The Bahamian Adventure

I dissolved my company on February 28th 2020. I was going on a journey of self discovery. Well I recently got dragged back in to the trade I tried to walk away from…….. But at least this time it’s for an adventure and a good cause, and the money is pretty damn good if I must say so myself. So here I am working as a carpenter again, and it feels good for the first time in YEARS! You see, I hated what I did for about the last 3 or 4 years I was in business. Guys shi*ty attitudes, always chasing my money and dealing with the snow and cold of Colorado where my business operated for 22 years.

Well this time I’m doing things a little different. I’m a hired gun working on a hurricane Dorian damaged house in Elbow Cay, part of the Abaco chain of islands in the Bahamas. It’s pretty screwed up down here still, but the water is clear, the people are kind and the views are breathtaking!

The night before I left was a sleepless night of anxiety and anticipation, so after a restful 2 hours sleep ( I’m being facetious here ) we made the 3 hour drive to Orlando, Florida and jumped on a private charter to Marsh Harbor. When we landed it was complete and utter devastation. Mind blowing. Trees stripped, boats washed into neighborhoods and hurricane ravaged buildings everywhere. I felt like I had stepped into war torn World War II Berlin. It was insane……..

We jumped into our taxi and headed out to the ferry dock to wait on the water taxi over to Elbow Cay. We had a little time to kill so our driver Wayde took us on a little “sightseeing tour” to view the devastation. He showed us how high the water level was which was 10-15 feet in some places and talked about all the death he had endured after the storm. I could never imagine being stuck on a second story balcony with 200 mph winds and no where to go! The storm stalled over the island for like 36 hours! The stories were so graphic that I’ll spare the details but all I will say is it was heart wrenching. But, what I can say is I was so impressed at the Bahamian peoples graciousness, kindness, fortitude and ability to always smile.

The world needs more love like I’m witnessing here……. I fu*king needed this after the sh*tshow I’m witnessing in my native country of the USA……. The United States of America! Yeah right…. We need to rename it The Divided States of America with what’s been going on here lately….. What a joke! We should all take a good life lesson from the Bahamians! Most of these people lost EVERYTHING in the storm.

There were amazing views on the plane ride……The Bahamas consist of hundreds of islands!

The water taxi to Elbow Cay was an interesting ride. These things are the primary source of inter island transportation and supply chain logistics. Everything and everyone here moves by boat. When we docked at Elbow it was pure mayhem as people and supplies were off loaded. Elbow Cay has limited groceries and most people go to Marsh Harbor to do their shopping as it has a “real” grocery store……..EVERYTHING here is EXPENSIVE…….Basically double what it costs on the mainland!

Once I got on to Elbow I was surprised to see it was in much better shape than Marsh Harbor was. Jack our driver was waiting for us and all 6 of us piled in the Toyota Pick up and bounced down the road to The Abaco Inn where we will be staying for the first few days until we can make the house we are working on livable. All the windows of the house are gone and it’s been open to the elements sine the hurricane in 2019. The place is pretty rough, so I’m enjoying my little lavish villa on the beach for the first couple of days!

The Abaco Inn is really nice and right on the beach……There are two surf spots within walking distance so I can’t wait to get a surf in, but was warned I WILL see sharks…….

Well the adventure has begun……..I can’t wait to do another post on it! Ya mon…….I’m on island time for the foreseeable future!