What a Whale of a Story!

Cute Cat Island Banner

We had decided to stay another day at Conception and I was getting ready to head into the beach and Al says, “Wow, it would be a good day to sail to Cat Island rather than motor tomorrow when the winds are to go light and variable.”  I could tell that is what he wanted to do, so we readied the dinghy for travel and took off.  

                                           

It ended up being more of a downwind sail than he expected and the rollers were hitting us on the side which made for a rather roly-poly trip but we did sail.  All the way across Al was dragging a lure but had no bites.  As we neared Cat Island the rollers were less and Al turned to look at his lure dragging in the water when he said, “Wow!  What is that in the water?  It is huge.  At first I could not see what he saw.  He pointed right in back of us, and I just saw dark water until all of a sudden I saw a light turquoise spot moving through the water.  It was on the underside of an 18-20 ft. whale!!!  I saw it surface and could not believe it.  It kept following and crossing back and forth next to and under our boat.  It was with us for at least 20 minutes.  I kept trying to get a picture but it was fast and all I got were pictures of something dark under the water.  Every time it surfaced, I missed the shot.  (Dang, those delays on shutters!)   It went under the boat at the aft and then came up with its beak (nose) and breathed several times and rolled 5 ft. from the side of the boat, turned breached one more time further away and then swam off.  Al said that the whale had to have red bottom paint on its nose!   It was just an unbelievable experience.  Later that day I checked on the internet for whales in the Bahamas.  They mentioned two kinds, sperm whales which are very large and dense beaked whales.  It described it quite well; between 15-20 feet, brownish/blue in color with some white on the underside with a more pointed snout rather than bulbous nose.   Never heard of this kind but it’s behavior was similar to a dolphin the way it followed the boat.  I guess he was bored and just wanted to play.  Thank heavens Al didn’t catch that one.  He would have had a heck of a time landing it!

We anchored in New Bight off of Cat Island around 5pm with about 5 other boats.

The Hermitage at the highest spot in the Bahamas.

 After breakfast the next morning we headed into shore to walk to the Hermitage.  This was Father Jerome’s retirement home built on the highest point in the Bahamas, 206 ft. above sea level. (The Leaf Cay spot we mentioned in a previous blog was the highest spot in the Exumas.) Father Jerome had been an architect and then turned to the priesthood.  First in the Anglican Church and eventually turned to the Catholic faith.  He built two churches on Long Island that we had seen on our last trip.  He was known for his knowledge of constructing a church that could survive hurricanes and his missionary work.  When we got to shore there were two couples from France who were walking there and so we joined them on a road that leads to the bottom of the hill of the Hermitage.

The climb up through the Stations of the Cross.

It was not a place for the weak kneed because as you went up through the Stations of the Cross it got quite steep.   

One of the Stations of the Cross.

Don't step back!

As you climbed you always looked up at the building at the top of the hill because you did not want to turn around to see how high up you were.





 It was a beautiful spot with a spectacular view.  He led a very simplistic life and had minimal living accommodations.  He had a small bedroom, kitchen, and chapel. 

AL checking out the chapel

Not much of a bed!

The simple altar.

The well with hand pump.

The bake oven with Virgin Mary watching over it.

 There was a bell tower and his bake oven was in a separate little building away from the house.  He even engineered a way to direct rain water to flow down to a well that was dug and had a hand pump attached to get it.  

Doors to the chapel and home.

I loved the simplistic doors and the one little impatiens that grew in the crack of the boulders which seemed so out of place in this arid climate but gave me the sense that God was definitely here.   

One little impatiens plant in the crevasse.

The settlement (town) did not have a lot there.  We did find a bakery at a private home and one other small store.  There is always the police station and administration office.

Colorful Regatta shacks on Cat Island

 There also were a row of color huts which are for the regatta in August mainly for the Bahamians because of hurricane season most cruisers are not around.  One of the huts was open for business with typical Bahamian menu.  We had lunch there and got to know a bit more about the island and its people.  We met an older gent named Pompei Johnson who seemed to be the patriarch of the island.  The younger girl who served us lunch was named Seadel and she encouraged us to come in later that night for they were going to do “Rake ‘n Scrape” which is the Bahamian music.  We learned that someone from France came to the Bahamas looking for a group they felt represented this type of music for their musical festival and they picked Pompei, Seadel and one other person.  So they got an all expense paid trip to France.  We came in to hear this “internationally” known group. 

The Rake 'n Scrape Band

 Pompei played a small accordion, Seadel played the drum and a young man played the saw.  That’s right, a saw, the thing with which you cut wood.  He used his hair pick to play but most play it with a screwdriver.  

Pompei

Pompei said their music is similar to the type played in the hills of the south.  We had a concert played strictly for us and a few Bahamians because none of the other cruisers came in.  It started around 8:30pm and that’s too late for most cruisers!  Pompei even commented to me that they were going to start earlier for the cruisers the next night.

We left the next day to return to Georgetown with Al once again not even getting a bite on his lure.  I think fish swam away with all the good ones!  We anchored back at Monument Beach.

Being Sunday we once again went to Beach Church and there we saw a couple who we met at the Seven Seas Cruising Gam in October which is how we started the trip.  It was Dave and Alex from Banyan. 

Historian who spoke about the Bahamas.

We came back to Volleyball Beach after lunch for a talk given by a Bahamian historian.  He also brought another Bahamian with him whom added interesting facts and food for thought about the Bahamas.  Then we went into Hamburger Beach looking for palm for my baskets and on the way out stopped to visit with Irene and Jim on Escapaid.  We ended up staying through Happy Hour, then back to the boat for a restful night.

Read the label!

Back to yoga on the beach for me with about 35 other cruisers.  After lunch Dave and Alex came by and we walked the beach down to the Flip Flop Shop to show them this cute spot. 

We missed the label on this bottle of rum the last time.  From there we hiked the Shoe Trail over to the sound side beach.  This was one trail we had not been on before and now I know why they call it Shoe Trail. 

The Shoe Tree

 At 3PM I went to hear another speaker talk on “Safer Choices in a Toxic World.”  Interesting but I am not quite ready to give up all plastics and fragrances but I will change some things.

Al discussing his conch with fellow cruiser.

The next day we went over to Volleyball Beach so Al could participate in a Conch Horn Oompah Band. 

Conch blowers line up.

It was hysterical watching all these people practice blowing there conch horns, but even more so when the groups tried do it together.  Supposedly they are going to put it on You Tube once it is edited a bit.   While doing this, there was a photo shoot with models going on nearby.  However, I think this babe was cuter.

Guys, she was all of about 14!

What a cutie!

 We had a meet and greet for Seven Seas Cruising Association at Big D’s on Hamburger Beach at lunch time.  Later, Mary and Blair on Strathspay and Alex and Dave on Banyan came over for Happy Hour.  Both are heading further south.  Banyan plans to go to Trinidad and Strathspay to Cuba.  Both are couples from Canada.  It seems often Canadians are more adventurous than Americans.

The latest boat count for George Town is 285!

Lots of Dinghies at Volleyball Beach

Just another beautiful day in paradise!