Spanish Wells – 8 kilometres walked
We spent the day walking the island and doing a few boat jobs. Dark clouds began circling in the morning, threatening rain all day, but when it did come it was just a sprinkling.
A few images of the day. Kathi frying Johnny Cakes on a cast iron pan while pushing a sheet of dough rolls into the small oven at Kathi’s Bakery, running since 1989, and nothing more than a small addition to her house with a stove, counter, and fridge. Schoolchildren at recess playing in an immaculate schoolyard playground. Three disc golf targets, nestled into a park bordered by a church, a cemetery, and an oasis of palm trees. A box of Fruit Loops at the grocery store for US$9.35. A chicken we startled jumps up and four tiny sat-on chicks appear, hopping, tripping, and scurrying to catch up to their mom. As we walk the tidy streets, every local in a golf cart or car gives us the one or sometimes two finger wave and a nod. A lady in a creamy dress on the porch, senior of seniors, waves at us from her blue house and smiles kindly. Ana straightens up the caulking mess I made in the head as recaulking was overdue. I slide cotter rings into the stainless steel rigging turnbuckles, as the ones previously installed have disappeared. As suggested by the owner, at high tide we stand on the floating dock of our Adventurer Marina under a dropping sun and spray fresh water into the sea, hoping to attract the manatee that regularly lives under the dock. From SeaLight’s cockpit I hear two sonic booms from the SpaceX rocket landing near Eleuthera. Ana wears earbuds and sits at the laptop as she participates in the Newport Yacht Club board meeting until late at night, scratching intermittently at her no-seeum bites.
Spanish Wells is an interesting part of the Bahamas as 80% to 90% of the permanent residents are white. And white Bahamians constitute only 10% of the overall population of the Bahamas. White settlers originally came from England, Ireland, and Scotland, but also the US and other Caribbean islands. Many of the residents of Spanish Wells have a certain common look that is difficult to describe, as is their unusual accent. If you were to run into a Spanish Wellian somewhere else in the world and heard them speaking, you would not have any idea where they were from. It’s an interesting mix of Bahamian patois, British English, and southern American drawl. Ana and I spent many moments here just listening to people talking. It is very different from the black Bahamian accent, which seems fairly consistent across the different islands, but all Bahamians seem to communicate with each other just fine, although visitors don’t have a clue what anybody is saying when they really get going.
Tomorrow we plan to leave the dock at Spanish Wells for one of the nearby anchorages to see if we can find some fish and lobsters.
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