Last we left off we had liberated our buddy Phil and I stitched Adams foot while underway…
We arrived in one (stitched up) piece to Rum Cay just in time to catch a beautiful sunset and make dinner before we both fell into a heavy well deserved sleep! 
Rum Cay is appropriately named after a ship carrying barrels of rum wrecked on its dangerous coral reef in the 18th century and the men all made it to shore but with nothing to survive other than rum! (We can assure you there is no shortage of Rum even to this day)
The following morning we were up early and ready to explore. We packed up the dingy 
with snacks, sunscreen, surf boards and snorkel gear and headed for the north point of the island where we had heard of a pristine isolated beach and a perfect break! The dingy cruise was beautiful and we were able to see just how untouched this little island was! The reefs were somehow putting to shame the previous islands.
As we arrived to our destination we knew we had a perfect day ahead of us. I headed ashore and set up a blanket and began combing the beach for shells as Adam headed over to the surf break (against all medical opinion)! Hours flew by 
and my shell collection grew as I watched hopeful that Adams stitches were holding (what a lunatic).
We ended the night by catching a little dinner and crashed early (yet again :)! Rough life of retirees!
The next day we headed to land in hopes of buying eggs and meeting the locals. This island, once inhabited by 150 ppl has declined to about 50. Hurricane Matthew we soon found out ripped this beautiful spot to shreads. As we neared land we noticed that not only were all the trees leaning as if wind struck but the houses were as well. There wasn’t a single house on island that was intact. Pulling up our dingy along side the tattered planks of what use to be a dock we were greeted by two men sitting under a big old pine tree. They pointed us to the one and only convenience store in town which was also a bar as well as a restaurant! Excited we started walking towards it taking in the one and only town on the island.
The town sits just on the waters edge, the homes are so close that you could put a fishing line out your window and catch dinner from your kitchen, it’s really a beautiful setting but sadly no wonder the surge from the storm destroyed so much. As we neared “Kays Bar” we knew we were in for a great adventure! It was 10am on a Tuesday but we could hear the music 50yards away! 
We soon became old friends with the local guys hanging out that Tuesday morning and they referred us to go see Bobby for some eggs…
“You want dem eggs, take de white road till it turns, when you start smellin the goat you der. He have chicken too.”
Ha! Greattttt…
Kay’s grocery turned out to just be a fridge on the side of the bar with a plywood top, some scary looking chicken feet, a frozen loaf of bread and some hotdogs…. and in desperation for some eggs we took off for the white road! About ten minutes into our walk we were hit with what can only be described as the smell of goats! Suddenly we are greeted by a giant hog.
He is friendly enough and we pass by and see he is enclosed and has other hog company in an enclosure made of old surfboards! Soon the goat smell really hits us and we realize we had arrived! Goats, chickens, dogs and cats; we seem to have found ourselves at a zoo! Just as I begin to question this idea of “we’re just going to walk up to this strangers house and ask him to sell us his eggs?!” A petite little girl rounds the corner! We say we were sent to find Bobby and she happily pulls us along to the main house telling us “You are welcome, no problem” in a thick European accent.
Strangers walking into Bobbys house must be a common occurrence because neither he nor his wife Gro bat an eye! They welcome us in to their home like we are old friends! They feed us pancakes, and tell stories of the island, the locals, and their way of life in this far off island! Being so far from civilization they depend on only what they can grow and what their animals provide. As I cradle an hours old baby goat I start thinking how beautiful this puristic life is. 
Hours seem to fly by and soon the sun is setting and we are heading back down the white road hands full with eggs and basil.
On our walk back home we both were silenced by the stories the couple had told us of the last hurricane. Bobby who use to run the marina and lives on a bluff overlooking the town and island point told us that the Hurricane not only passed over the island but the eye held on top of the town center for hours before carrying its destruction further down the island. The seas became so big people were swimming in their homes and the tiny coral built homes were being washed away like pieces of sand. All the islanders could do was pray that they would make it through.
In the following days we were able to explore more of the island and see past the incredible white sandy beaches. Although we had a very cheery welcome from the locals we did see a darker, sadder side of the island. Walking around the rest of town you could see the destruction from the storm not just on ripped apart roofs but just as plainly on the local economy and on the faces of the islanders. The storms led to the closure of the marina on island, the major tourist attraction and basis of the small towns economy. Without that income, the economy fell apart, no jobs led to people leaving, we didn’t see a single family or child for that matter on our week long stay. The storm also led to incredible hardships, graveyards by the ocean were destroyed and the locals had to re bury many of their relatives. On top of this, Nassau sent no relief for a couple months after the storm, a long time to be struggling for the necessities of life. It’s one thing to hear about the destruction of a place, to see a roof ripped off, or trees uprooted, but we never expected to see the utter devastation of a way of life. It withdrew a very raw emotion and left us in awe of the power of nature. The attitude of the locals gives one hope for the island but it’s still early on in the recovery process for this beautiful part of the world.
As we prepare to leave the next day Adam heads to town to tell our friends goodbye and thank you. His return is beat by the sun and he has a dark ride off the island. Guided to the lone anchor light in the harbor, he notices something strange, the boat seems to have grown… and has turned blue..
After circling a couple times, very confused as to how Heritage has made such a transformation, a figure emerges and says they just arrived and they saw our boat up ahead. The light the stranger shines highlights Heritage with no lights on hiding in the dark. Adam motors back and laughing over the story, reports about the boat (the first we have seen in a long time) and though he’s not sure, he thinks the fellow cruiser is our age!!! That would be a first, everyone else we had met so far was at least 30 years our elder, exciting news!
Come back next time for our adventures with our new friends and making it to the city of lights!
