Our Travels

Yeah, we been “like a couple of islanders” in a great anchorage, and we didn’t mention it, but the clear water is 92 degrees. More “ahhh…” But, those that know us, know we don’t sit still for long. So after a couple of chill-lax-ing days, we actually started to stir a bit. Kinda moving on island time.

First up, Todd took a swim, of course, and brought up another gift – a beautiful sea biscuit, cousin of the sand dollar. In the zoomed view, you can see all the little dots where the tiny spines were attached.

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History of the Ragged Islands is murky at best. Generally accepted was they were granted by the English King to William George Lockhart back in the 1700s. Most of the families that live in Duncan Town are somehow related to Lockhart. The town is the only settlement in all of the Jumentos and Ragged Islands. It’s located on the island next to us called Ragged Island. Part of the economy is provided by the ancient salt pond used for salt harvesting. Unfortunately, Ragged Island was hit hard by Hurricane Irma in 2017. The government in Nassau has finally started to rebuild various public structures.

The town is accessed by a slim channel on the “back side.” So, off we went to find the charted “narrow dinghy channel” that should lead straight to Duncan Town. We turned a bit early and ended up cruising the shallow sand flats (perfect for bonefishing) for a few minutes before the dinghy’s chart plotter and GoogleMaps (what would we do without our smart phones) agreed on a heading to find the opening of the channel.

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Oh, there it is! Clear as day once you know where you’re going.

After securing the dinghy, it’s time for some shoe leather express exploration. The first thing that caught our attention was the newly rebuilt, pretty, little church on the hill.

Actually, there are goats everywhere. The townsfolk are not fans of all the wandering goats – makes it difficult to maintain any sort of plantings, garden or floral.

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We’d been told to be sure to meet Maxine, but when we popped in, she’d gone fishing. (Hopefully, she has better luck than Todd.) We were sorry to miss her, as she is the source of all things in Duncan Town.

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From Maxine’s place at the top of the hill, we spotted the salt pond.

So we took a walk down there. No one was around except the goats. Plenty of goats. Oh, and a few chickens rustling around in the bushes. The salt pond was pretty cool. Through evaporation the salt just crystalizes on the bottom and anything around.

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When returning from the salt pond, we met Myron, who kindly indulged us for a few minutes with some talk about life in the town and the rebuilding since Hurricane Irma.

Lots of storm damage recovery from Hurricane Irma…

And hills, and HARD ground… that hole will be for a water cistern for rainfall.

A couple of interesting tidbits…

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That was a pleasant morning, but it is time to wander back to the dinghy and out the channel…

Once you make the opening, you can pick up speed again.

We’ve met some wonderful folks in this beautiful anchorage. Looking forward to a hike and more sundown time in the tiki hut!