Jeff and I had the privilege of photographing a very unique wedding in the Bahamas this past week. Here's a little sneak peek at our personal experience on Man-O-War Cay in the Abacos. We were so incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to experience this place and are so grateful to Josh, Sarah, and all the parties involved that made this a reality. I hope that by browsing our snapshots, we give you a complete picture (although photos cannot do this place justice) of life on the island.
As a native Floridian, most would be surprised I've never ventured the 200 miles east to the Bahamas. I suppose my idea of the Bahamas was clouded as I envisioned islands of heavily laden tourist traps and the Atlantis Resort. Besides, the color of the ocean water in Longboat Key seemed just as beautiful to me as any picture I had seen of the Bahamas. Jeff had never been to the Bahamas either and we were excited to set out on this adventure of discovery together.
The adventure began when we arrived at Galaxy Aviation. Jeff and I were curious to see what our airplane would look like and as we walked with the pilots out to the tarmac, we were laughing at how tiny the plane was. In fact, I think Jeff was actually IN the cockpit helping fly the plane.
Our flight with Cherokee was smooth and not as alarming as I imagined it would be. The 11 seater Cessna arrived safely in Marsh Harbour on Wednesday, May 11, 2011. Watching the color of the water change from 5,000 feet in the air was nothing short of spectacular. Little did we know, it was just a glimpse of what we were in for.
As our plane...err...puddle jumper touched down, a golf cart raced along side us. Quite a different greeting than that of other airports we had experienced.
We gathered our bags and cleared customs with an arm wave and a, "go ahead," with little notice to the bags of photo equipment and tripod stands we were carrying. And it was off to the ferry to take us on a 30 minute ride over to Man-O-War Cay. I took a photo of our boat and later noticed the stingray that photo bombed the picture. Welcome to the Bahamas!
We were warmly greeted at the dock on Man-O-Way by the bride and groom, their friends and family. We loaded up golf carts with our luggage and equipment and off we went down the dusty unpaved roads to our beautiful, quaint, and very charming, accommodations.
The weather was gorgeous while we were there, and we slept with the windows open every night. The island gets an incredible breeze and you need a light sweater in the evening once the sun goes down. Because Man-O-War is so clean and safe, we left our door unlocked every day and never thought twice about doing so.
Our hosts were kind enough to let us borrow their golf cart during our stay with them. Having a golf cart wasn't necessary, per se, but it certainly was helpful.
Driving on the left side of the road (or path) took a little getting used to, but it was kinda fun to do. On this 3-mile island, there really are no paved roads. The roads are sand or dirt and pretty narrow, with a few spots barely allowing two golf carts to pass at the same time. Having this experience helped us understand, and appreciate, the logistics of getting from place to place and the complexity of getting supplies from outer islands and bringing them into Man-O-War.
You thought we had it bad? A golf cart has a 6 gallon tank and costs almost $40 to fill up! There was only one gas pump on the island.
There was one bank on the island and it was only open on Wednesdays between the hours of 10-2. There were no ATM machines. There were two restaurants: Dock & Dine served lunch and dinner, except on Sundays, and Bradley's served lunch and dinner, as well, although we never quite caught them when they were open for business. Dock & Dine had incredible food which surprised us considering we were in the middle of nowhere. At every meal, Jeff encouraged me to try the local delicacy, conch. By the trips end, I still hadn't tried it and I doubt I ever will. Too many memories of boiling conch shells in Sanibel and watching the slug like creatures crawl out and shrivel. Yuck.
There are two grocery stores, although they're more like a convenience store, not really offering a lot of variety. Small supplies of bottled water, juices, soda, paper products, canned goods, and over-the-counter medicines. If anything runs out, residents would only be able to find what they need on an outlying island 30 minutes or more away and need to ship it back with them on the ferry. Not exactly a convenience. It's a dry island as well, so locals and visitors rely on bringing in liquor from other islands on their way into Man-O-War.
On Sunday, the restaurants and grocery store are closed. There are fliers posted around the island advertising lunch and dinner, following church, at local's houses. You literally drive your golf cart up to their home, walk into the house and they make you a burger or sandwich and have an assortment of side dishes you can purchase, like potato salad, french fries, and rice and peas. There's a baker on the island as well, Lola; she makes bread and pastries in her kitchen. We had heard so much about her famous cinnamon buns, that Jeff and I drove to her house one morning, walked into her kitchen, where we were greeted by Lola and her husband, and offered fresh baked bread, cinnamon buns, and rolls. Lola was a native of Man-O-War, 2nd generation, and the rumors were true - the cinnamon buns were as big as my face and so delicious.
