Cruising World - February 2016

16

FEBRUARY

2016

cruisingworld.com

UNDERWAY

H

eading down to the

Bahamas? Getting

there is only half the

fun. There’s local food to try,

music to hear, festivals to at-

tend, and then there’s boat

business: shopping for provi-

sions and boat parts, fi lling the

water tanks, doing the laundry,

sending the mail. It can be a

long list.

How do you get around?

Simple. You hitchhike. In the

Bahamian out islands, hitch-

hiking is a common mode of

transportation for locals and

visitors alike. It’s easy and safe,

and it works. Every time. Three

rules: 1) Cars drive on the left,

so stand on the proper side of

the road. 2) Stick out your left

hand, palm down, and make

a motion as though you were

patting the head of a large dog.

3) This is the best rule, because

three is the maximum number

of cars that will pass before you

get a ride. (Rental cars driven

by tourists don’t count, because

they never stop.)

My wife, Barbara, and I

spent a year cruising the Baha-

mas on Chamba, our 1979 Gulf-

star 37. Long Island, Cat Island,

Eleuthera, the Berries, Bimini,

the Abacos, Spanish Wells, the

Exumas — we went to as many

islands as we could in a year

of sailing, with the motto that

“the sailor with no schedule al-

ways has good weather.”

Pickup trucks fi gured prom-

inently in our hitchhiking

odyssey. We got rides with

fi shermen and shared the ride

with boxes of fi sh. We rode

with carpenters and squeezed

in with all their lumber, tools

and bricks. We even got a ride

on a retired school bus with

plywood seats.

Service techs for the Ba-

hamas Telecommunications

Company stopped to pick us

up several times. Then there

was the guy with a back seat

full of hot lunches he was deliv-

ering to an elementary school.

A woman picking up her two

children from school decided,

after her daughters squeezed

into the back seat with Barba-

ra, that she would drive us all

the way to the dinghy dock,

nearly 10 miles out of her way.

Standing by the side of the

road with an enormous bag

of laundry or jerry jugs of wa-

ter, we got rides. We got a lift

to and from the grocery store

when the driver decided she

might as well do some shop-

ping and wait for us to do ours.

While we were anchored in

Rock Sound, Eleuthera, we de-

cided to go across the island

to the Northside Inn. Fellow

cruisers had told us about it,

so we set off in the middle of a

hot, sunny day. There was not

much traffi c — well, no traffi c,

as it turned out — and after

a mile and half, we got to a T

junction where there was no

sign of which way to go.

We turned around and had

gone perhaps half a mile when a

car coming from town stopped.

The driver asked us where we

were going, off ering to turn

around and take us into town.

“We were going to the

Northside Inn,” said Barbara,

“but we didn’t fi nd it, so we’re

heading back.”

“I’m Rose Gibson, and

that’s my restaurant. I’ll take

you there.”

We relaxed with cold bot-

tles of Kalik beer while Rose

cooked us the best dinner of

our entire Bahamian cruise.

We didn’t even have to hitch-

hike back, because Rose’s son

off ered us a ride.

On a clear, bright, blue-sky

morning that also happened

to be Easter Sunday, Barbara

and I waited near The Moor-

ings’ building on the main

road of Marsh Harbour, Great

Abaco Island. The promised

school bus from the St. Francis

de Sales Catholic Church was

late, and then a car full of Ba-

hamians stopped and told us

the bus had broken down.

“Time to hitch,” I said to

Barbara.

The cruising couple waiting

with us were skeptical.

“Can we do that?”

“Yes,” said Barbara.

“Is it legal?”

“Yes.”

“Is it safe?”

“Of course.”

All four us hopped in the

back of the next pickup that

came by, and we made it to

Easter Sunday service (and

back) on the kindness of the

Bahamians.

Rental cars aren’t very reli-

able (the one time we rented

a car, it caught fi re), taxis can

get expensive, and there is no

public transportation in the

outer islands. What there is is

an island nation full of help-

ful, kind and generous people

who will go out of their way

to welcome you to their

home. — Greg Jones

HITCHING

BAHAMAS-STYLE

HITCHING

TIPS

1. In the Bahamas, cars
   drive on the left, so be
   sure you’re standing on
   the correct side.


2. Stick out your left hand,
   palm-down, and make a
   patting motion.


3. Typically, you’ll get a
   ride from the fi rst pass-
   ing car or two. Hop in and
   make a new friend!

Always room for one more: Although pickup trucks are one of the most common vehicles

in the Bahamas, it’s not uncommon to have to squeeze into a small back seat.

GREG JONES