Position: N 23 31.647 W075 45.946
Yes,
we are still in George Town. After waiting more than a month for
parts to fix different equipment we were ready to leave but the wind
has just not been cooperating. So here we sit. There are certainly
much worse places to 'be stuck', however, and after all “we in de
Bahamas, mon!”
One of our favorite pastimes here in George Town is walking the paths on Stocking Island. There are many trails to follow, some easy, some rather more difficult. Over the time we've been here, we've settled into a daily routine we call “The Rachel Walk”. We'd like to invite you to come along with us this morning if you like...
We
leave Rachel after breakfast and make the 2 minute dinghy trip in to
Queens Dock just south of the old Peace & Plenty beach bar. We
head inland, past the picnic tables, and bear right to follow the
path up to the monument. It's a bit of a climb, so we get our blood
pumping first thing – quite invigorating!
Once
at the top we sit on a bench and look out across the anchorage and
Elizabeth Harbour. You probably hear us saying things like “Look,
there's Rachel – isn't she pretty?” “Hey! There's <boat
name>! When did those guys come in?” “That one that just came
in looks pretty close – I hope they don't bump into us.” “The
wind seems to be a bit more south than they were calling for, doesn't
it?”
After
we catch our breath, we continue east along the monument path toward
the beach, but a short way down bear right onto the “Intrepid
Path”, a somewhat more vertical down-up-down path for the more
intrepid walker. Along the way we climb the second of three hills on
our walk and pass a big termite nest hanging in the trees.
The
Intrepid Path ends where it joins Marie's Path. We take a left onto
Marie's Path and head to the beach. Most of the steep part of the
walk is over. There are a couple more “challenging spots” to
cover, but except for them you can pretty much relax from here on
out.
We
continue our walk by meandering north along the beach to where the
Monument Path exits on the beach. Following the monument path a
short way up the hill (the last of the steep parts of the walk), we
bear right and south onto the Cliff Path where we climb the third and
last hill of the day.
This
path follows the crest of the dunes for quite a good way, presenting
us with gorgeous views of the ocean side of the island. These views
are also usually accompanied by a nice cooling breeze, being exposed
as they are, to the prevailing easterly trade winds. Good for
cooling down after the “climby bits”. There's a nice bench along
the way at the juncture with “Nev's Path” where we usually sit
for a bit watching the waves surge in and out along the shore.
One
feature here is a large crack through the rocks we call “The
Surge”. When the waves run up through the crack the resulting
pressure pushes a “mushroom cap” of water boiling up over the
rest of the wave. Sometimes, when the tide and wind are just right,
it also acts like a blow hole, spewing frothy mist high into the air.
Okay,
that's enough rest - time to get moving again...
The
Cliff Path finally peters out at the beach near where it joins the
“Peace & Plenty Path” and “The Nature Trail” near the
“Butt Tree”. Don't ask – just take a look at the photo on the
blog and you'll see (with only a bit of imagination) how aptly it's
named. 
We
continue north along the beach, looking for treasures along the way,
to “The Baths” and the “Julicuzzi”. The Baths is a beautiful
basin with a crescent shaped sandy beach on the inside and rocks on
the outside. At low tide it's like a giant bathtub. The waves break
on the rocks outside but there's hardly a ripple inside the basin.
The
Julicuzzi is a fantastic little spot in the south corner of The Baths
where one can sit in the water in a small tub-sized sandy basin. At
the right tide level the waves break along the shore and a small cut
channels water up and over the rocks forming a frothy white waterfall
that tumbles down into the basin. It earned it's name because it's
Julie's favorite spot along the walk to take a cooling break.
From
the Julicuzzi we make one of three choices. Most often we continue
north to the Shoe Tree Trail. Sometimes we backtrack a bit to the
unnamed (and unmapped) path we discovered a few weeks ago, and
sometimes, if we want one more bit of workout, we continue north
along the iron shore to the “North West Path”. Whichever choice
we make, we cross the island again and end up back on the Elizabeth
Harbour side. We often stop for a rest in the shade at the “The
Flip Flop Shop”, a small picnic area complete w/ tiki bar created
and maintained by cruisers. 
Regardless
of where we come out, we then follow the paths and beaches south
along the shore back to the Queen's Dock.
According
to our handheld GPS The Rachel Walk is just under 3 statute miles and
takes us a little over an hour. Adding in the vertical parts (what
Julie calls “the uppy-downy bits”) makes the Rachel Walk a pretty
good daily workout for us.
We
hope we haven't worn you out. Remember, if you have any energy left
we can always go play in the water after lunch!
Mark & Julie
