Some of What I did at Baker's Bay in the Bahamas
I mentioned the other day that I spent part of my vacation with family and friends at Baker’s Bay Golf and Ocean Club, a private residential organization on Great Guana Cay in Abaco in the Bahamas. We explored everything on the island and also had some nice boating adventures. It pleased me to no end to see how intensely curious baby Jude was about everything during our stay. I hope you’ll enjoy another set of photos from the lovely Bahamas.
1 Here's a lovely view of Baker's Bay Golf Course from Sip Sip, a Bahamian term for a place where people meet to eat, drink, and gossip.
2 This course is well designed by Tom Fazio, one of the world's preeminent golf course designers. It has many great players on it every day.
3 The Sip Sip is located above the fourth green and is centrally located near at least three holes.
4 This little shack is well-stocked with all kinds of beverages and goodies.
5 Old large glass floats have been used to mark the greens. These were once used by fishermen in many parts of the world to keep their fishing nets and droplines afloat.
6 The vistas are utterly amazing from every vantage point with dramatic water views from 11 of the 18 holes.
7 I was curious about the gumbo-limbo trees along the course. Leafless at this time of year, they have beautiful shiny bark and are very shapely.
8 Kevin wondering if he should take up the sport of golf
9 Another structural gumbo-limbo tree - These trees are well-adapted to salty and calcareous soils, found in many coastal areas.
10 They are also one of the most wind-tolerant trees and are fast growers.
11 This is one of the highest points on the golf course and one of the highest points on the island. Sitting nearly 60 feet above sea level, the 360 degree views are as spectacular!
12 This area is the future site of the 'beach club,' which is about to be built. The club will have frontage on both the Sea of Abaco and the Atlantic Ocean.
13 The island in the distance is privately owned.
14 Another view of where the beach club will be built.
15 Alexis and baby Jude walked and walked the beaches.
16 This is the northwestern tip of the island.
17 A large gumbo-limbo tree decorated with all sorts of washed up buoys, bumpers, and floats.
18 This lot is available for purchase.
19 There is a 'cat lady' on the island. She lives in the settlement and rescues stray cats, neuters them, and feeds them well. The cats love her.
20 All the cats are black, black and white, or shades of grey.
21 More cats!
22 There is also a black and white rabbit in a cage and two dogs.
23 This is Lisa Roberts, the cat lady. She is a kind, well-meaning, very friendly lady, who cares deeply about her 'job.'
24 Electric golf carts are the common mode of transportation, both on and off the course, and baby Jude loved driving around!
25 Sunrises and sunsets are gorgeous!
26 A favorite eatery in the settlement is Nippers Beach Bar on Great Guana Cay Harbor. This colorful place is famous for their Sunday pig roasts.
