This is William and Betty Rolle of Blackpoint, Exumas. William has created the Garden of Eden. Those are not just random sticks you see, those are sculptures that William has created from found objects. “Stand just here and look”, he says. “You see that curve? That’s a woman doing ballet, she’s bending back and embracing the sky, and on her head is an iguana.” And you know what? He’s right. It is. After touring the Garden, William showed us around his pothole farm. Pothole farming is old-school agriculture. These island are just large blobs of rock that have been beaten by the weather. What little soil there is washes into the pits and holes in the rocks. When it rains, the rain collects in the same potholes. A pothole farm is when you throw some seeds into the potholes. Some of these holes are 10 feet deep and wide enough for 2 banana trees. Which is convenient as the bananas are at waist level. Other holes are only a few inches and hold just one tomato plant. Betty also makes an awesome tamarind ice cream.
When we last visited Staniel Cay in 2000 there were 2 stores, the pink store and the blue store. Well, I’m pleased to announce that Staniel has expanded, there is now the yellow store as well! So where do the store get their goods? From the mailboat. Everything arrives on the weekly mailboat from Nassau. All of town comes to check it out and see who’s bought what. See that big car on the right? It was shipped here on the mailboat. People, vegetables, trucks, stuff, the only way to get stuff to your island paradise is the mailboat. And when the wind blows like stink and the reef cut is impassible, no mailboat no stuff.
I love pretty coloured fish. I could spend all day staring at them and I frequently do. It might explain why I’m such a lousy fisherman, I just can’t kill something this pretty.
Camp Driftwood. Stand on the top and look right, what do you see? Ocean, ocean, ocean and really far away is Africa. All the flotsam and jetsam of the Atlantic washes up on these island. Creative boaters pick it up and turn it into sculpture.
Oh it’s another tough day.
Notice how flat the water is? Yep, no wind. Have I mentioned how much I love our new engine? Of course lack of wind can lead to some spectacular clarity in the water. This is 14 feet deep.
When we landed on the beach of this “deserted” island we noticed a sign that said “Please do not bring dogs ashore.” Huh? I went in one direction along the shore, the Pirate Guy went in the other. All of a sudden he’s hollering and hightailing it back to the dinghy. Behind him is this massive iguana. Fido would have made a nice snack for this guy. That’s my hat behind him.
At the dinghy dock in Staniel Cay.
On a clear day while snorkeling I look down 30 feet and spot this. It takes a minute to realize, hey, that’s a plane. Oops.