The Moody Island

If one could transform the topography of Long Island into human form and then have that person evaluated by a psychiatrist, the psychiatrist would announce, “Bob, I’m sorry, but you’re nuts.”  The Burnetts have only been here a few days, but already our pictures look like they are from three different islands.  Long Island, apparently, has a beach or landform for every mood.  And boy, it has a lot of moods!

In our short time here we have explored bee-infested (and therefore CREEPY) caves, barren seaside wastelands, diverse and thick underbrush, and crystal-clear lagoons with 6 shades of blue.  Hell, Long Island can’t even decide which shade of blue it likes.

The Burnetts had a fun and exciting time searching for the Dunmore Plantation and Caves, described lavishly in the visitor guide.  There were no signs anywhere.  We think we got close to the plantation, but the gravel road just ended and turned into thick brush leading to some rubble.  Allie commented: “Maybe they should put up a sign that says: ‘Ruins — Coming Soon!'”

We have raised a smartass.  We are so proud.

Mel and Greg dove Dean’s Blue Hole, a shallow lagoon with a giant pit in it going down 663 feet deep.  There’s not much to see but the murky deep, but at around 30 feet down there is a ledge over which spills the most beautiful multilevel underwater waterfall you have ever seen — made of sand.  Unfortunately, there is a gyre-like current in the thing that seems to attract trash and plastic.  I suspect the bottom 20 feet of the pit is plastic.  We tried to collect what we could but ended up stacking it all, like others before us, in a big pile next to rarely-tended trash cans — felt a bit futile.

Hurricane repairs are coming along.  A lot of roofing has been happening here.  Unfortunately, we have seen a lot of “For Sale” signs come out once the roofs get back on.  What was once spread out is becoming more concentrated.  Understandably, some tourist attractions took a hit — the museum is temporarily closed.

With Long Island only partially explored, The Burnetts are going to have to leave their safe haven of The Flying Fish Marina a bit earlier than they would like, as Mel just found out that there is a whole week of events awaiting them in Georgetown, Great Exuma.  The Cruiser’s Regatta week starts this Friday, just 70 nm away, and the Burnett kids are in dire need of a “kid fix.”  Of course, the Burnetts are so knowledgeable they planned this the whole time.  Sure they did.

We had a vacationing family we met on the beach over tonight for some cocktails and we introduced them to “cruiser life,”  just what some nice folks did for us 10 years ago.   Then, we washed the boat with that sweet marina water that magically comes out of a hose.  Well, for 30 cents a gallon.  Ouch.

Next stop Conception Island, and then on to Georgetown.