January 16, 2013
We anchored off of Sapelo Island at mile 649.5 on the Duplin
River. We liked this anchorage with a
small creek off to the side which we would use to judge our movement or more importantly our lack of
movement. Once we set the anchor, we
don't want to move so having a creek or other landmark on which to set a sight,
helps significantly.
We have arranged a tour on the island with one of the local
tour guides. Access to Sapelo is
strictly limited. One must have a local
tour guide, live or work on the island, or arrive on a state park tour to
access Sapelo.
We used the dinghy this morning for the first time.
We had no problems getting the dinghy down
and into the water and no problems
getting to the dock at Sapelo Island.
Our tour guide Argene Grovner met us at the dock.
Argene is a native of Sapelo.
Mr. Grovnor is a direct descendant of the
slaves who were brought here to work.
Check
out the website
Sapelo Island Tours to schedule a tour.
Mr. Adventure immediately discovered that he and Mr. Grovner
had common friends as Steve had worked on the island in his younger days with
the Department of Natural Resources. Our first stop was the Behavior
Cemetery. We drove along both paved and
unpaved roads sheltered by huge trees draped in Spanish moss. Mr. Grovner explained Geechee and Gullah
culture to us as we toured the ruins of the plantation. We stopped by Chocolate house. Steve had stayed here on one of his trips to
the island years ago.
Aregene took us to Hog Hammock, the only residential
community on the island. We visited the
grocery store, bar, general store called The Trough. We got a snack here as well as a cookbook
published by Argene's wife,
Yvonne. I discovered recipes for
alligator stew and fried alligator.
There is even a section on how to catch an alligator--I don't think I need
these instructions, but it's good to
know if I get a hankering for alligator stew.
The cookbook is full of recipes and local history and tradition.
Aregene suggested we visit again on culture day in
October--where there are many foods to taste and cultural wonders to
experience.
Matthew 11:28-30
Joshua1:5, 9
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| Chocolate House Interior |
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| Carrier pigeon holes at the top of the barn |
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| Tabby |
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| The only store on the island |
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| Lovely little church on the island--just imagine eating on the grounds at homecoming |
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| R J Reynolds Barn converted to UGA Marine Studies facility |
