January 15, 2018 - January 19,2018
We rose early on Monday to meet the naturalist Reggie Patterson for an eco tour of the southern portion of Great Abaco. The weather was cool but with very few clouds. During the 30 minute drive to our first stop Reggie shared his family heritage. He descends from loyalists who came to the island after the Revolutionary War and his wife descends from the original British settlers who came to Eleuthera by way of Bermuda in the early 1700’s. His shared his vast knowledge of the history of the islands from the first inhabitants, the lucuyan indians, to present day throughout the trip.
Our first stop was to find the parrots that inhabit the area. We listened for their cackle to locate them. We made several stops and photographed several sightings.
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The parrot's coloring helps it to blend into the foliage.
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| Can you find all three parrots in this picture? |
Our next stop was to tour some local resident’s gardens and learn about the various native and non-native trees and plants.
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| Moss is non-native, but clings to many trees in this garden. |
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This tree bears sopadilla fruit which we were told is very sweet.
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Hawaiian sea grapes are an invasive species that can quickly overcome an
area if not vigorously cut back and removed.
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| I’m always drawn to photographing colorful flowers. |
Next we visited a blue hole which is a geological formation most likely created during the last ice age. This one, Saw Mill Sink hole, is 170 feet deep and 50 feet in diameter. When professional divers explored its depths they found crocodile and land tortoise skeletons which were carbon dated at 1000 AD. Fascinating, since neither of those animals live in present day Bahamas. There are also extensive caverns branching off of the blue hole which contain stalactites and stalagmites.
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| Our guide mentioned that people swim in the blue holes during the summer. |
We stopped at a pond to feed some native ducks. They are unusual in that the males and females have the same markings.
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| Our guide threw out a cup full of cracked corn setting off a feeding frenzy. |
Our final stop was at Gilpin Point Beach. It was stunning.
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| These beach decorations were at the end of the path that led to the beach. |
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| A beautiful deserted beach! |
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| Looking in the opposite direction the waves were crashing on the rocks. |
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Trees that are not salt proof die as the beach is
eroded and produce interesting formations.
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Tuesday was spent doing chores -polishing solar panels, cleaning out the fridge, using the water maker, and sweeping the cabin. After the water maker broke down we decided to take a slip for a few days at Marsh Harbour Marina as the weather was looking pretty grim and it would make it easier to do laundry, get showers, and find the part we needed to repair the water maker. Miraculously, we found the part we needed at the local boat yard and Bob went about fixing the water maker. As you know most boat repairs are an all day project and this one didn’t disappoint.
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The Jib Room is the restaurant associated with the marina
and serves lunch Wednesday-Saturday.
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| Inside is a colorful restaurant with a bar and plenty of tables. |
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Mermaid reef, one of my favorite snorkeling spots,
is within walking distance of the marina, but the high winds and cold weather
prevented me from snorkeling there. |
My next blog post will be from Hope Town Harbour if the weather cooperates and lets us leave Marsh Harbour safely.
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