Starboogie

Hi all!  I have been asked about postings on my original website "StarBoogie".  There was SO MUCH on that blog, covering several years and miles!  Stories and photos of travels through Western U.S., Mexico, The Bahamas, as well as New England and stories about people met along the way.  It was getting to be voluminous.  So,  I have decided to go back and select what I feel were "the best of" and re-post them here.  If there is a subject, or place you would like to read about, please let me know and I will pull it out of the archives!

For today, just because it's on my mind, here's a little story about Harbour Island, in The Bahamas:



TAKE A ROOSTER...please!
 

The Travel Guides talk a lot about Harbour Island, just off the northern tip  of Eleuthera in the Bahamas.  They wax eloquent about the charming Loyalist cottages, luxurious resort hotels, high end and not so high end marinas, the stunning beaches and beyond words blue and turquoise waters.

But.  And this is an oversight I really don't understand.  They say NOTHING about the Roosters.  Not mentioning the Roosters is like not mentioning the Hibiscus, or the Bougainvillea, or the coral sand.  They are EVERYWHERE.  Their numbers are legion.

You and yours are having French Toast on the porch of Dunmore Deli; they trot regally under the table next to you.  You visit  the historic library shaded by giant Banyan trees; they stand guard.  While you watch the sunset over the Caribbean, they take their evening strolls.  You are enjoying a vacation read; they take a short cut across your porch.

Their visual presence is indeed striking.  But the best part, the really BEST part is the surround sound!  Beginning at, let's say, 3:00 AM, the lead Rooster (not sure what his actual title is) decides it's time to wake the troops.  Sounds a lot like a scream, so it does get your attention.  Ensuing is the All Island Alert System (AIAS), which continues until long after the sun rises.  One can lie there in the dark and imagine the relay beginning with the lead Rooster under your window, rippling out to Roosters on the far reaches of the island, then skipping across the sea to the shores of the next island, and so on.

Not to be forgotten are the wives and progeny of the Roosters.  They nest under overturned boats, under houses, in the thick of tropical plants.  They cluck cheerfully and scurry across the street, completely unconcerned with oncoming golf cart traffic.

So.  On our last day on Harbour Island, we came across a bumper sticker that pleads "Take a Rooster to Eleuthera", where apparently there is no overpopulation of poultry.  Likely due to the overpopulation of feral dogs. 

Despite the hopeful request of the natives, I suspect other visitors do what we did.  With a knowing nod and raised eyebrow, get on the Ferry to Eleuthera for the next leg of our trip, and look forward to a full night's sleep!