't been able to
get Internet access for quite a few days now and are missing the
communication. Thank God we have the satellite phone and even at
$1.60 a minute, it is a necessary evil to keep in contact with
Jeanne back at the office - thank God we have her there as well as
it has been great to have someone to help keep us informed and
deal with whatever we need to have done. After we speak with
Jeanne, we decide we'll go for a tour around the Island in
"The Monster Truck", try to keep Salty on the open back
seat and act like tourists. The terrain/roads are all rock, hills,
washed-out ruts and potholes…and even more exciting in the rain.
Of course half way through our tour we did get caught in a
downpour but at this point, we were prepared with our jackets and
umbrella - the "Monster Truck" had a top on it, so we
should be laughing right? Did I mention the mosquitoes? A nice
touch when you're slowly lumbering and bumping along the back
roads and hills in the jungle with your bare legs hanging out!
Salty wasn't being as cooperative as I would have liked and swore
that if we brought him again, he'd be strapped into the back seat
with his new "docking/locking" harness! We did want to
go to a little bar & grill for a bite to eat so Salty was
dropped off at the boat and we got the bug spray! Off we go again
to Pineapples Bar and Grill … and it was just what it said, a
bar with bar stools and a small grill behind the bar - no inside
seating at all, in fact no inside at all! But, it did have a nice
view of the Sea of Abaco down below so we had a drink and decided
it didn't lend itself to "eating" there. Interesting
décor here too - it had bags of water - yes, bags of water
hanging from the ceiling and rafters all around the bar. I just
couldn't resist and when I asked what they were for, she said it
kept the flies away - she didn't know how, she just knew it
worked. I really would rather have a lanai to keep out the bugs!
Never mind, off we go down the hill to "The Wrecking
Tree" restaurant that overlooks the harbor to eat and I was
forced to drink that "pink shit" wine (sorry Patty) but
Barry managed to get yet another Kalik - he's quite fond of this
Bahamian beer now - and we both had fish again.
"Wrecking" (salvaging wrecked ships) was big business
here a couple hundred years ago and seeing as how there were so
many wrecks, the Government decided men had to be licensed in
order for them to salvage the wrecks. It worked to a degree (I
guess) and the Government took 15% of what the men brought into
the harbor - to "The Wrecking Tree" - the very spot
where this restaurant sits. Just outside are little docks in the
bay where some of the local guys were playing cards just passing
the time away. We are actually in historic New Plymouth now (2
minutes from Black Sound) and it looks very much like it did in
the 1800's with very quaint cottages painted pastel colors that
house places to eat, the fire station, police station, library,
museum… all about the same size.
The streets are very narrow
(actually more like large sidewalks) and so in New Plymouth most
streets are one-way which is a good thing. Golf carts are allowed
on the streets, as well as, cars or trucks but I couldn't imagine
driving a full size vehicle down these roads. There is an awful
lot of history here! If you can believe it, we even went for a
little tour through the museum… New Plymouth, circa 1726 at one
point had a population of around 1,600 people and now it's only at
around 400-500. The Bank is a little newer and larger than the
cottages along the streets and we thought we should drop in and
pick up some more cash but found out that they really do have
bankers hours here - it's open only on Monday and Thursday from
10:00 am to 2:00 pm. Oh well, maybe when we arrive at the next
Marina they'll have a Bank that's open for more than a couple of
hours a week! We put in our reservation (and order) to go to The
New Plymouth Pub & Inn for dinner and it is a requirement that
we (or anyone) be there by 7:30 pm - that's when dinner is served
and if you're not there you do not get fed! It had very old
British décor in a very tropical setting - quite nice indeed.
Seeing as how we were back from dinner so early, we had no choice
but to finish off the Grand Marnier back at the boat - dirty job
but someone has to do it!
Marina
Day 18 Tuesday June 24th we did much the same as the day
before. There are quite a few loose dogs here - I can't say wild
because they all seem to be quite tame. Brownie "owned"
the dock and is a male so I was leery of him with Salty but there
was another young female wandering around by the name of Ginger
and she and Salty had quite a fun time chasing each other around
the yard. However, the one thing missing for Salty was his pool to
jump in after a good bout of exercise. All the dogs look the same
here - different color but same breed, if there is such a breed.
Barry broke out the dingy today and went for a trial run to Green
Turtle Cay Resort & Marina and picked up the menu for
tonight's dinner at one of the best restaurants we've ever been in
- EVER. This restaurant doesn't look all that fancy (it is in the
Bahamas remember) but it's been written up in Robin Leach's lives
of "The Rich and Famous". AWESOME FOOD!
Marina
Day 19 Wednesday June 25th and today we will all go out on the
dingy this time. Salty really likes it, after all he's with us and
it's on the water but it really is too hot out there with no shade
protection for him. We tooled around a bit but then went back to
the boat to drop Salty off and pick up the other camera card - the
one we had was full and of course we do need to keep taking those
pictures! We puttzed around New Plymouth in the dingy and while
out there could look into the light aqua water and see all the
conch shells and star fish quite clearly. We went over to the
Jolly Roger Bar & Bistro and watched the locals and tourists
jump around in the pool, on the docks and on the boats - you just
never get tired of being in the marina life. There were a couple
of kids swinging from a rope hanging down from the mast of their
Dad's sailboat… sort of like swinging from a rope in a tree
going out over a lake in cottage country. They didn't jump off but
I was waiting for one of the little buggers to hang themselves -
obviously Dad wasn't around!
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