March 2019

 Back in George Town, the fun continues!  We loaded up the water and since there was yet another front on the way we moved across the harbor to off of Chat-N-Chill.  The place seems to be a victim of its own success.  For many years it was THE place for cruisers to hang out.  To a degree it still is as there is a great beach, volleyball, Mexican train dominos, and lots of picnic tables under the casuarinas.  For the last few years the beer has been lukewarm (bottles) and the quality of the food has declined we are told.  We have not eaten there in a few years because of this and the last beer we bought there was cool but not cold.  Since "back in the day" many more options have opened for the boaters and the restaurants for the most part have responded.   We did hear a nasty comment on the cruiser net about a restaurant in GT proper but my thought is if you want fast food, stay in the US and hit "Mickey D's Steak House" aka McDonalds.  You can be assured that if you order conch, in any form, first it has to be removed from the shell, then cleaned, then tenderized, then prepared.  Fast food is not good & good food is not fast!  Enough of that!

There was an unusual trimaran on that side.  140 feet with no hailing port.  Brand new.

 Notice the beach towel?  Even the super rich dry the laundry outside!

After the front went through we moved back to the GT side.  Stocking Island is great for weather and there are old and new places that we enjoy.  St. Francis is a popular restaurant & resort, Peace & Plenty has opened a Beach Bar there which only sells burgers on Fri/Sat and our favorite is Lumina Point. 

Weather dictates all of our plans & it seemed that getting back to Long Island was not an option for that week so we decided to head to The Bahamian Music & Heritage Festival Fri/Sat/Sun.

The Exuma Garden Club was out with fresh herbs & wonderful plants for sale.

 

 

 

 

 

We bought a really nice dolphin from these folks.

 

 

 

 

 

                                             And watched the stage setup.

 

The following day was the Culinary Challenge for the students.  Just like Long Island there are some very talented young folks who will become excellent chefs with the proper guidance & training. There were 4 very talented students with the guiding hand of a chef from Sandals Resort and very serious judges!

 

Next was the Mixology (Bartender) Competition.  There were 3 and they were all from Sandals.  Each had to compose 2 cocktails.  One frozen using rum and non frozen using vodka.  Oh yeah, we got to sample them too!
 

 

 

 

 

Then to our surprise there was an open cooking competition.  I thought oh why not..... When I looked at the chosen ingredients I kind of froze.  Okra, chicken & shrimp.  With a great deal of cajoling I managed to talk Rob into taking my place.  There were two French Canadians, a Bahamian & Rob.......

 

 

Notice that they have a 2 burner cooker! Rob won!  The menu he prepared was okra with onion, celery peppers & fresh tomato.  Then lightly battered & sautéed shrimp, grilled chicken breast with sweet & sour vegetables.  "I wanted to keep it simple." is what he told the judges.

  He told me later that he was a bit mad at me for talking him into it but not so much after he won.  We were told to go to the Ministry of Tourism on Monday to collect his prize.  When he discovered he had won $500.00 he decided he really was not mad at me!

The weather finally broke & we were able to head back to Long Island.  It was a Tuesday and with the winds the direction they were we decided to head to Pinders Cove, a place we had never been.  It also happens to be right off Club Washington, a place that has a wonderful Happy Hour/Dinner every Wednesday.  We dropped the dink & went to the bar Tuesday & spent the afternoon having a wonderful time visiting Darin the owner.  Merlene, (Mom) does the cooking and Tuesday she was baking bread!  It smelled wonderful & her bread is the best! 

The Wednesday affair is a great time.  You fill out your name and choice of meal & sides for Mom.  There is a spreadsheet of sorts on the bar where again you put your name and choice of drink with a tick for each one & # of dinners at the end.  Quite ingenious really.  The food is always great and it's a gathering spot for locals, boaters & second homeowners too.

We moved over to Thompson Bay the following morning as the winds had shifted and it was quite rolly.  Not only was the anchorage more comfortable there was Mutton Fest to look forward to.

We had been to Mutton Fest a few times when it was held in Clarence Town and put on by the Ministry of Agriculture.  It has since moved to Salt Pond at the Cultural Site and the Ministry of Tourism now handles the event.

 There were lots of food vendors and local crafts.

The ladies & gent at the Ministry of Tourism, Salt Pond did a fantastic job!

Last month we posted photos of the mural being painted at Sunshine Real Estate.  Here is the next stage.  No one was there but it appears to be an ongoing project.

 

Up south (said because of prevailing winds) is a beautiful beach we went to with good friends Bob & Francie of S/V Barefootin'.

 

Many years ago we stopped here and had a wonderful time & yes there were goats!

 

On to Rowdy Boys with their A Class boat for lunch!

 

A last stop to see the work done on Brad & Jeannie's       new home & celebrate with an umbrella drink!

There was another fund raiser for the Mack Knowles Junior Sailing Club and again, it was a wonderful time.

It has become a tradition for Rob & I to get together with Bob, Francie, Brad & Jeannie for a celebration of Anniversaries & a birthday at Chez Pierre.  This time we had a total of 12 people & we all had a blast!

We always find it hard to leave Long Island.  Over the years we have come to think of many locals & second homeowners as friends.  Especially local folks who have been so kind to us over the years.  It is one of the drawbacks to our lifestyle, always saying see you next time.

Again we are getting low on water and the batteries are refusing to hold a charge so it is time to start northward.  Free water in GT then back to Cat Island, but that will be for next month's post.