It would have been nice to start writing when our journey began, but it is extremely difficult to blog from a remote island where the internet could be described as, "spotty at best." So here we are, one leg of the journey over, and ready to move on to the next. I suppose I should introduce myself first, for those of you that don't know me. I am A. Broad, world traveler, photographer, and sometime art historian, on sabbatical with my father, Doc, from January 1 to August, when the new semester starts again. At that time, I hope to be attending graduate school and he will resume teaching at the collegiate level. Now for the fun part... where have we been and where are we going?
The first part of that question is easy. We have been traveling in the Bahamas for the last 3 weeks on the islands of Andros, New Providence, and Acklins. We spent the longest on Andros, where Doc was teaching a 2 week class on marine biology and I was his teaching assistant. That part was fun, but more what we're used to, considering that the 2 week class occurs on a yearly basis and sometimes we also visit Andros in the summer. Our last sabbatical, Fall of '04, we spent 4 months on that island. After we left Andros, we took the "fast" ferry over to Nassau, New Providence and spent a night in anticipation of leaving for the remote destination of Acklins, Bahamas. As we came over on the "fast" ferry, we encountered a lovely couple from Michigan, Mike and Mary, who kept us company for the trip and were kind enough to drive us to our hotel, and also the Oasis of the Sea, one of those crazy new cruise ships that carries 6,000 people around in what looks like a floating Chicago apartment complex. Massive is about the only word we could think of to describe such a thing.
Our next destination was Acklins, about 400 miles south of Andros and New Providence. Neither of us had ever been there, and very few people we encountered could tell us more than that it was "really remote" and that there was "nothing there." They were right, but we had a purpose for our trip and also it turned out to be one of the most beautiful and pristine places we've ever been. The purpose of our journey was to help establish 5 primary school libraries and assist in a teacher's workshop on reading and library management. The fun part, as you can see in the photos, was definitely getting into the schools and reading to/with the children. The first photo shows me, A. Broad, with the combined first and second grade classes at Snug Corner Primary School on Acklins, and the second photo shows Doc with the combined preschool-second grade class at Salina Point Primary School on Acklins.
Obviously, reading to the kids was the highlight, but it was also excellent to get to spend hours beach combing and exploring the historic buildings and ruins around the island. A pleasant surprise that awaited us was our lodgings, at a bed and breakfast called IVel's, which turned out to be far more pleasant and comfortable than any B&B on an island with less than 500 inhabitants really has a right to be. We were also surprised to find a wonderful restaurant/bar called Club Rolle-x (after the proprietor, Henry Rolle). We enjoyed the first meal we had there so much that we unanimously agreed to have the exact same meal prepared for us a second night. Yesterday we journeyed from Acklins to Nassau, and then, after spending a wonderful day with our new friend Anna touring Nassau and eating at a delightful farm called Goodfellow's, we hopped a late evening plane to Fort Lauderdale.
So that's where we are now. After our laundry is dried and our van is repacked, we will be setting off on a 2.5-3 week excursion around Florida and back to home base, Indiana. Our general destination for the next few days will be the Everglades and Coral Castle, photos to follow. After that, who knows? We certainly don't.
-A. Broad
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