27 There are funny signs everywhere.
28 This is the one and only vegetable/fruit stand on the island.
29 It's very cute, but some days it's slim pickins.
30 The houses are artistically colored and tropical plantings abound.
31 We loved this purple and chartreuse paint job.
32 A magnificent sky at 5 pm
33 There is only one road on the entire island.
34 Leaving Baker's Bay by boat in the early morning
35 We went by boat to go snorkeling. This is a small island known as Shell Island.
36 Baby Jude was fascinated with the 'sea biscuits' we found. She enjoyed gnawing on these gritty textured sea urchins.
37 Here I am snorkeling for lobster. Lobster season in the Bahamas begins in August and ends in March.
38 The water was very, very rough and the lobsters were about ten feet below the surface.
39 In my right hand, I held onto a lifeline connected to the boat and in my left hand, a pole spear.
40 Maddy, Lisa's fourteen-year-old daughter, speared eight lobsters in a matter of minutes!
41 Unlike Maine lobsters, which are coveted for their large front claws, these lobsters are all about the tails.
42 Baby Jude wanted to pet this good sized lobster before it went into the cooler.
43 Maddy with yet another lobster
44 The Caribbean spiny lobster relies on its hard, protective shell and strong swimming abilities to evade predators.
45 However, there was no escaping Maddy and her spear!
46 We finally had enough for a first course.
47 Maddy is an excellent fisherwoman/spearfisher!
48 Along with lobster spearing, Alexis and Maddy dove for conch. Conch is very common in the West Indies.
49 About to take the plunge
50 Alexis and Maddy were wonderful divers.
51 Alexis emerged with her first shell. She found three in all.
52 The animal lives deep within the shell, much like a snail.
53 Willis, our Outdoor Pursuits Guide, showed off our impressive catch.
54 Our harvest of conchs - These were plenty for a large conch salad, which I made using diced green pepper, onion, red tomato, green tomato, fresh lime and orange juice, and sea salt.
55 Conch can be eaten both raw and cooked and it also makes delicious soups, stews, and fritters.
56 The shells are so wonderfully colored. Conchs, like other mollusks, can produce pearls in a wide variety of colors. Most commonly associated with conch pearls is the rosy pink hue similar to the color of the inner shell.
57 A great picture of Willis and a conch
58 When we were finished diving for these giant shells, Willis demonstrated how to harvest the meat.
59 He used a very well sharpened boning knife to extract the conch, and trimmed each very expertly.
60 Almost the entire animal is edible, athough most people prefer the taste of the sections that are lighter in color.
61 He continued to trim until the tender, meaty, chewy 'muscle' was left.
62 Each conch is slightly different inside.
63 The 'foot' of one of the conchs emerging from its shell - The sickle-shaped object is called an operculum, which digs into the sand and helps to move the heavy shell along.
64 Nine conchs in all - It is suggested that the claw-like operculum may also serve as a weapon to fend off predators.
65 A nice shot of Willis and our captain
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
Martha,
It does my heart good (touches my heart) to hear you speak like that about baby Jude. It reminds me of the excitement my mom is experiencing with her great-granddaughter right now (who is 1 years old). It was nice/fun to see a picture of you interacting with Jude. Her driving I laughed out loud literally! The photo of her holding the sea biscut is to preicous!
`
Tell Kevin I said, yes he should take up golfing! I've played competitively basketball, softball, volleyball and ran track, but out of all sports I've ever participated in golf was the single most difficult of all! It's a challenge to learn how to play, but once you get the hang of it, it's all worth it. Don't let anyone fool you golfers that are good are the best athletes over any other sport athlete period! With golf you can have skill, yet you have to also have a mind for the game - mental toughness! Makes me smile just thinking about it.
`
The gumbo-limbo trees are neat looking I enjoyed seeing them especially the one that was decorated. The golf course photos are beautiful, so plush and green!
`
The sunset/sunrise photo was lovely! Never heard of conch before, I learned something new today.
`
Thanks for sharing this blog and so much of your life with us - appreciated.
Posted by: KLBrown | January 9th, 2012 at 2:46 am
I love the picture of your hands holding Baby Jude's holding the sea biscuit!
Posted by: Monica | January 9th, 2012 at 6:21 am
Hi Martha, beautiful and amazing photos of your holiday in the Bahamas with your family. Love the pics of Alexis and Jude. Wishing you all a blessed and wonderful year. xo
Posted by: Rowaida Flayhan | January 9th, 2012 at 7:10 am
Martha,
I truly enjoyed meeting you. Never in a million years would I have thought I would "run into you" in my yard. It was a pleasure to meet you and talk about our mutual interest in animals. You are remarkable and meeting you definitely enriched my life. Many thanks.
Lisa
Posted by: Lisa Roberts | January 9th, 2012 at 9:00 am
Words just can't quite express joy at seeing these pics of you, Alexis and Baby Jude. Thanx
Posted by: ann | January 9th, 2012 at 9:38 am
What lovely vacation pictures! Baker's Bay in the Bahamas looks so beautiful. Wow Maddy! I'm impressed with your snorkeling/lobster spearing skills! I don't golf either Kevin, but I can appreciate the beautiful greens and the views, spectacular! Love the pictures of baby Jude, so sweet! Thanks for sharing Martha!
