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/
Now playing: Rocky Raccoon by The Beatles
When I went on the Windjammer with Red Clay Sailors, you had to practically drag Mom away from snorkeling. Like Kathy, she could do that all day. It is pretty neat and it’s not like you get to have that feeling of swimming around in an aquarium every day.
On that same trip, Matt and I shared a room that smelled like diesel because it was very near the engine room. I think Matt spent most nights topside because of that. Now any time I smell diesel it seems like I’m back in the tropics. So I can identify with Danny making a vent.
On our Baja trip Susan and I kayaked for the first time. We asked if we had to paddle in unison and he said “Well, it looks a lot better.” So we did that and wound up in the trip video. And it did kind of look like we knew what we were doing.