Second Week in Hope Town

April 13, 2017 - April 19, 2017

We decided to stay an extra week in Hope Town before visiting some other cays.  This spot seems to have everything you would want in a Bahamian town.  We can visit the Hope Town Lodge have lunch or just drinks and then use the pool (salt water) and the beach with lounge chairs and umbrellas.  The pool or the beach are never crowded.  There are reefs off the beach for snorkeling, too. It’s like having all of the resort amenities without any crowds. The town has two small grocery stores with a good variety of supplies, a bank (open on Tuesday), a Batelco (our internet provider) office (open on Tuesdays), four good restaurants, a coffee shop, plenty of gift shops, golf carts, a Methodist Church, and lots of friendly people.  What more could we want?

One charming aspect of the town is that the bells in the Methodist Church play hymns at 12 noon and 6 pm.  They are mostly old favorites that I remember from my church days.  

Bob thinks we are getting lazy, not that he minds his afternoon nap.  However, we do have chores, errands, upkeep on the boat, and various other duties to take care of.  We never do too much work in one day though.  That’s what retirement is all about, right? 

We regularly explore different areas of the island on foot and by dinghy.

As we walk along the upper road in Hope Town
we regularly see these beach access paths.

One day we walked further south on the cay and
discovered yet another amazing beach.
Too bad it is so crowded!

Lovely gardens abound in this community.

Flowers grow wild along the side of the road, too.

This tiny house is just outside the harbour on Nigh Creek.
It probably has more square footage than s/v Rainy Days.

One afternoon we took the dinghy to the southern most point of the island.  After about an hour ride we anchored the dinghy just off Tahiti Beach.  I had a nice swim and Bob took numerous photographs.

I'm always amazed at how few people are on these
gorgeous beaches. Maybe it's because there
are so many of them in the Abacos.

I visited the Methodist church for the Easter Sunday Service.  It’s a tiny church whose back windows overlook the Atlantic Ocean so you can see the waves crashing over the barrier reef as you are enjoying the service.  The music and the message were both inspiring.

On our last full day in Hope Town we spent it at the lodge.  I relaxed on the beach and swam and played in the ocean and then the pool.  I definitely prefer the ocean to the pool, but it’s nice to get all of the sand off in the pool.

Our next stop is Marsh Harbour to re-provision.

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Hope Town, Elbow Cay, Abacos

April 7, 2017 - April 12, 2017

One morning we did the touristy thing of visiting the light house.  I’m glad we did because the views from the top were incredible.  The story of the light house is that it was built by the British, but the progress was constantly slowed by sabotage.  It seems that the settlers on the island had turned to being “wreckers” (those who plunder ships that have wrecked on the rocks) as their original plan to be farmers wasn’t working out too well in the thin sandy soil of the island. Once the light house was completed their livelihood would be ruined.

This light house still sends its beacon out to the 
Atlantic Ocean to warn mariners of the dangerous reefs.

Yes, we climbed all 101 steps,
even in our aged condition.

This is the channel we had to get through in order to
get into the harbour.  All of the light colored areas are
sand bars and some of the darker colors are rocks.
Now you see why we have to pay such
close attention to tides.

These houses line the water as the channel opens
up into the harbour. That's the ocean you see in the background.

Hope Town Harbour is not very large, as you can see,
but very well protected from winds from any direction.
That's s/v Rainy Days in the back of the
second row of boats from the left.

Hope Town Marina is the largest in the
harbour and has 50 berths.

You can see how small this settlement of 458 residents is.
That is the ocean on the far side of the isthmus.

I’m glad I could take these photographs because I think the “birds eye view” gives you a better idea of the areas we are visiting.  These small cays are part of the limestone plateau that juts up into the ocean about 60 miles off the coast of Florida just east of the gulf stream.  Each community is unique and fascinating in its heritage, culture, and appeal.

Every morning while in Hope Town we listen to the Cruiser’s net which is a radio broadcast by cruisers that gives weather, events, restaurant, etc. information for the cruising community.  At the end of the announcements cruisers can call in with questions and messages.  Birthdays are celebrated with mike clicks.

One morning we visited the Wyannie Malone Museum.  Wyannie was the first settler in Hope Town.  She was a widow who brought her two sons, son-in-law, and daughter to the island to escape the persecution of loyalists back in the Carolinas.  It was an excellent display of historical artifacts and historical information.