Posted by: Cindy F | January 9th, 2012 at 9:42 am
Hi Martha, For some reason, your awesome photos won't appear right now so will comment anyway since I viewed them late last night. This blog posting is the most spectacular one I've seen in a long time! Sweet baby Jude, Alexis, Kevin and of course you are absolutely fantastic to see in your newest photos! Little Jude must have had a fabulous time seeing so many new things and walking on the sand along the shore with her Mommy. How fun to see you and Alexis diving for those lobsters and big shells! What fun that must have been! Did Kevin play golf? I'll bet he would love it! My Dad was a great golfer! Thanks so much for sharing this awesome vacation with us-fantastic tour to view! Can't wait to see you new TV Show on Hallmark today! I hope more people will be watching! The Daily Wag photos were missing, too. Hope you have a delightful day! Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | January 9th, 2012 at 9:55 am
Wondering if the conchs shells will stay yellow as in your pictures? My childhood memories of such tourist shells in Florida were only pinkish.
Posted by: Mimi | January 9th, 2012 at 10:12 am
Proud to say I know Willis Levarity and his family from GTC. The Bahamas has a lot to offer but most of all it has caring and giving people. So happy to have someone like you Martha to take the time to spread the word.
Posted by: Maggie Rende | January 9th, 2012 at 10:39 am
Photos #25 and #32..stunning! Number 25 looks like a postcard. What a beautiful island, have never been there. It's so picturesque. The conch shells are so colorful. I would have definitely kept them and used them somehow. Thank you for the tour!
Posted by: Judy | January 9th, 2012 at 11:00 am
The Abacos in theBahamas is a lovely place to visit. Wow-that cat lady is amazing! That must take a lot of love to get those stray cats caught in a kennel and on a ferry to get spayed and at her expense. Hats off to Lisa!
Posted by: Sheryl | January 9th, 2012 at 11:37 am
Martha, I loved hearing of your stories from the island and seeing the photos. As someone who visits that island frequently it's so nice to hear about someone else's fresh experiences. Sometimes the beauty of the surroundings go unnoticed due to familiarity. Glad you enjoyed it.
Posted by: Michelle | January 9th, 2012 at 11:37 am
Hi Martha,
Baker's Bay Golf Club looks like a great place to live or vacation and you’ve shown that diving for lobster and conch can be quite productive around there. My son and sister are both certified deep sea divers but I prefer staying on the boat! I do enjoy fishing though. Thanks again for your beautiful pictures and I'm so happy for you that you have a granddaughter. The closest I've gotten so far is a grandniece but she’s a little doll - one and a half months old. Trish
P.S. For those unable to view pictures, you might want to try clicking on the tab for compatibility view which is in the address bar above. It worked for me.
Posted by: Trish | January 9th, 2012 at 11:59 am
just fyi.... ... size limits for Lobster and crawfish, 3 3/8 inch carapace length or 6 inch tail.
Conch: limit of 6 at any one time.
i'm a painter here in hope town. next time, come see our beautiful little island. 2 islands down from guana.
rody.com
Posted by: kim rody | January 9th, 2012 at 12:21 pm
Great photos of Baker's Bay and Guana Cay! You should have come to Hope Town too....
Posted by: P. Higgs | January 9th, 2012 at 12:24 pm
I WAS BORN AND RAISED ON GUANA and Bakers bay was our favourite spot to go shelling,
and pick sea grapes they were delicious.
we never know who will visit that Beautiful Island,
Thank you Martha Stewart.
Posted by: Paulette | January 9th, 2012 at 1:59 pm
Hi Martha,
I had seen your photos the other day as well. I think the most spectacular thing about your trip to the Bahamas is the vividness of the colors. The bright greens, the soothing blues....these colors are inspiring. I could see a bedroom in these colors, with a nice neutral sand color on the walls and billowy white curtains blowing in the breeze....thanks for the images to brighten a chilly winter's day not quite making it into the 30's...
