February 4, 2023

Lynn here…..

After a beautiful trip yesterday in the green/turquoise/blue waters, today is a very gray day. The water is gray, the docks are gray, the sky is gray, and I’m sitting here across from a cute guy with gray hair and a gray shirt and gray socks. Get the picture?

The wind is howling through the rigging of the other boats and outside the marina, there are pretty big white caps, but it’s calm here. It’s been raining on and off so we’re pinned here at the dock and thought we could do something productive – like our taxes. But the internet stinks. So procrastination takes over. 

Instead we are reading on our kindles, playing games on the iPads, and just generally being lazy. Rod just cleared a FreeCell game in less than a minute!

Even Guinness has hardly moved. Yesterday he jumped off the boat and took off running into the resort – leaping and barking. A few minutes later he came back with Jacks, our dog boat neighbor from Green Turtle quickly followed by Jacks’ owner, a lovely couple we spent time with there. How does he sense this?  It’s really amazing. 

We have two more weeks here at Marsh Harbour and a few things we still want to do before leaving. Most of them revolve around restaurants, but I think Rod wants to get in some snorkeling and I would like to try kayaking. 

We hope everyone at home is safe and staying warm.

TTFN

February 2-3, 2023

Yesterday, we decided to take a day trip to Little Harbour, about one hour south of our marina. It’s a well-loved spot with a very unusual history: In 1952, Randolph Johnston, a Smith College professor, sailed here with his family in search of escape from the rush of civilization. In true Swiss Family Robinson fashion, the family lived in caves, built thatched huts, and eventually constructed a foundry for Randolph’s work. Johnston died in 1992, having spent the last 40 years of his life pursuing his dream of living free to sculpt in an unspoiled natural environment.

Believed to be one of the caves Johnston lived in

Lynn was immediately smitten with the picturesque harbor, and as soon as we picked up a mooring ball, she exclaimed, “Let’s stay overnight”, which we did!

True to Johnston’s ideals, the island remains “off the grid” in many respects:

– Drinking water comes from rainfall

– Electricity is produced by solar panels

– Access by road is limited

And Randolph Johnston is recognized as one of the great sculptors of the 20th century.

His son Pete carries on Randolph’s tradition, using the 5,000-year-old lost wax process to produce bronze sculptures, most of which capture marine wildlife in dramatic poses.  The life-size pieces sell for tens of thousands of dollars.

We visited the Foundry, and got a tour of the entire process, which is quite time-intensive. And we had lunch and dinner in Pete’s Pub, an open-air, sand-floored masterpiece, and home to their signature rum punch, called “The Blaster” in honor of the Foundry.  (Do you think four apiece was too many?)

The food was fabulous: I had a ginger-spiced ahi tuna gyro.  Decorated with a thousand t-shirts, (found an old Eagles t-shirt – go Birds!) and populated by locals and tourists, along with all their dogs, it is arguably the best little bar in the world!

And a few short steps from the bar is a walkway that takes you to spectacular views of the ocean and breaking waves.

The timing worked out perfectly: we made it over the sand bar into the deep anchorage of Little Harbour as we arrived and left.  High tide came exactly at mid-day.

Now, we are safely home at Abaco Beach Resort. there are Gale Warnings for tonight – 30-knot winds for 36 hours, so we are grateful to be in a protected marina..

Love,

Rod, Lynn and Guinness