Nassau Rum Factory Tour

                                   

 

We got into Nassau at the end of a long day, just squeaking by a cruise ship that was on the way out the pass.  We anchored near town and got settled for the night.  The next day, the captain searched for an old mooring, the best way to stay put in Nassau since the tides run through the anchorage at a good pace.   He finally found a giant old ship’s anchor and attached our anchor chain to it.  We were now stuck for the duration.
 

We got together with a couple off another cruising boat and decided we should do a tour of the Bacardi Rum factory.  We found out from the locals which bus to take to get close, then we would have to walk up the road to the actual factory.

We arrived about noon the next day and walked into the welcome center.  It was set up as a small bar, with all the products displayed against a mirrored wall behind the bar.  The friendly bartender gave us a great big smile when we asked about the tour.  We weren’t smiling when he told us that the factory was closed for another two weeks.  But, he said, have a seat and I can serve you some of our products, whatever you want, mixed with whatever you want.  OK, then we started smiling.
 

We sat there for a few hours, listening to his stories of the island and the factory.  He was the perfect spokesman for the factory, he kept us entertained and made sure we weren’t upset about the lack of factory tour.  We sampled quite a few of their products, and of course, bought some to take back to the boat. 

Later in the afternoon, we decided it was time to wander down the road to the main road to catch our bus.  He told us he was going to close up anyway, and he would take us to the bus stop so we didn’t have to walk.  Good thing, I was really too relaxed at that point to think about walking very far.

No factory tour for us that trip, but we sure did have a nice relaxing time with a good storyteller from the islands.

 

Betty Karl

http://amzn.com/B009RCO02G

Seasick? Landsick.

 

Many people get seasick.  They leave the dock or a calm anchorage and get out the pass to the heaving, rolling ocean and the motion makes them seasick.  I've heard that it gets so bad that some people wish they were dead.  People who know that this happens to them decide to put on a patch, take a pill or some other precaution to alleviate the symptoms of mal de mer.  Of course, many people don't even bother with boats if this happens to them.  Unfortunately, they're missing out on some good experiences as well.  I have also known people who have crossed oceans or have sailed around the word, popping a pill before each long passage.  They say it goes away in a few days when they keep sailing day after day.

I'm the opposite, I have not yet been seasick.  I actually find the movement of the boat through the water, up and over the waves, heeled over and sliding along, to be very calming and relaxing.  I have been known to sit up in the cockpit on my watch and get so relaxed that I find my eyelids closing, then I shake myself awake.  When it gets to the point that the waves are crashing on the bow and tossing water over the bimini, it does get a little annoying, but it still doesn't make me seasick. 

After a passage where the waves have been active, I do have a different problem.  I get landsick.  My body gets so used to the motion of the boat sailing along that once I reach dry land - it's not moving but I feel like I still am.  I get vertigo if I go into a building and am closed in.  I once had to leave the customs office in St Lucia because I was getting nauseated and feeling dizzy.  I have trouble walking a straight line, and no, I didn't have any rum before I landed and went ashore.  One evening, we went to dinner with a few other sailors after a passage between islands.  The restaurant was nice and they put us at a corner table where the lights were low.  I sat there for about 5 minutes before my stomach was sloshing around way too much for me to eat anything.  I had to get out of there, it was getting worse the more I sat there. 

Other people have reported the same symptoms and whenever I've talked to someone about this, it's always the people who never get seasick that will feel the landsickness coming on once they get on dry land.  I always feel much better out in open air, even though I will still have some slight dizziness.  My only total cure comes when I get back to the boat and step aboard. 

Betty Karl
http://amzn.com/B009RCO02G

Bahamas

 

 

Everyone thinks of Bimini, Freeport or Nassau when you mention the Bahamas.  They’re too civilized and touristy for me.  When we cruised through the Bahamas, I loved the out islands, the southern islands that never get any tourists except by small boats.  Places like Acklin Islands, Mayaguana and Rum Cay, plus uninhabited places like Conception and the Plana Cays.

At one of the islands, instead of ice cream, they had frozen Koolaid in a cup, only $.25 each.  They also had a small souvenir shop called "Everglades Souvenir Store", with knick knacks for sale, all covered with small shells.  It didn’t look like they sold much, since they were pretty well covered in

dust. 

On Rum Cay, we were walking along the road exploring and an American man in a Jeep stopped to talk to us about living there.  He told there were about 6 couples/families living there, some of them have their own planes.  He got a phone a few years back and power was brought to the island in the past few years.  Before that, everyone had solar panels, and some are still in use on houses.  He said the locals were very accepting of them and very friendly.  Before deciding to build a house there, he had been cruising for 12 years in his sailboat.

On another island, some locals stopped to see if we needed a ride and asked us if we were on the yacht out in the harbor.  We were the only boat out in the harbor.  They see so very few people that they’re overly friendly and helpful.  We found a store on that island and bought some eggs.  The refrigerator at the store smelled funny when we got the eggs out, but I didn't think much of it.  Luckily, I looked at the eggs before I put them in our refrigerator - they had a couple maggots crawling on them.  We ditched the container and washed the eggs off.  Such is life in an island where the mail boat still only shows up once a week.

Mayaguana has an airfield which is no longer in use.  There were a couple airplanes off to the side, hadn’t been used in years.  There are a lot of stories about small planes and drug runners from a few decades ago.  We assume these were from that time, although we don’t know for sure. 

All these islands are sparsely populated and the locals are friendly.  Most of them didn’t have what we would consider a grocery store, but they had the basics.  Sometimes it’s nice to get off the beaten path to find out what a place is really like and what the people are really like.  And how simple life can be.

Betty

Island slide shows at http://www.youtube.com/user/IslandFeverCruising/videos?flow=grid&view=1 
Island Fever, the book at http://amzn.com/B009RCO02G