
© 2014 Amanda Diedrick LittleHousebytheFerry.com
Unripe sea grapes at Gillam Bay, Green Turtle Cay.
© 2014 Amanda Diedrick LittleHousebytheFerry.com
Unripe sea grapes at Gillam Bay, Green Turtle Cay.
© 2014 Amanda Diedrick LittleHousebytheFerry.com
View from Albury’s Sail Shop in Man-O-War, Abaco.
© 2014 Amanda Diedrick LittleHousebytheFerry.com
Parliament Street in downtown New Plymouth, Green Turtle Cay’s main settlement.
© 2014 Amanda Diedrick LittleHousebytheFerry.com
Does anyone know what type of flower this is? The photo was taken in Hope Town, Abaco, Bahamas, where we spotted these blooms in red and also in white.
© 2014 Amanda Diedrick
Sunset shot from Pineapples Bar & Grill, Green Turtle Cay, Bahamas.
© 2014 Amanda Diedrick
Barbados cherries at Roberts’ Cottages, Green Turtle Cay.
© 2014 Amanda Diedrick
© 2014 Amanda Diedrick LittleHousebytheFerry.com
Another gorgeous day at Bita Bay, Green Turtle Cay.
© 2014 Amanda Diedrick LittleHousebytheFerry.com
A summer storm gathers over New Plymouth, Green Turtle Cay.
© 2014 Amanda Diedrick LittleHousebytheFerry.com
Celebrating its 150th birthday today, the candy-striped Elbow Reef lighthouse in Hope Town, Abaco is one of the world’s few remaining manual lighthouses.
One reason I decided to extend this trip to Green Turtle Cay was to be on the island today for local government elections. Though I’m Bahamian, I wasn’t eligible to vote because I haven’t been in the country for the entire six-month period preceding the election. Still, now that Tom and I are homeowners here, we’re interested in learning more about the process.
I happened to be out walking Wrigley a little while ago when the candidates emerged from the town’s Administration Building with preliminary results (which I understand now get sent to Cooper’s Town for verification.)
Based on tonight’s count, Green Turtle Cay’s new local government will consist of Ray Lowe, Ken Jones, Matt Lowe, Greg Curry and Christopher Roberts. Ray is off the island dealing with a family matter, so his wife Bessie graciously stood in for him in the photo below.
L-R: Bessie Lowe, Ken Jones, Matt Lowe, Greg Curry and Christopher Roberts
© 2014 Amanda Diedrick LittleHousebytheFerry.com
Thank you to all who stepped forward to serve and congratulations to the new council members.
© 2014 Amanda Diedrick LittleHousebytheFerry.com
A fisherman heads out of the harbour as the sun rises in Black Sound, Green Turtle Cay, Abaco.
© 2014 Amanda Diedrick LittleHousebytheFerry.com
If the folks at the Pasadena Humane Society could see him now, running on the beach, fetching Frisbees at the ball park and taking sunset walks through town. It’s a tough job, but some doggy’s got to do it.
© 2014 Amanda Diedrick LittleHousebytheFerry.com
Related: And Your Little Dog, Too
© 2014 Amanda Diedrick
Snorkeling at the north end of Munjack Cay after a fishing day with Lincoln Jones.
A few weeks back, I noticed this group of boys playing on a wooden raft along New Plymouth’s south beach. Though the origins of said raft were dubious – two boys said they made it, two said they found it – their joy was not. They paddled around the shallows near the south beach dock, tying up and untying the raft, tossing out and hauling in its small anchor.
Watching them reminded me of the times we spent on Green Turtle Cay during summer vacation, and how much freedom we had.
My cousins and I could meander through town at any hour without worry or harm. We had no television or phone, smart or otherwise. There were no video games, no DVD player, no iPod. Instead, we played outside. We used our imaginations. If we wanted to go somewhere, we walked. Both ways. Uphill. In four feet of snow. Yes, ok, I made up that last part. But the rest is true.
We hunted baby crabs on the Settlement Creek shore and collected sand dollars at Gillam Bay. We swam near the public dock and fished with tiny hooks and thread, using crushed snails for bait. In the evenings, we walked around New Plymouth, searching for night-blooming jasmine.
Nearly four decades later, surprisingly little has changed. It’s true that local residents now enjoy modern conveniences like telephones, cable television and even Internet. But technology aside, and unlike so many other places, Green Turtle Cay has managed to retain much of its innocence and charm.
Kids, some as young as five or six, still play unsupervised on the town basketball court or nearby beaches. They make (or find…?) rafts and become pretend pirates. They abandon skateboards, bikes and basketballs wherever they fall, confident they’ll still be there when school lets out tomorrow.
Though they occasionally forget their toys, Green Turtle Cay kids usually remember their manners. Even the smallest child will whisper a bashful “hello” or “good afternoon.”
In case their parents are reading this, these mini-mariners were no exception. They bade me good evening and answered my questions with “yes, ma’am” and “no, ma’am.”
I watched them play for quite a while, enjoying the reassurance that, especially for kids, Green Turtle Cay remains as idyllic as I remember.
© 2014 Amanda Diedrick
It’s my cousin’s birthday today, so this rose is for her. Happy birthday, Dawn!
© 2014 Amanda Diedrick LittleHousebytheFerry.com
Sunset last night over Settlement Creek, Green Turtle Cay, Bahamas.
© 2014 Amanda Diedrick
Summer is definitely here! We’ve been having storms on the cay almost daily. This photo of lightning over Treasure Cay was taken yesterday afternoon from Green Turtle Cay’s South Beach.
My husband will probably roll his eyes when he hears this, but I’ve shot more than 15,000 photographs in Green Turtle Cay and around Abaco in the past twelve months alone. What can I say? I subscribe to the “quantity leads to quality” school of thought — the more photos I take, the greater my chances of getting one I’m happy with.
To justify what some might regard as an abuse of megapixels, I’ve decided to share some of my favourite images through a daily photo feature.
Here’s the first one, a seagull diving for fish in Black Sound. Hope you like it.
© 2014 Amanda Diedrick