LuCaya and the Goat Cay

LuCaya

We went into LuCaya on July 4th. I know this because I saw posters for a firework show. They had decorated the bandstand with flags and everything.

It was a fun little place to visit. So many booths selling so many things. Everyone calls you Honey and invites you in to see what good, fine things they have to sell. We looked but did not buy. Doug was on a quest for ice cream. It was Sunday and a lot of the stores were closed. No ice cream for Doug. We did have a wonderful fruity drink that was mostly crushed ice. It was very good.

We had dinner and the waitress said, "I'll be with you in a Bahamian minute." That means she'll help us when she damn well pleases and it may not please her for a while.

When we pulled into port we just figured we'd window shop, have a little something to eat and leave again. We told them we'd be a few hours and so they didn't charge for the slip. When we discovered there was going to be a firework show and live entertainment, we thought we'd stay for the show. We went back to the boat to rest for a bit when we discovered something very important. Bahamian time doesn't apply to harbor masters. He was very much on 'real' time. We'd used up our few hours and it was time for us to be leaving. Okee doe ... we left.

Berry Islands

Goat Cay

Doug told you about the cruise ships and the 'clowns'. (The sea-doo's that parade about our boat.) They are amazing. Everyone follows the lead sea-doo like a flock of baby quail. Occasionally an adventurous fledgling breaks out of the wake, but not very often.

Doug and I went out in the dingy for an adventure and perhaps ice cream. On the way we discovered a wonderful little beach, a couple of GINORMOUS star fish, and really shallow water. We eventually made our way over to the cruise ship island. Thousands of people were sprawled out on the beach looking and sounding much like the nesting grounds for sea gulls.

There was no ladder but we managed to shimmy our butts onto the dock, tip toeing from the dingy seat. Doug was just tying up the dingy when an officious, sun glass wearing lady swaggered up to us. The swagger suggested she meant business.

She did.

It seems to me she could have come down while we were still in the dingy. Maybe she underestimated our ability to clamber onto the peer and thought that her inhospitable dock would do the job for her. Whatever her reasoning, it didn't work and here she was letting us know that we could not stay.

"These people pay lots of money for the cruise and so we can't just let any old body on the shore," she said.

Really? Really! Not even this old body? I put on a bra AND a clean shirt... come one let this old body on the shore, pretty please?

She inquired as to our lodgings and we told her we were on a sail boat by Goat Cay. Doug told her that HER sea-dooers had been circling our boat and we thought we'd return the favor. ahahaha I loved it, she did not seem impressed.

We inquired about ice cream, hoping to melt her officious heart.

She said, no ice cream, but went on to describe a delicious sounding crushed ice and fruit something that would have hit the spot. "But they won't sell it to you without an arm band."

Then why describe it to us????

Seems the island used to be open to all. However, the riff-raff that came...well,they just had to put a stop to all that. So Riff and myself, Raff clamored back into the dingy (no small feat) and left. On our way back we cut across the wake of the 'clowns'. Hope it threw the remaining clowns into total confusion. If you hear of a couple of sea-dooers lost in the Berry Island vicinity... don't mention this blog. ;)))