Our overnight passage to The Bahamas was perfect. We had to motor pretty much the whole way into a bit of leftover swell, but the Gulf Stream was kind to us and it felt SO good to know we were Bahamas-bound once again. The sky was clear, and we could see so many stars once we left the worst of the glow of Florida behind us. The ocean mirrored the sky as tiny dots of bioluminescence sparkled on the pitch-black surface in our wake. Sunrise found us off the coast of Freeport on Grand Bahama, and we were on the fuel dock in Lucaya ready to check in by 0930. Check-in went smoothly, and the boat was mostly put away by the time we were in our slip.
The marina offers a water taxi over to the Marketplace, so we headed over for lunch at Zorba’s (I had to go for cracked conch and a Kalik!) and walked to one of the waterfront resorts for a drink to celebrate our arrival. We had hoped to head into town for the fireworks, but we were too wiped out – instead we took a nap, got up a few hours later and watched the fireworks from the dock.
By departing when we did, we beat the rush of cruisers that flooded in over the next day – 18 boats in total! – several of the boats that were anchored with us in West Palm among them. We walked down Tiano Beach to Tony Macaroni’s Conch Experience for conch salad and Gully Wash, a favorite among Bahamian locals that we’d been meaning to try. It’s really good, but dangerous – it doesn’t taste like there’s any alcohol in it. After lunch, we went for a quick swim and spent some time relaxing on the beach. It wasn’t as busy as I expected it to be – maybe it was a tourist change-over day (or everyone was too hungover to be out).
We took a glass bottom boat tour with Lucaya Watersports since Chris wasn’t able to arrange a dive. We saw some cool corals and fish, a sunken boat, and some blacktip reef sharks. They feed the sharks, which I hesitate about from an environmental standpoint as it habituates the sharks to associate humans with food, but I also think it’s important for humans to see and learn about sharks – they’re such beautiful creatures.
The marina organized a taxi to take us and several other cruisers to Junkanoo in Freeport, and I’m so glad we were able to go. Junkanoo is a bit of a cross between street festival and parade, and while its exact origins aren’t clear, it’s believed to have been originated by slaves brought by the Loyalists and is typically celebrated on Boxing Day and New Years throughout the Bahamas. Between Dorian and Covid, Freeport hasn’t held their Junkanoo celebration since 2019, and the excitement was palpable among performers and spectators alike. The hard work, dedication and love that went into the costumes, dances and music radiated through every performance. We were introduced to Junkanoo in a smaller celebration on Green Turtle Cay in the Abacos last year, and it was exciting to experience it on a larger scale. There were several groups ranging in size from about 20 to over 200, and our favorite performance and costumes that we saw (we didn’t stay to the end) were the Superstar Rockers.
We’re so glad to be back, and even though this is a new port for us, it feels a little bit like a homecoming.
