Andros Island Bahamas

Land Crab

Path Leading to Blue Hole with Pine Trees

A Blue Hole

I did not take these pictures they were copied off the net!

We kept on moving as the water could not have been more tranquil. We crossed the banks which is a very interesting thing for us coming from BC. The depths were no more than 15’. We have about a 3’ tide so one must be cautious where you travel.

Our weather router Herb told us that the weather was to change Thurs/Fri but more importantly that the winds were NE therefore we would not be able to cross the Gulf Stream. A decision was made to go to Fresh Creek, Andros where there is a marina with a pool and a small village. We have not stayed at a single marina since leaving Grenada we have anchored out and used the dinghy to get to shore. I prefer this anyways as it is cooler generally and cheaper. I however decided after a long haul like we have had, to treat ourselves is worth it. As it turns out there really isn’t much of a harbour here anyways to anchor in.

Andros Island Bahamas is over 100 miles in length and 40 miles wide. It is the largest island in the Bahamas. It has a population of 4500 people scattered across the island. 

We rented a car and toured the northern portion of the island as you can only tour the central and southern portion by boat and I have no desire to do extra boating at this time.

We can tell that we are out of the tropics as the vegetation and the sea birds have changed drastically. For the first time in a very long time there are seagulls and terns. The boobies seem to be missing and frigates seem fewer.

This island is filled with pine trees and deciduous trees appear similar to those in North America. You still see coconut trees and palm trees but banana trees are selectively planted in private yards for personal use. Wild tropical flowers like Birds of Paradise are not to be found. The temperatures have also gotten cooler. I just can’t wait to see how I feel when I am back in Canada.

Horse flies and mosquitoes are a nuisance. Luckily Ernie is not just here to protect me on this voyage but also to keep the bugs away. They like him and stay away from Kenny and I if he is near.

Andros’s west coast is a maze of wetlands and mud flats, is uninhabited but we are told that this is where the hibiscus and orchids grow. Unfortunately you cannot get there by car.

It is water that makes Andros special. Its corner of the ocean contains the third largest continuous barrier reef in the world, lying less than a mile off its east coast and running over 140 miles long. This made for a tense moment coming through the reef to get inside Fresh Creek.  The reef has significant geological and marine value. It contains low cays, massive coral, lagoons, estuaries, and blue holes. Outside the reef is the body of water known at the Ocean’s Tongue. It is very deep – 6000 ft - and contains some of the best fishing in the world. Not that it helped us any.

The US and British Navy have 4 research stations on the island doing underwater testing and evaluation programs. It is all top secret so who knows what they are doing.

Chickcharnies are a type of bird native to this island. They are tiny, feathered creatures that have enormous eyes. They hang upside down like bats in the trees. We didn’t see any and when I researched the subject more I believe they are make believe. But who knows.

Land crabs are another interesting creature on this island. It is said that when it is crab season (May – Oct.)  the economy booms here. Land crabs are an important food source throughout the Bahamas and the Caribbean. George told us that they get $40/doz for the crabs.

The land crabs start out in the ocean. The females travel from the forest or estuaries and lay 100,000’s of eggs in the ocean. There the eggs turning in larvae float in the ocean currents. They remain out at sea for about a month then return to land to live out their lives. There are holes everywhere.

We have seen these crabs elsewhere but didn’t realize that they got as big as they do or that they were eaten.

Andros also has more blue holes than anywhere else known on the earth.

Blue holes are under water submarine caves or underwater sinkholes. They are not great places to find fish as the circulation is bad within them.

The island's blue holes are water filled cave systems. There are blue holes in the ocean and inland. Two of the inland blue holes on Andros include Charlie's Blue Hole, reputedly first explored by Jacques-Yves Cousteau, and the larger Church's Blue Hole and Guardian Blue Hole. Kenny and Ernie went swimming in the blue hole close by. It was brackish water as it was both fed from fresh and ocean water. They said the visibility was not great and found nothing to see in the hole. It was to them just a swimming hole. I am sure if you dove the hole you would see the cave like structure.

Unfortunately the economy here is very linked to the American economy and abandoned homes are everywhere. There is not much work for these people so like so many other places the young people are heading to the bigger cities for work, returning for family functions or retirement.

We have been told that hopefully the weather will change in our favour Sun. It is only 27 hrs away and we will do it in one run if the weather and sea allows us to.

We are passing time by swimming in the pool, touring around, playing cards, Mexican train and last night a movie night aboard Genesis (which was nice not having a genset running in the background).

I am going to post this early just in case we get to leave on Sunday.