January 15

Corinne and I went into Freeport this evening to watch Junior Junkanoo. We weren’t sure what to expect, but were absolutely ‘blown away’ by the whole evening.

Junior Junkanoo is a parade/performance/extravaganza involving almost all of the schools on Grand Bahama Island. There were 17 participating schools, from pre-primary to high school.

Students make their own costumes according to a selected theme and, in many cases, have their own band. The costumes are spectacular and the music is stunning. Instruments include drums, cowbells, whistles and, with the older kids, a brass section. It is hard to imagine the enthusiasm and skill with which these are played.

We were at the parade by 6:15 and had a curbside seat. While it was scheduled to start at 6:30, it was more like ten to seven before the first group passed by. They were so cute and very much into the dancing and performing. Every so often one of the youngest would head off in their own direction, dancing along completely oblivious to everything else. At this point one of the many adult aides would scurry off and gently lead the performer back to the parade.

There was a ten minute or so pause before the next group came by and that seemed to be rather typical of the whole evening. However, each group would take five to ten minutes to pass by, and so you really had a chance to appreciate each school. While at first this seemed a little disorganized, by the end it seemed a brilliant way to have a parade.

This last picture shows the growing crowds as the evening progressed. It seemed like there were only a few parents at first, but by the end of the evening we had no trouble believing the ten to fifteen thousand reported by the newspaper. Not bad for a school concert!

We were curious about the historical background of Junkanoo and looked it up on Wikipedia. The following is from that source.

The word "Junkanoo" derived from an African slave master and trader named "John Canoe" in the 17th century. These slaves were not allowed much freedom and would hide in the bushes when they had the chance. While in the bushes they would dance and make music while covered in costumes that they made from various paints that they made and leaves that they found. This festival represented the slave's freedom from slavery.

Modern Bahamian Junkanoo is a parade: a showcase for Bahamian Goombay music and new Junkanoo costumes. Junkanoo groups "rush" from midnight until shortly after dawn, to the music of cowbells, goat- skin drums and various horns, in costumes made from cardboard covered in tiny shreds of colourful crepe paper … It is the most visible and continually experimental artistic realm of Bahamian culture.

January 8-15

Kristi and Brett arrived Friday afternoon and we were very excited. Corinne and I were having a hard time deciding what to show them first. After getting settled in back at the boat, we opted for a walk down the beach to Port Lucaya for an early supper.

The next few days were rather cool and rainy. As such, they were great for reading and relaxing, a couple of refreshing walks on the beach, and Christmas presents.

We rented a car for a couple of days mid-week. On the first day we headed to West End. It was both interesting to get a sense of the other communities on the island, and an adventure, as apparently in Canada we drive on the wrong side of the road.

The next day we headed east to the Lucayan National Park. Along the way we pulled off the main road and headed down a small trail to a deserted beach. The tide was low and the beach was absolutely spectacular.

After hiking through the caves at the park and walking along the boardwalk to the beach, we headed back to Lucaya for a late lunch. We stopped at Garden of the Groves. If a restaurant is all about location, then it is very hard to top this one. The Garden of the Groves was the personal garden and retreat of Wallace Grove, the founder of Freeport.

On Thursday we were invited aboard Exhale, a catamaran owned by John and Joanne, a wonderful couple we have met at Ocean Reef. We motored down to Petersen Cay, about ten miles away, and anchored for a couple of hours for lunch, snorkeling and checking out the beach on the cay.

How quickly a week passes, though. All too quickly it is time to see the kids off and think about where we are headed next .

December 31 – January 7

New Years Eve.

We planned with fellow cruisers to go to Bikini Bottom, a neat little bar on the beach, for dinner and then to Count Basie Square in Port Lucaya to ring in the New Year.

And who knew Count Basie was Bahamian?

It was a beautiful evening and we watched a gorgeous sunset as walked along the beach to the bar. After a couple of beverages we had a great dinner of pulled pork, peas and rice, mac and cheese and coleslaw. A great band plays at Bikini Bottom every Saturday night, and they were a highlight this evening as well. Their playlist includes a number of rather cheeky songs, including the ever-popular Who Put the Pepper in my Vaseline.

Just before 11:00 pm we flagged down a taxi into Port Lucaya and caught the last part of the stage show. The packed square was charged with excitement and while the Michael Jackson impersonator may have left a little to the imagination, there was a terrific fireworks show at midnight. We then headed back to the boat, celebrating the fact that this was the first time we had been up this late in quite some time.

Since New Years the weather has been rather cool. This just means, among other things, that it is good weather for fishing. John and I headed out a couple of times, and much to my surprise, were rather successful. We caught ten or twelve fish the first time out and five or six the next time. The peculiar thing about this is we basically had no idea what we had caught as there were at least eight different varieties. When we returned home each day, we would get the fish identification books and the underwater chart, a couple of Kaliks and try to figure out what we had. Along with the help of passers-by we determined that we had some porgies, a red hind, a couple of angelfish, some grunts and …

The other highlight of the week was finding the perfect spot on the beach to watch the 49er World Championships. These sailboats are absolute hot rods and the racing was very exciting in brisk winds. As the boats round the mark, which you may be able to see in the picture, there were occasions when one would tip, causing all sorts of commotion. It was not uncommon to see a crewmember catapulted at least ten feet through the air. Definitely a younger man’s boat, although Corinne likes to tell that I sailed a Sunfish in much the same way when we were first dating.