Gosh, timing is everything! We had the good fortune to experience a major Junkanoo festival here on Eleuthera. The final night was pretty amazing.
A couple of days ago, while at Pelican Cay, we picked up a baggie full of the pink sand. Overnight, we saw a whole bunch of little trails in it but couldn't figure out who made them.
We kept watching & the little worm stayed hidden. After a day trying to keep the bag covered & in the dark, we finally saw the little guy who was probably trying to figure out how to get out of the sand bag. So sorry for his luck.
For the past few days it has been blowing consistently 20 to 30 knots with squalls pushing through with winds approaching 40 knots. Argghhhh. Between the showers, the sun would come out before the next line marched through. During one of those sunny respites, we captured this amazing double rainbow which actually looked like it touched the sailboat anchored next to us. Wow, what a neat sight. We emailed the picture to them so they could enjoy it.
Getting ashore here at low tide is quite an ordeal. The sand extends quite a ways from the shore so we have to secure the dinghy in a way that we don't lose it when the tide comes in. Here, we found a partially-buried transmission case with a rope attached to it.
We had the good fortune to be at Governor's Harbor at the time of their annual island-wide Junkanoo Festival. Wow, what luck! We heard a lot of music on Thursday night but thought it sounded like some bands were practicing. As it turns out, that was the first night of 3 festival nights.
After learning about events while in town on Friday, we headed back to the boat. Because the festivities didn't start until 8:00, we decided to eat on the boat & return later. Notice the full moon behind the stage.
Tonight was variety of events prior to a Junkanoo band performance. First, some dancers.
Then a fashion show & some DJ-generated fun.
The Junkanoo Queen & Little Miss Junkanoo
Then, sometime after 10:00, the band came.
Though these guys were fun, the BIG event was not to begin until Saturday evening at "7:00".
We went in to town around 6:00 to have dinner at one of the many food booths that were set up for the occasion. While there, we spent some time with a German couple we had met the night before. As it turns out, she works for Germany's largest TV station & had been the producer of their version of "Survivor" which she produced for them last fall in Figi! He was a free-lance videographer who contracts for many of the TV stations. She had racked up so much overtime while working on their Survivor series in Figi that they were in Eleuthera trying to recoup some of her time-off.
The event this evening was a pretty big deal. There was a full camera crew here to broadcast it live throughout the Bahamas! They had 8 cameras & a drone all set up. Our German friends were quite impressed at the quality of the equipment. Apparently, this crew had much nicer equipment than what the Germans use - interesting!
This is the host of the show. They were up high enough that they could see all of the festivities in the street below.
The opening float was stunning.
Then came the dancers & glorious costumes.
Though we were behind a barrier, he stopped long enough for a picture with Carol!
Then came the rhythm instruments!
Then came the drums. Lots and lots of drums of every shape, size & tone.
The parade, which was supposed to have started promptly at 7:00, got moved back to 8:00 and then, finally 8:30. The parade probably took 30 minutes to pass us due to their slow movement. Then, there was going to be a 20 minute intermission before the next group started.
Apparently there were Junkanoo groups from all over Eleuthera who had come here to celebrate. The 20 minute intermission turned into 30 and then we discovered that it had been pushed back to 10:30, or whenever. (It's the Bahamas, you know!)
By the time the parade was finished, there was a pretty sizable crowd enjoying the festivities. We think they were from all over the island. The crowd was very joyful and peaceful with lots and lots of kids everywhere. We never felt in any danger.
Finally, sometime after 10:00, we decided to call it a day and headed back to the boat. Wow, what a wonderful celebration it was. So much joy, so much color and so much overstimulation of our senses. Thank you Lord for guiding us here!