Posted by: Nantucket Daffodil | January 9th, 2012 at 5:42 pm
I love this place, spent two weeks on this island for a wedding, and it was wonderful, Makes me sad that they will be building in Bakers Bay,
Part of the draw to this island is the quite and peaceful area without being crowded, I really hope they don"t over build.
Posted by: lisa | January 9th, 2012 at 6:30 pm
I'm glad you found our gorgeous little island...we love it so much that we built our dream home, named Beach Dream, on the beach near Nipper's. We also offer it as a weekly vacation rental http://www.vrbo.com/217700 , so visitors have a spectacular place to stay even if they don't know someone at Baker's Bay. On your next trip, check out the beautiful reefs around Guana Cay and the one in front of our house that's just off the beach...you'll love it!
BTW, our 11 year-old daughter found, painted and hung one of the buoys on the "buoy tree"...great to see it in the photo.
Grant
Posted by: Grant Kelley | January 9th, 2012 at 7:27 pm
Loved seeing your vacation photos. Baby Jude is precious holding the seabiscuit. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Jeannelle | January 9th, 2012 at 9:30 pm
What a wonderful vacation! I watch or record your superior tv show every day and would just hate to loose it. So glad to hear you are working things out. Please Hallmark, what could you be thinking!!
Posted by: Dalene Parker | January 9th, 2012 at 10:42 pm
Thank you for sharing the lovely photos of your family on vacation here in the islands that I call home. What a joy to know that someone I admire greatly spent time and showcased our country so beautifully. I live on the very busy and congested - yet beautiful, Nassau and I count it a blessing when I could leave for a day or two to visit a quieter island. Happy to know you enjoyed your visit.
Posted by: Lisa Bastian | January 10th, 2012 at 12:44 am
today snow is falling down in Ankara Turkey I am very happy to see your bahamas photos. I love sea but there is no sea in Ankara but with your photos sea is my living room. thanks Martha.
Posted by: birsen | January 10th, 2012 at 2:33 am
Thank you for sharing your vacation photographs. I feel as if I went there myself.
Kay from Katonah
Owner of a cream color French Bulldog named Marie Antoinette who I love with all my heart.
Posted by: Kay Maher Cocozza | January 10th, 2012 at 4:31 am
Very nice vacation pics. Catching it fresh and then eating it for dinner. Nothing better. Tell Alexis we miss the wonderful recipes and banter at her old blog from the whatever days. Hope she creates a new blog in the future. Always had great pics of the food she created, esp those yummy looking pies and cookies.
Posted by: TommyBoy | January 10th, 2012 at 7:53 am
Good thing maddy was there to catch all those lobsters for dinner. What fun.
Baby Jude is just tooo cute. Those little hands are precious.
Posted by: Darcell | January 10th, 2012 at 8:09 am
Great Guana Cay is a beautiful island, but its coral reef is in danger from overdevelopment on the northern end of the island. I have been diving that reef since I was a boy, and seeing the effect of indulgent development, despite the protests of the locals, has saddened me and the emboldened the coral community and locals to action.
Posted by: Erik | January 10th, 2012 at 12:34 pm
Martha, thank you so much for including our cottage, Beach Walk, on your blog! We had a lot of fun painting it. (Well as much 'fun' as one can have painting a house!) Great Guana Cay is such a special place, glad to hear you and your family had such a wonderful time there.
Posted by: Valentina Ferguson | January 10th, 2012 at 2:28 pm
YES ABACO IS BEAUTIFUL, YOU SHOULD BE SEE THE OTHER ISLANDS ALLSO HOPETOWN IS CHARMING GREENTURTLE IS LIKE A POSTCARD.MARSH HARBOUR HAS NICE SHOPPING, MONKEYS UNCLE HAS UNIQUE GIFTS.COME BACK AND SEE US.
