45under45: CocoNUTS

This blog is all about nutty tings!

At this point, I am getting really pretty good at my exploration/jogging adventures around this island. Lately, I've been concentrating at chipping away at the southern section of this cay (pronounced "key"), an area where homes are laid out in mini subdivisions. Almost all of the roads are pock marked, rocky, and, for the most part, no longer have any actual evidence of paving material left...that is, if there was any to start with.

A few days ago, I set out to tackle the area just to the north and west of Sea Spray. (Read that day's blog here.) On that excursion, I jogged the pink route and the tiny roads and paths of the peninsula to the north of where the pink markings are.

Todays' trek...yellow.

I drove the golf cart to the Tahiti Beach "parking lot" by the Dorro's Cove dock. My intention was to go north on the tiny road that lead along the Sea of Abaco and then go from east to west (what the locals call sea to sea*) and then access the beach, walk the ocean side and end up back at the golf cart.

*The locals, who were formerly Brits, call the ocean the "sea". To distinguish between the "Sea of Abaco" on the west of the island and the word "sea" meaning ocean, I guess one of those seas should have a capital "S"...but which one? I'm going with neither 'cause it just looks weird.

I found this cute playground at the tip of Marne's Landing.

Awesome tree root along the Sea of Abaco.

Crashing waves at Tilloo Cut.

The jogging was more of the endless uphill steep grade stuff. Going from east to west, provided very little shade. Scaling the rocky cliffs at the Tilloo Cut portion required me to be super focused. I was tired, hot, thirsty, sun baked, a little nuts and just DONE! Although I know good and well that the end of this island is private property belonging to an estate called "Coconut Grove", I also know that Bahamian law says that all shore line from the water up to the high tide line is public property and as long as I access the land from that section, I'm not technically trespassing. I very generously applied that interpretation of the law as I wandered further up and just sat on their wooden boardwalk and soaked in their glorious breeze and heavenly shade. (The nearly 3 acre compound is for sale. Click here to see the property info and pics of the house. "Price available upon request." ←NUTS!)

Coconut Grove: private property...except for the parched and half-dead.

Once I got back home, hydrated, showered, rested, read a bit, napped, ate, and just generally recovered...I decided that this evening we should try to open the coconuts that we gathered the other day.

Summer, the tall girl=able to reach the coconuts.

We chose one brown one and one green one...a little science experiment was to be had.

Millie's such a good island dog, we can't stop taking pictures of her!

Sipping pool water.

Lounging pool side.

From the first whack with the "machete", it took 58 minutes to open the two coconuts. The green one, with its soft exterior, was easier to hack into. The brown one, nearly made of steel, was almost impossible to really just put a small crack in the outer husk! We took turns hacking, whacking, prying... I kept giving up. But, Summer was determined to not fail! She's nuts!

After one well placed chop, Summer got to the water, and drank some straight from the nut.
The water was surprisingly sweet and VERY different from store bought coconut water.