Stil Morgan's Bluff, Andros, Bahamas

We set out to sail south to Fresh Creek.....

Now & Zen under sail in choppy seas.

But it was pretty yucky out -  Now & Zen called to see if we wanted to turn around and go south on a better day....So we said sure.  We're in no rush.

So we sailed back and anchored again at Morgan's Bluff.

Leslie arranged a rental car, so off we went.  Just exploring the island. 


Stopped by the Mennonite far for veggies.  Great locally grown veggies, a rarity in the Bahamas and one of Leslie's (and my) favorite stops.

This year we were in luck - the Ambrosia batik cloth factory was open for tours!  (Last year it was Jan 1st and everything was closed.)

The process is pretty simple - they start with plain white cloth.

And choose the appropriate natural sponge stamp.   This stamp is submerged in hot wax and used to stamp the pattern on the cloth.

The ladies use the lighted table to stamp the cloth at regular intervals.  They have different backlit patterns for different size stamps (and different arrangements of the stamps too depending on the design).

The wax-stamped cloth is then taken to the dye room.  Here the cloth is dyed in various color vats (bathtubs).  This gentleman is washing out the wax in boiling hot water.  He's using heavy rubber gloves to protect his hands.  When all the wax is washed away, it reveals the pretty white pattern.  (They catch and recycle the wax).

And then the cloth is hung out to dry in the back yard.

And these ladies make all sorts of garments from the cloth - here they're ironing aprons.  Cool visit.

We stopped for a late lunch on the way back, early night.