Beautiful people, beautiful place- The Bahamas. Great Inagua- Great Exhuma.

Arion's West Indian Adventure
Hermione & Douglas Pattison
Thu 26 May 2016 01:29
To think that we never came here sends shivers down our spine. We have heard people be so rude about the Bahamas and we cannot work out why.

From the moment we arrived in Matthew Town, Great Inagua (boy- we were glad to reach those shores!!) we have seen nothing but friendly, open people willing to help for no other reason than to be kind. A total and welcome change from Jamaica. We firstly were given a tow ashore by a lovely Belgian couple who knew what we were enduring by rowing a rubber dinghy ashore, and took pity on us. Walking the mile or so to customs, a kind lady picked us up and gave us a lift, even though she was going in the other direction. The customs officers were so friendly they got their friend on the phone for us to give us some local advice on routes North through the islands. The other customs officer gave us a lift into town. We hitched rides everywhere with people who went out of their way to help. Arthur and Alice got a taste for it and even got fussy by thumbing lifts from pick-up trucks only as they liked riding in the back…..

Next up was Hogsty Reef which is a tiny patch of sand in, well, the middle of nowhere. It was extraordinary as there were 7 boats there- unbelievable considering its location! after a lovely snorkel and swim it was sleep and up early the next day, headed for Jamaica Bay, Acklins island. Wow-ie. This is the largest expanse of the brightest turquoise water we have ever seen, all at 3 metres depth with a sandy bottom. We dropped the anchor in the middle, with not a soul in sight (or anywhere on AIS for that matter- it could have been a bit creepy but it was not!) and had the most wonderful and liberating swim of all time. Nobody wore a stitch of clothing and it was absolutely magical to watch the children swimming around and enjoying the freedom. My favourite part was Arthur diving down in the crystal water, reminding me of a ‘Nivarna baby’ .


We then moved on to crooked Island. On arrival we realised that a whole community had been destroyed by a hurricane in October. Most of the houses along ‘Sea Horse Shores’ were ruined and people’s things littered the beach. I got chatting to a wonderful couple here called Juli and Lorenzo. They offered to take us around the island in their truck and show us the devastation. It was the most lovely afternoon. As they took us around, we were introduced to all of the locals and were shown first hand how everyone is suffering. To rebuild anything here takes an incredibly long time due to the logistics of getting building materials. You must pay hefty taxes if you ‘import’ labour, so nothing happens quickly. We saw aeroplanes which had been flooded with seawater, homes broken, roads damaged and much more. We were incredibly touched by the generosity and warmth shown to us by Lorenzo and Juli. Hopefully they are reading this now- THANK YOU to both of you for giving up your time to show us your little piece of paradise. We hope that the rebuilding continues and that things return to normal before too long.

Next stop was Clarence Town. As we entered the bay we recognised the lines of our friends on S/Y ‘Antares, Walewijn, Hedda and their 5 year old boy Quirijn. We had met them in the BVI and hoped we would bump into them again, and here they were!! We were so excited and anchored next door. We all went ashore (they kindly towed us!!!) and we quickly realised that the marina shop was not going to cut it for supper that night. Provisioning here in the Bahamas has been interesting- but even we thought that a twix and a cabbage was pushing it for russtling up something tasty!! The nearest shop was a 15 minute drive away and before we knew it, all 7 of us had piled into the back of a bombed out jeep owned by a plucky lady called Louis. Louis was off fishing and said it was no problem to take us to the shops. En route we were given a guided tour of the neighbourhood and the devastation caused by the hurricane. She went out of her way to help us, waited at the shop and refused to take anything for the trouble. She even showed us her home, who’s roof was 100 yards up the street on the neighbouring Doctor’s surgery lawn. She was living in the surviving shed with her husband, and the jeep she was driving had been given to them by a kind Canadian. Once again, we were so overwhelmed by the kindness shown to us by the locals in these islands.

Calabash bay, our next port of call has been given the Arion ‘top beach’ award so far. Perfect white sand beach, crystal clear water which is the most incredible colour and nobody else there. We spent two nights here, and made camp fires on the beach both evenings. Arthur now knows all about collecting firewood and how to build the perfect fire!! On the second morning, the boat was a tip so we tied ladybird off stern with a very long painter and sent Arthur and Alice off rowing. As I was cleaning, I looked up from time to time, and they were having a ball. I looked up and thought, "gosh, Douglas did put a long painter on", then went back to work. Next thing I heard was a big splash as Douglas went swimming after Ladybird which had come adrift and the children were half way to Cuba already!!!! We did not really want to leave here, but the appeal of sleeping on damp bedding was dwindling rapidly and the salty, wet clothes from the Windward passage were now going mouldy. We really needed to find civilisation and a laundry…….

George Town, on Great Exhuma has it all!! Beaches, shops and the best laundry ever. $2 for a large load, and a lovely lady running it who gave the children ice lollies while we waited!! We did 5 industrial loads of laundry. A record I think for that particular laundry. Here, we ran into our friends Al and Irene from Darwin Sound who we have not seen since Grenada. It was such a great surprise as we thought they were miles ahead of us up North. We had a lovely evening with them onboard, catching up and they so kindly gave us a whole load of advice of routes through the islands, way points, weather etc, so we feel very well equipt for our onward journey!!
Stocking Island, opposite George Town has a lovely vibe and we went exploring with our Dutch friends from Antares. First stop was the ‘Blue Hole’ an underwater cave with lots of fish. Our two would not go in the water for some reason, but Douglas and I enjoyed the swim!! We then went for a walk which took us onto an incredible beach, which was…. deserted!!

Excuse the lack of pictures, but this is all done via sat phone so text only. We will try and add pictures when we get some decent Wifi!!