Posted by: KATHY | January 10th, 2012 at 4:49 pm
thank you...for again highlighting the Abacos on your blog - you were great with your report when you stayed in Treasure Cay a few years ago
if you get any negative comments on your blog from non- locals be sure you know ...its not true..thank you for coming to Abaco ..
Posted by: mary | January 11th, 2012 at 12:28 am
i have been watching your show on one of our local
channels at 6.30 am for the last 6 months and i am totally hooked although it is at least a year behind. my husband and i along with our three daughters own and run a shop called The Essential Ingredient in Orange, Australia. It specializes in quality food, cookware and culinary books, so today when i went to work i was nicely surprised when i found Marthas Entertaining book arrived in an order only to be told it was actually ordered for me,'SURPRISE', i have not been able to stop reading it, so i thought i would tell you what an awesome book it is and i will treasure it, try out a few recipes and continue to watch the show on tv.
Cheers Silvia
Posted by: silvia rogers | January 11th, 2012 at 2:06 am
Hi Martha,
I am from the Bahamas and live in Abaco and love the stunning ocean and marine life! Although I am glad you enjoyed Bakers Bay, I must tell you that the perfect green golf course with an ocean view came at a tragic price to the reefs you and your family fell in love with. See a quote from Save Guana Reef...
Scientists in January 2012 surveyed the reefs on Great Guana Cay, and confirmed residents’ worst nightmare: coral diseases and algae had risen dramatically on the reefs nearest the sprawling Baker’s Bay Golf & Ocean Club since its 2010 construction.
See the full article below:
http://www.bahamaislandsinfo.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10832%3Asave-guana-cay-reef-association-bahamas-coral-reef-dying-because-of-megadevelopment-golf-course&catid=103%3Aabaco-news&Itemid=224
You seem to be a wonderful mom and I hope this resonates with you, since our kids will lose the chance to see the magnificence of this reef because of places like Bakers Bay..
Thank you for your time,
Angie
Posted by: Angie Dovel | January 23rd, 2012 at 12:25 pm
Martha, I found your blog mentioned on the Abaco Forum (along with some nice comments), and it was fun reading about your trip and seeing your beautiful photos. We've been visiting Abaco for 4 years now, and I'm glad you got "out and about" away from Bakers Bay so you could see the "real" Abacos. Unfortunately, as mentioned above, the most recent scientific study on the Great Guana Cay Reef was released this month, revealing the deteriorating condition of the reef, with convincing evidence it's being caused by the Bakers Bay's golf course. Locals and Abaco lovers were dismayed to find their worst fears realized. If you're interested, here are a couple more articles about the recent findings, and a very reliable blog that contains the history of the fight to save the GGC Reef.
http://www.thebahamasweekly.com/publish/local/Bahamas_Coral_Reef_Dying_because_of_Megadevelopment_Golf_Course19869.shtml
http://www.thenassauguardian.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=22325:scientists-guana-cay-at-risk-from-golf-course-fertilizer&catid=40:business&Itemid=2
http://www.tribune242.com/business/01242012_Corals_business_Page1-5
http://www.notesfromtheroad.com/guana.htm
Posted by: Patti | January 29th, 2012 at 12:11 pm
WE LOCALS ARE DELIGHTED YOU LOVED ABACO DONT TAKE ALL THE SUPPOSED FINDINGS ABOUT THE DECLINE OF THE REEF SERIOUSLY
haste ye back
Posted by: louise | January 29th, 2012 at 8:00 pm
Dear Martha,
I have owned property on Guana Cay for the past 15 years and seven years ago built Blue Surf Cottage, http://www.bluesurfcottage.com/ I have fallen in love with the true islanders. They are proud, strong and very much individuals. They built my house for me using the best of local labour and built a home that my family treasures. I am glad that you took the time to see more of the island than just Baker's Bay. These Bahamians deserve attention. Each and every time I return to the US after having been to Guana, I realize how lucky I am to own my home there. I can not wait for our yearly family reunion!!!
Posted by: Candace Friis | March 5th, 2012 at 8:54 pm