Jeff did most of the left-hand-side-of-the-path driving on the trip, and we explored all 3 miles of the island from end to end, side to side (again, thanks to the golf cart!)
On our travels, we passed an old abandoned home that we decided we wanted to buy. It had potential and a lot of character.
This was an area just a few yards away from our cottage called "The Narrows". It's a narrow stretch of the island that separates the Atlantic Ocean from the Sea of Abaco.
We did most of our swimming in the Sea of Abaco, although we did sneak in one night-time dip in the warm waters of the Atlantic. The water in the sea was crystal clear (just like all the photos I had seen of the Bahamas) but experiencing it was totally different. Photos can't even begin to recreate the atmosphere. It was more than just seeing it with your eyes, it was hearing the water lap the shore; it was feeling the crispness and bite of the cool sea water; it was smelling the salt in the air.
Being exposed to the sea life was another wonderful discovery! Interestingly enough, we didn't see many fish, but we saw lots of starfish and they were fascinating creatures. The first day in the sea, we had masks and snorkels and found sand dollars, but the elusive sea biscuits were still a mystery to us.
FACT: Sand dollars that are living are dark in color and covered in a fuzzy coating; dead sand dollars are white.
After a relaxing afternoon in the sea, we brought home our treasure. We were 3 sand dollars richer.
Once our afternoon of fun was over, it was time to head back to the cottage and shower for dinner. Water is in short commodity here. One family had a machine that pulls the moisture of humidity out of the air and turns it into water, yielding approximately 5 gallons of water per day. Another family relied solely on the rain to fill their cistern and provide them with enough water to shower, cook, wash dishes and clothes. What happens if they run out? They have to buy bottled water until the rain comes and offers them another option.
Our days were spent at the beach, in the water, and exploring the island, and our nights were spent at the groom's step-father's house watching the sunset and hanging out with new friends. I was telling a friend recently that, while I've seen many sunsets - both on the west coast of Florida and California - I've never seen a sunset quite like the ones we saw in the Bahamas. There's an excitement and gathering during sunsets. At the groom's step-father's house, we would gather on the balcony and watch as the sun sank into the ocean. It was then customary to sound the horn after the sun disappeared, and other homeowners followed suit, blowing their horns (or conch shells) to announce the suns departure.
A little sidenote here: It wasn't all sand, sun and beach during our trip, although we did have our share. We did a lot of pre-wedding and wedding photography while we were there too and have some phenomenal photos to share. :) I'm purposely not posting those pictures because it's a surprise and deserves it's own separate blog elsewhere.
Now, back to the sand, sun and beach...
Since we had missed taking advantage of low tide on all the other days, we made plans on our last full day in the Abacos to hit the beach when the water receded so we could get a different view, and hopefully find some sea biscuits.
We finally tracked down sea biscuits in these shallow waters. Here's a living one, complete with a fuzzy rust colored coating.
This far from shore, starfish were peppered along the sea floor. I loved them so much, I snapped several shots of every one I found.
Taking starfish out of the water can be a little traumatic for them, I'm assuming. Their little suction cup legs stretch out, looking for home. When you pick up a starfish water drains from them, so putting them back in, you're supposed to turn them upside down (underbelly up) and allow them to absorb water so they can sink back down to the bottom. I had one little guy (shown below) who kept floating back up to the surface and couldn't sink. Jeff and I spent a few minutes with him trying this process over and over so we didn't accidentally kill him. I'm happy to report the starfish was saved and finally latched back onto the sea floor.
We walked from the shore out to the reef and found some sea biscuits to take home with us.
All in all, it was an amazing 6 days and 5 nights spent in the Bahamas. I think we were spoiled, having experienced a slower lifestyle than the more fast and touristy pace of the other locations like Freeport and Nassau. We met some amazing people and learned so much about simplicity and how you really don't need a lot to make you happy. And we have to admit, it was nice to be away from cell phones, TV, computers, traffic, and the stress of everyday life. Jeff and I realized that while we were there, we didn't curse or fall into any of the routines that we were accustomed to. We hope to go back someday soon and visit this quiet little island and new friends we made along the way.
