Sugar Beach — Cupcake Afloat

Today we walked the 3/4 mile across the cay to Sugar Beach on the east side of the island. On the way we explored the ruins of what must have been a pretty fancy hotel in the 1960s and 1970s. It is a strange thing to stand in the deep end of a drained swimming pool. From the look of things, we guessed someone had a spooky Halloween party in the ruins. Creepy creepy.

After a tiny bit of confusion about where to go, we found Sugar Beach. It is, without a doubt, the most beautiful beach we have ever seen. The color of the clear clear water defies description, the pink sand is the texture of fine flour, and the crescent of the beach curves forever. Just gorgeous. We swam, built sand castles, went for a long walk, swam, built more sand castles.

You would never guess that guy is almost 51! (And I’m not even holding my stomach in.)

At one point two little sharks (maybe 2.5’ long) cruised along the beach, looking for trouble. Later we saw a good-sized barracuda doing the same thing, making little fishies jump. The water is so clear and warm, the apex-predators can be seen from far off. (Plus, these were little guys, no real threat to us.) We also saw some starfish that, when we held them in our palms, gently muckled onto our skin with their starfish suckers.

Last night we made legit latkes with potatoes and onions we bought at the little store near the marina. For the first time in years, I used a hand-grater instead of a Cuisine-Art. Pleased to report there were no grated knuckles. We rounded out the heart-healthy meal with a steak and grilled peppers and, for dessert, pomegranate. The dinner was delicious, but between the fried potato and the steak, we have had a surfeit of oily food. Hanukkah miracle indeed. The real miracle is that our arteries didn’t clog immediately. So today’s long walk was a good thing. Tonight we are having pressure cooker chicken with artichoke hearts and (more) potatoes.

Our afternoon routine has been to manufacture a reason to dinghy to the marina so we can get some groceries, enjoy a beer on the dock, and have an ice cream bar. Today the woman in the little ice cream/grocery store didn’t want to break our $50 bill so she just told us to come back and pay her tomorrow. Ice cream on credit, spectacular beaches, hot sunny weather, and delicious food. This place is paradise.

The retail situation ashore near the marina is interesting. There is a restaurant that always seems to have the door open and one or two staff on site but never seems to be preparing or serving food. There are two wee grocery stores within about 75’ of each other. One is just big enough for an ice cream cooler and a cash register, and is jam-packed with stuff. The big store is maybe 350 square feet. There is also what amounts to a closet with a beer cooler in it next to the little grocery. We think it is a sort of bar. In any event, the two establishments are somehow related.

When Ellen and I asked to buy two cold beers yesterday, the owner of the grocery was a little squirrelly about selling to us. Turns out, she is a Christian and refuses to sell alcohol. Since her husband was out fishing, there was a problem with Cupcake beer-procurement. She ultimately had a friend hand us the beer (she still took the money). Problem solved.

Ellen has been eager to try a Bahamian Sands beer, having enjoyed the Corona and Budweiser aboard and the local Kalik ashore. She had a Sands Radler yesterday. It was grapefruit flavored and was delicious. Alas, only 2.5% alcohol.

Speaking of problems solved, today was a great day for making electricity. When we returned to the boat after our afternoon ashore, the battery bank was charged from unlimited sun and no shade from the rigging all day. The batteries were full enough that they are now taking all the power the alternator is putting out. Because we are expecting a few cloudy days and because I wanted to make some more water and because we wanted to get the batteries as charged as was reasonable, we are running the engine. Nobody is happy about the noise, the burning of diesel, the heat it puts into the boat, but at this time of year it seems necessary. Also, I may get up the energy to shave this evening since we will have hot water.

Moss just said, “Math is so much fun because it is so much fun.” Tautology aside, that’s pretty good stuff.

Ok, so it’s not the selfie you were waiting for, but doesn’t Ellen look a little like a nursing mother?