Saturday, March 14, 2015

Green Castle Bahamas 2008

Darby Island

Anyone Home?





Emergency Generator!!!




It has been abandoned for sixty plus years now and yet the lines of the castle show the beautiful raised ceilings, architectural arches, tiled floors and even dark wood accents that hasn't been touched by the jaws of any termites! It was majestic in its time (built 1938), and even today you can appreciate the beauty of the location as it sits at the highest point and the balcony offers a stunning 270 degree view of the surrounding isles. Just looked it up online… you can own it for close to 39 million. I’m sure you could barter that down a few million though.
Big Darby Mansion.jpg
darby beach.jpg
darby island view.jpg
The following is from an article found on the web and it more or less confirms what I have been told on other occasions.

This private island once owned by a Nazi sympathizer? Rick Davis of Palmetto Bay (of course!) has a private island for sale. And it can be all yours for $40 million. CHEAP! The island, called Big Darby, lies in the Exuma area of the Caribbean and was originally given to a knighted man named Baxter Darby in the mid-1930s by King George. Baxter was supposedly a Nazi sympathizer. Sir Baxter eventually built himself an 8,000-square-foot castle on the island. He also allegedly let German World War II submarines use Darby to refuel before heading out to the Atlantic. "There are still giant poured concrete moorings," Davis said. "Nobody knows why they're there, but I believe it was for the submarines." Davis, who has owned the island since the 1990s, says private islands didn't become popular until people like Nicolas Cage and Johnny Depp bought their own. But Davis also warns that it's not for everyone. Islands like this have no sewage system and no running water, and the Baxter castle needs hella renovations. And while it sits in the middle of glassy green-blue oceans, the sun and salt make it nearly impossible to build anything on the island. "But those who like white-sand beaches, clear ocean, peace, and a stable government,"Davis says, "then it's for you." That, and it would be cool as shit to tell people you own your own private island.

Saturday, February 21, 2015

15 Day Southern Caribbean Cruise 2015

Aboard the M.V. Celebrity Eclipse

 Feb. 1 2015 Miami Beach Florida


Views of our ship

Feb. 2 2015 at Sea



Feb. 3 2015 at Sea
  A small cruise ship owned by Thompson
Feb. 4 at Aruba
 Feb. 5 at Curacao
  
Computer room




Shows at the theater every night were mainly excellent, with a couple of exceptions.

Feb. 6 2015 at Sea

 Feb. 7 Granada

Did the trolley tour of St. George's.





Shot from the ship while leaving port.



Feb. 8 2015 at Bridgetown Barbados




Feb. 9 2015 at Castries St. Lucia

 Feb. 10 2015 at St. John's Antigua

Feb. 11 2015 at Basseterre St. Kitts

Feb. 12 2015 at Philipsburg St. Maarten


Ship's Library


View from Elevators.




Feb. 13 2015 at Sea




Feb. 14 2015 at Sea


Feb. 15 2015 at Miami Florida

Check out our cruise slide show
Click Here !

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Hawaiian Luau

Luau - Hawaiian Feast




People of Hawaii: They are the descendants of Polynesians who migrated to Hawaii in two waves: the first from the Marquesas Islands probably c. AD 400; the second from Tahiti in the 9th or 10th century. Without metals, pottery, or beasts of burden, Hawaiians made implements of stone, wood, shell, teeth, and bone. They had a highly developed oral culture and possessed percussion, string, and wind instruments. Their basic unit of land, the ahupuaa, usually extended from the shore to the mountaintop, providing the occupants with the means to grow and gather all they needed. Hawaiians had four principal gods and many lesser deities. Their laws, which included intricate taboos, bore heavily upon the people, especially women. After the arrival of Christian missionaries in 1820, some of the more repressive laws and taboos were abolished, but the native population was devastated by Western diseases. Numbering about 300,000 in 1778, full-blooded Hawaiians today number fewer than 10,000.


Shark Attack Victim's Story


For those using iPads and cell phones, which are not able to view embedded video you can use this link to view the YouTube clip.