Island Kids

I love our island children.

I don't have children of my own (and my beau's children are grown).  So I get my "kid fix" from spending time with the local island kids.  Due to the small size of the community and the relaxed, interactive, island lifestyle, it is my pleasure to see these children almost every day - far more often than I was able to see cousins or friend's children in the hectic, far-flung States.

Beau and I brought all the kids over for an impromptu cookout and swim one weekend afternoon last fall.

One of the benefits of living on this small island is the tight sense of community.  With fewer than 100 full-time residents, and a delightful tangle of family ties amongst all the cousins and aunts and uncles, the community knows one another well and spends lots of time together.  Of the current residents, 17 are school-aged children - including only three girls at the moment! 

The school.

The island boasts a one-room schoolhouse, with live-in government teachers, where it educates children from Kindergarten through Grade 8.  After that, children must go to Nassau or another island for high school.  Sometimes families move with their children.  More often, during those high school years, our local children live with an aunt or cousin or other family member already living in that location.

My beau also loves children, and he is especially fond of these island children since many of them are his family or god-children or simply the future of this special island.  Beau and I, along with another couple, started a local kids' camp last summer.  Well into our second summer now, we are all having a ball!  All of the local school kids participate, along with numerous volunteer adults, and we meet every Thursday and Saturday during the summer months.  

Snorkeling one Saturday.

The purpose of the camp is to pass on traditional island skills in the areas of swimming, boating, sailing, fishing, free-diving, spear-fishing and nature skills, while subtly encouraging positive character development that has made this island special:  manners, discipline, respect for elders and the community, island preservation, work ethic, etc.

Boat excursion.

These island children share many similarities with American and most other children, in my experience.  They love to laugh, play, giggle, get into innocent mischief, express wonder at new things, and they bring an energy and zest for life to everything they do.

This crew just won a champion junior sailing race.  Posing here for a "serious" picture.

And a "silly" picture.

And now the CHAMPION picture!

However, the island children also seem a little different to me than many other children - in a good way. As a whole,  island kids are unfailingly polite, demonstrate respect for their elders, answer with "yes ma'am" and the like, do not bully their peers (of course, disagreements and bickering are unavoidable), and play tirelessly outdoors during all of their free time.  

I suspect that much of this has to do with the small-town atmosphere and values and family relations, which small towns in the U.S. and other countries may still continue to enjoy.  Certainly the freedom that comes with living in a small, safe place enables our local kids to run loose for hours on end in a way that City kids just can't enjoy.

Playing on one of the beaches.

It definitely takes a village to raise a child, and our local village embraces that concept.  Any adult, including myself now, will reprimand or correct any child observed being rude or unruly or doing something unsafe.  The children are quick to respond.  They're also quick to run up to us with greetings ("Good afternoon!"), hugs and whatever news is most exciting in their day.

Gardening session in our camp - we planted watermelons and pumpkins.  Fingers crossed for a good harvest!

Unfortunately, the inevitable path of "progress" brings changes to children here, too.  Computers, video games and modern technology demand the attention of many of the children - it's not just fishing and swimming anymore.  Exposure to brand names and popular trends through television and the internet brings the focus on such material things to the island in ways we didn't see a couple decades ago.  Like elsewhere in the world, values slowly change as a result.  As much as possible (thus, the kids camp), we hope to preserve the innocence of our children and their appreciation for island life.

Meanwhile, I just enjoy them every single day.

One of the boys diving down to explore on a snorkel excursion.

I donned a life jacket to help a nervous swimmer snorkel an underwater cave.  A great accomplishment for him!

Our tiny James Bond.

Beau returning with older boys from a spear-fishing excursion.

Beach picnic lunch last weekend, younger kids are still swimming in the background.

Kids cleaning their fish after a successful mission.

Moment of Zen with the sharks by the fish-cleaning bench.

Tired twins heading home with their spears, snorkel gear and bag of freshly caught and cleaned fish!

Snorkeling in the Aquarium (with Video!)

Over the weekend, Beau and I took advantage of the beautiful summer day and headed out for a day of play on the water.  We enjoyed a long boat ride up the chain of islands, exploring along the way and cooling off in the sea.

(For a bird's eye view of the chain of islands, and the spectacular shades of blue and aqua that we were cruising through in our boat, check out this older post with lots of aerial photos.)

During our exploration, one spot was rife with sea turtles, sharks and other sea creatures, so we got into the water to check it out more closely.  Unfortunately for all of you, I don't have any pictures from this spot.  I was too busy avoiding (successfully) getting stung by the schools of thimbles that were pervading the water!  These tiny jellyfish-like critters, in the shape of a sewing thimble, come out in the summer.  Sometimes they sting, sometimes they don't.  They stay mostly on the surface, so I was either swimming hard to stay down without a weight belt (I'm a floater!) or relaxing back in the boat - especially as the sharks became more curious.

But never fear, I trotted out the trusty camera at our next stop in the middle of a national park area of the sea.  Among other things, the "park" designation means that a no-fishing, no-taking policy applies to everything in its area.  As a result, fish and other sea creatures are plentiful.  It serves as a wonderful breeding ground and makes for fabulous snorkeling.

These pictures are from the part of the park locally known as the "Aquarium."  The Aquarium boasts tons of fish and coral in our pristine water of the Exumas.  (And no thimbles that day!)

Almost always, the first fish to greet us in the Aquarium are little Sergeant Majors. 

Sergeant Majors and some tails of Yellowtail Snapper.

As soon as we jumped in the water, these little guys swarmed around us in a frantic cloud of brightly striped color.  They are about 4-5 inches long and, obviously, are not afraid to swim up and blow kisses at the camera.

Sergeant Major kisses.

On the floor of the Aquarium - about 20-30 feet deep - and along the sides are plentiful coral, sea fans, sea grass and other wildlife.

A beautiful underwater world.  See where the sunlight filters down?

Another school of Sergeant Majors (and Yellowtail Snapper).

Another commonly seen (and hunted) fish in our area is the Grouper.  This one in the Aquarium was particularly friendly.  He must've known that he was safe from becoming our dinner in the protected park!

Grouper in the middle.

Another grouper in a different area, along with Triggerfish, Sergeant Majors and Yellowtail Snapper.

As a seasoned free-diver, my beau can hold his breath and swim effortlessly in deep waters for seemingly forever.  Without his spear and the thrill of the hunt in this protected park area, it was pure playtime for him.

Checking out something on the sea floor.

Looking under the rock, probably staring down a lobster or two.

Upside down again.

Now so far into a hole that you just see his blue flippers!

Our friends, Americans who are longtime residents of the Bahamas, enjoyed the exploration, too.

Queen of the Sergeant Majors.

Fish Whisperer?

Now, for my favorite part . . . a video treat!  This brief underwater video clip features my beau and a kajillion Sergeant Marjors swimming around him.  The video has a sped-up feel to it, but it is not edited or altered.  The fish are swimming at their actual pace.  However, it IS a faster pace than their usual - they are in a frenzy over the cracker that Beau brought with him and just crumbled into the water.  You may notice Mr. Grouper swimming through at a more leisurely pace.  The video is mostly silent except for the crackling sound of all the little fish - that is actually what it sounds like under there!

What a wonderful day!  I definitely enjoyed a Better Life kind of weekend, and I hope you did, too!

A Perfect Day (Fishing, Snorkeling, Conch Salad)

A few weekends ago, I enjoyed A Perfect Day.

It was a weekend morning and absolutely beautiful!

Morning sky.