January-February 2009

January - February 2009
The most import event of January happened back at home in the UK. The birth of Leila Rose to our son Christopher and his lovely wife Jodi. Apart from brief jaundice she has been very well and is thriving. Chris and Jodi are clearly besotted! We can’t wait to see her in person rather than through rare photos and the occasional Skype. We will have to wait until the summer when all the family should be with us in Colorado for Eleanor’s wedding.
A visit to Exuma Park is usually followed by visiting the launderette at Black Point and shopping and refueling at Staniel Cay and this year was no exception. Shopping in the Exumas is more expensive than elsewhere and the shops rarely display any prices. As a result the bill is often higher than expected here.

Black Point Settlement on Great Guana Cay provides most of the labour for the resorts on surrounding islands such as Staniel Cay. Come rain or shine, wind or calm dozens of men and women head out from Black Point in a handful of open boats with a single outboard engine at 7.00 am and return again around 4.00pm. Some of these journeys can involve big seas and lots of spray but they always go.
Great Guana Cay offers lots of walking on trails and roads both ancient and modern. The plant life is varied and there are lots of butterflies coming to some of the shrubby vegetation. Wildlife abounds if you keep your eyes open. Mockingbirds are common and choose a high perch from which to tunefully proclaim their territorial rights. The highlights of this visit were a green heron hunting along the shoreline rocks and an osprey perched on the top of a maypole near the regatta docks.

Black Point Settlement has a number of small Bahamian Racing Sloops that take part in the various local regattas. Some are moored up in the bay and others are seen on the shore or in various stages of construction or disrepair. They are built of lightweight soft woods and sailed by large crews who sit out over the side on long wooden planks to keep them upright under the clouds of canvas that they carry.
Throughout the Bahamas one of the saddest things is to see the havoc left behind by failed resort developments. The next bay down from Black Point is really pretty and was scheduled for a major resort development to include a marina and sea-water lake literally excavated from the land behind the beach. A huge road was levelled for several miles from the Settlement to the new development and lots of side roads lead to plots destined as house sites or resort facilities.

The harbour area has been cleared of vegetation and partially dug. A few token houses have been erected and then the whole thing abandoned leaving a massive scar in the landscape. The locals believe it will all be resurrected but it is difficult to know how in the current financial climate. Even the expensive digging equipment lies rusting and there are abandoned trailers and containers along the construction road. If the USA and Cuba reach a detente then it can only get worse...