As we were finishing breakfast, a young woman from a nearby boat approached us in her dinghy. Their boat had run out of propane and she asked us to boil some water so she could make hot coffee for the other crew member and skipper/owner of the boat, Ruffen. Ruffen is a European boat, and much to their dismay, they discovered that the European propane fittings are not compatible with those over here (at least the US and Bahamas) and so have been out of propane for quite a while, resorting to cold instant coffee and canned beans. We invited Isabella aboard while we waited for our kettle to come to the boil. Sarah packed up three muffins she had just baked this morning so that Isabella could return with them and the hot water. We asked if they would like to join us for a hot dinner that night aboard Juno. Isabella was quite sure she and the other would love to join us.
After Isabella set off, Sarah put together some sandwiches for lunch and we got ready to head to our next beach. Today we were heading to Guana Cay Beach as it was supposedly the favorite beach on the entire island noted by one web author. It also had some protection from the easterly winds and seas by virtue of a cay and reef just offshore. This beach however was nearly 5 miles away from us. We were wearing our best walking shoes and were prepared for a hefty hike down the Queen’s highway to the beach, but stuck out our thumbs hoping someone might take pity on two two hitch-hikers. Sarah suggested we each take a guess as to how long it would be before we would get a ride. Harry guessed six cars. Sarah was more optimistic at four cars before a ride. As it turned out the third car, well really a pickup truck stopped and offered us a ride. We told the driver where we here heading and he said to hop in the back and off we went. We got to the turn off for the beach expecting we’d walk the last 3/4 of mile, but our very kind driver kept going. Percy drove us all the way to the beach so we thanked him and left him with a little tip. Interestingly, our Guana Cay Beach had a second name as it also went by ‘Coconut Bay’. We were a little surprised to discover a sign which read "Coconut Bay with 24 luxury villas, coming soon". Mind you, the Coconut Palm is not native to the Bahamas. There were two "villas" complete, with some recently planted coconut trees, lots of torn up terrain and filled in wetlands, but just beyond was a beautiful beach and we had it all to ourselves as not a sole was in sight. Hopefully this beach will always retain its public access.
We snorkeled to the barrier cay, Guana Cay, where we found many lizards, an abandoned structure, a few Coconut Palms, complete with small solar powered lights for the night effect that the construction workers or new residents had intentionally placed on the cay. It is such a shame. Mostly though the small cay is unspoiled. After a short walk to a former lookout post at the top of the hill we headed back for a few more hours of beach time before our walk back to the Queen’s Highway. We did have to walk the 3/4 miles back to the Queens Highway but once there the very first car picked us up. Mark, the driver worked for the department of agriculture. He mostly worked to help locals learn how to create backyard gardens to grow food to help offset the escalating prices, and during the height of Covid in the Bahamas, scarcity of fresh food.
That evening Isabella, Johanna, and Emil from Ruffen joined us for dinner. The 21 year-old skipper and owner Emil had sailed Ruffen, a 32 foot monohull built in 1977, from Norway to the Canary Islands, across the Atlantic to the Caribbean, and north to the Bahamas. They had many stories that ranged from the humorous to almost terrifying. An example of the latter was when they were coming into an anchorage without a working engine so they had to rely entirely on their sails, tacking slowly against a strong current, making almost no forward progress, then had to dodge several super yachts. He certainly earned our respect having only been sailing for 4 years or so, yet extrememly capable and resourceful. In a few weeks they will be sailing for Bermuda then back to home which they all said they missed very much.
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