Georgetown in the Bahamas

Near the end of April there is a regatta in Georgetown.  It is a beautiful sight to see all these boats racing.  They have a great way of 'hiking', on a plank of wood, fixed amidships and then pulled through to the other side after a tack.  Great to see.  The competitors bring their boats in from the other islands by ferry, and the locals set up wooden stands to sell beer and punches.

Good friends, Val and Simon from London joined us in Georgetown for ten days on the boat.  One of the important features the holiday was rum punch and here are Val and I getting to grips with a recipe that Daryl found on the internet!  The first jug was measured out precisely as per the instructions, but after that, we got a bit sloppier with the measurements!

One of the local specialties is conch.  There is quite an art for getting the creature out of it's beautiful shell.  Here is A J from Chat and Chill, a beach bar, giving Daryl a lesson on the trick.   You have to make a hole in the shell and then prize the conch out.  It is a rather tough meat, but softens in the local salads with lemon and orange juices added.  Then some chopped tomatoes and peppers and viola!  Delicious!





When the unwanted bits of the conch are thrown into the sea, the rays come into the beach for a feed.  AJ gave us some scraps and the rays, now familiar with this deal, appeared.  They seemed to enjoy being stroked every bit as much as being fed!  It was a wonderful experience and they were unexpectedly soft to the touch.

Kailk is the local beer here in the Bahamas and this pile shows it is rather popular!