Our last day out brought us back to the Bimini Islands. On this visit we took the launch to Alice Town, the Bahama home of Ernest Hemingway. Alice town has one road, King’s Highway, and the town is only about four blocks long. Kathy, Kelly, and I walked from one end to the other to catch our boat for snorkeling at Turtle Rocks (see map.) Nicole and Mary Claire rented a golf cart (the preferred mode of transport on this small Island) and toured to other parts of the island. Danny stayed on board tending to two of his favorite pastimes: eating and napping.

We found a variety of fish at the reefs of Turtle Rocks, although we had to swim through a jellyfish meteor shower serveral times. We got a couple of light stings that were not too bad. We even enjoyed watching the jelly fish swim. They looked like strange alien space creatures.

The snorkelers all converged on a bar next to the Hemingway Museum where we enjoyed the air conditioning and some afternoon drinks. The kids played swing the hoop on the hook, which was a game involved trying to get a small hoop on a string suspended from the ceiling to catch on a hook on the wall. Safer than darts.

Strokey, the chef, saved the best dinner for our last night out. The Captain offered a formal toast. The teens sang a song for the diners. Strokey made a delicious Caeser’s Salad in front of us and later served (flaming) Fruit Flambe. We all watched a beautiful sunset on the end of our day and the end of our trip as the ship set sail for Miami.

Photos: Bimini – Day 7.

On Day 6 we arrived at Freeport, Grand Bahama, the largest island we would visit. Unlike any other visit, this would be a full day of island touring. Nicole, Danny, Kelly, and I decided to take the Kayak and hiking tour. Kathy and Mary Claire went on the snorkeling tour that featured a giant pontoon boat with rock climbing wall and water slide.

There was very little at the dock, which felt very industrial. It turned out the port is privately owned by a company that also owns much of the island. We had to take taxi vans to town where our tour guides picked us up.

Our tour was three parts: Kayaking through a creek surrounded by Mangroves, then a lunch at a largely deserted park beach, and finally a hike through the park that included a visit to a cave with nursing bats.

The creek emptied out into the ocean which was the end of our kayak trip. Kelly was a very good kayaking companion. Danny and Nicole did ok, although they got caught up a couple of times in the dense Mangroves. We saw a lot of construction where Disney was building the sets for Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3. It looked like a mess, but apparently it was an old U.S. military base that was a mess to begin with, so the set will likely end up being a fun Disney attraction.

From what we could see, the Grand Bahamas were mostly made up of skinny pine forrests. These native pines had air-breathing roots and grew very slowly because there are not a lot of nutrients in the thin soil. The trees depend on fire to “win” against other vegetation. The needles of the pines will spontaneously combust on the floor of the forrest after drying out for a few years. This wipes out other vegetation, but the resins in the pines are fire resistant, popping as the fire comes close and literally “blowing out” the nearby fire. We learned a lot about these trees on what seemed like a very long trip to the park. However, looking at the map of the island, it doesn’t look like we went more than 12 miles.

Lunch at the park beach included a visiting mother Raccoon. Nicole, Danny, Kelly, and I all had a very relaxing swim, and our small group had a lengthy beach almost to ourselves.

Kathy and Mary Claire had a fun snorkeling trip, although Mary Claire only had so much patience for looking around underwater. Kathy could probably snorkel all day if they would allow her.

The evening was relaxing for the older folks as the kids watched “Finding Nemo” on a projected screen mid deck. The food was delicious… as always.

Danny and I both rigged up some duct work to help route air over the beds. Two nights were unusually hot. We think it may have had something to do with running on extra engine power to get to our destinations. Our rooms were just above all the engine rooms. Kathy recommends bringing a travel fan of some kind in the future.

Day 6 Photos: mac17.static.net/winjammer2005/day6/