February 14, 2018 - February 18, 2018
We didn’t do anything special on Valentine’s Day except have lunch at the Jib Room. While we were eating I did the laundry. I’ve found that doing laundry once every two weeks works well. Even though we have enough clothes to stretch the time between laundry days, waiting much beyond two weeks makes for just too many clothes to do. Most marina laundry facilities only have two washers and two dryers so I prefer to get it all done at once.
Thursday was a big day. We were at the Dive Abaco boat at 9:00 am ready for our snorkeling trip. We left the marina at about 9:30 and picked up five scuba divers on their boat anchored off Man-O-War Cay. We continued on to the Fowl Cay Land and Sea Preserve which is part of the reef system inside of the Abaco barrier reef that is the third largest in the world. The divers donned their gear and received instruction from Captain Keith. Bob and I were the only snorkelers and were in the water quickly as snorkeling requires very little equipment - fins, mask, and snorkel. The reef was extensive, larger than any I had encountered so far in the Abacos. I can’t really explain why snorkeling enchants me, let’s just say I really had my “mermaid” on. The reef was beautiful with many types of coral and plants dancing in the current. I saw a sting ray and several colorful fish, but just being in the beautifully clear water is spectacular. Our next stop was a nearby reef that I swam completely around. On one side I encountered a school of blue tangs and many sergeant majors. Unfortunately, I was spooked by a barracuda with its sharp toothed smile. I hurried back to the boat a little shaken, but the dive assistant told me barracudas are just curious and if it approached me again to just swim straight at it. He got in the water with me and we swam around to the side of the reef. He got my attention when he spotted the barracuda and I watched him scare it away by swimming full speed toward it. That helped me to overcome my reticence to stay in the water. I continued to explore the reef seeing a huge grouper, a large rainbow parrot fish, blue tangs, sergeant majors, yellow tailed snappers, and many more. It was a fabulous outing!!!
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| This diver is ready to explore the reef. |
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| Two yellow tailed snappers posed for Bob to photograph them. |
Friday was predicted to have light winds so we took off early (to catch the high tide) for Hope Town on Elbow Cay. We were almost out of water and filled up at the fuel dock before we found a mooring buoy. It was a lazy day as we had expended so much energy the day before on our snorkeling trip we just chilled on the boat reading and doing a few easy cleaning chores.
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At the fuel dock we encountered this manatee who enjoyed the lettuce
I fed him and the fresh water that was coming out of our bilge.
I can see why they are called sea cows - they are huge.
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Visiting Hope Town always includes a visit to the beautiful beach which is almost always deserted.
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| The water always draws me to it. |
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| This perfect day found only one couple enjoying the beach. |
Several couples we have met in our travels were also moored in Hope Town Harbour and we stopped by to catch up on their adventures. A beautiful old (1954) wooden sailboat from Maine took the mooring next to us and the owner shared some of the boats history with us. It must require a large amount of upkeep to keep the boat in such great condition.
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| I started hand sewing the triangles I had cut last week for my quilt project. This is going to take forever! |
On Saturday, after having flatbread pizza at Sip Sip we took the dinghy out of the harbour for some snorkeling. Unfortunately, we forgot the ladder and getting back in the dinghy after a nice swim was difficult (and I have the bruises to prove it). On Sunday we spent the afternoon basking in the sun by the pool at the Hope Town Lodge. Our plan is to leave for Man-O-War in the morning so I can get another bag of Androsia scraps for my quilt.
My next post will chronicle the rest of our stay in the central Abacos before we head up to Green Turtle Cay.
Thank you for reading my blog
