Flamingo Bay Marina
This morning Danny and I checked in with the creatures to find that they were having a blast and a half. They loved their night in the woods, were warm enough and wanted to stay for another night. We told them we’d come over and see them so we could see what they’d come up with for sleeping quarters, and set out in the dinghy. Before we left we read online that another storm was brewing, that we’d have strong winds today, and that it’ll be especially stormy on Wednesday and Thursday of this week.
When we arrived the creatures were excitedly waiting and ready to tell us about their night and show us their camp. They smelled like camp fire and looked ‘fierce’.
Emma had been craving mac and cheese, and last night before they left she had cooked a big batch of it and taken it with for them to eat. The first thing she told me was that all the girls were not to happy with Aidan because he had eaten three fourths of it. I said ‘Aidan, what do you have to say about that?’ to which he replied, ‘Mom, you see it’s like this…I had a little to begin with and then I just got lost in it.’
The creatures led us through the trees, and while walking told us they were a little on edge all night because they kept expecting for Danny and I to sneak up and scare them. We joked and told them that our plan worked then: If we had scared them then they would have been on edge only till the point that we scared them, but this way we had them all night!
They are definitely sailors. They used one rope to construct their entire camp, and the side of it flipped down for added cover. The giant pickle had its special spot, Aidan took the hammock and the three girls sprawled out on the tarp which was over a thick bed of soft pine needles. Aidan had managed to start a fire using his knife, and was very proud of that.
Last night Jude had read them all bedtime stories of monstrous sea creatures, megalodons and giant squid.
The creatures asked again if they could spend another night so we told them we’d return to Tanda Malaika, look more closely at the incoming wind and storms and let them know.
As we approached the tree line on the outside of our anchorage we could instantly see that our home was not where we’d left her. Her 75ft tall mast was taller than the trees and looked a lot closer to the outer edge than we’d remembered. We turned the corner into the anchorage and there she was, blown completely against one of the outer concrete walls. The anchor had held enough that she blew ever so gently and sat still, held by the wall, and we felt very grateful that we hadn’t been in an anchorage that opened to open ocean. (If so, it would have been a longer dinghy ride to catch her). No damage was done, but we took her down some of the other canals to see if there was an anchorage with better holding, but couldn’t find any.
What we did find though, was an unfinished hotel that looked like it could have been from a horror movie. Large black birds slowly circled overhead and an eerie silence filled the air. Close by, there were also beautiful homes that were vacant and abandoned.
After not being able to find better anchorage we looked up marinas in the area, and found one not very far away that would only be $23 a night. Our taxi ride to town had cost us $25, and the marina has a ferry that runs marina and hotel guests to town every hour, plus there’s a beach, pool and laundry facilities. I texted the creatures and told them and they said they’d be ready in half an hour.
It only took about an hour, and we arrived at Flamingo Bay Marina on the south side of Grand Bahama Island. The staff greeted us with big smiles and lots of teasing and now Tanda Malaika is once again all snug along side a dock. We gave her a good bath and are ready to explore our new surroundings.
Adventures of a Tribe 