This room was set up to represent a bedroom in
a historic house in Hope Town.

These bathing costumes were hanging on the line
in a room adjacent to the bedroom.

One room in the museum was dedicated to a display
of model boats representing the types of boats that
were built in the Abacos.  Boats are still being
made in Man-O-War Cay and models are
built on several islands.

Shells are a plentiful commodity on the islands.
This art work shows a creative use of shells.

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Little Harbour to Marsh Harbour to Hope Town

April 1, 2017 - April 6, 2017

Our final day in Little Harbour was spent enjoying the pig roast at Pete’s Pub, snorkeling, and taking some final photographs of the area.  Bob even got a good shot of the sea turtle that we have been observing in the harbour.

We left for Marsh Harbour to re-provision on April 2nd at about 12 noon as we had to leave at high tide in order to make it through the channel.  All went well on our trip and I even donned my snorkel and mask and trailed behind the boat by holding on to the swim ladder.  I didn’t see much but the grass on the bottom, but it was fun.  

Re-provisioning is not as easy as jumping in a car and visiting the various stores we need items from.  To get groceries we take the dinghy to the dock, walk about 1/2 a mile, buy the items we need keeping in mind that we have to carry them the 1/2 mile back to the dinghy, take them back to the boat, unload them from the dinghy, and then stow them on board.  It is quite an undertaking and it took us three trips (one each day) to obtain all of the items we needed.  Getting laundry done is equally exhausting.  So our 2 1/2 days at Marsh Harbour were not fun and games, but chores.  We also did the engine and water systems maintenance while we were there.

We left Marsh Harbour at 1 pm on April 5th calculating that we would get to Hope Town at mid tide to give us plenty of depth to navigate the channel without going aground.  We arrived about 3 pm and were able to get a mooring buoy.  This may sound like an easy accomplishment, but Hope Town mooring buoys are hot items with very few available as people tend to come to Hope Town and stay for a long time sometimes for the whole winter season.  So we felt very fortunate to get one.  

Hope Town is a lovely community on Elbow Cay.
It reminds me a bit of Bermuda,
but much more casual, small, and friendly.

Like most communities in the Abacos, Bahamas,
this area was settled by American colonist
who were loyal to the British Crown curing the revolution.

The cottages and houses lining the harbour,
streets, and beach are lovely.

This beautiful Methodist church overlooks the ocean.

Hope Town's light house rises above the harbour.

The beach is gorgeous and I'm looking
forward to sunning and swimming there.

One of the local inns and restaurants has this pool.
It is open to anyone who patronizes the restaurant.
I'm sure I'll spend an afternoon there.

Thank you for reading my blog.

Man-O-War to Little Harbour

March 25, 2017-March 31, 2017

On our last day at Man-O-War Cay we attended the annual Luau that is held to benefit the various youth sports programs on the island.  There were around 100 people there enjoying the great food, auctions, hula skirt contests, limbo contests, music, and conversation.  The day had threatened to be rainy, but the weather was perfect.

We were ready to leave Man-O-War, but it was too windy to get to Little Harbour (our next destination).  The next morning we left for the cove on the north end of the island to anchor out. I spent the afternoon swimming and snorkeling.  There wasn’t much to see, but I loved being in the water.

As we were relaxing in the cockpit this
cutter rigged ketch (from Malaysia)
sailed into the cove, What a beautiful sight!

We left for Little Harbour which is on the southern end of Great Abaco Island at 7:30 am.  Since the channel into the harbour has severe shoaling and can only be entered by sailboats at high tide we needed to get there around 11:30 am, or so we thought.  Come to find out Bob had read the wrong tide table and high tide was really at 9 am.  We chanced it anyway and with Bob at the helm and the depth sounder ringing its warning we made it through and caught one of Pete’s Pub’s moorings.  We went into the pub to pay our mooring fees and have lunch.

Pete's Pub is the only restaurant in
Little Harbour and is famous for its seafood,
burgers, beach sand floors, and
the blaster (a powerful rum drink)

Some customers choose to leave stickers
or simply write their names and a message
with magic marker.

Just behind the pub are stairs leading to the ocean side of the island.  The views are spectacular.

These steps lead to some of the most beautiful
scenery I have seen yet in the Bahamas.

Spectacular, right?

Doesn't this look inviting?

The harbour is surrounded by lovely cottages and the caves that the first settlers stayed in while they built their house and foundry.  The first settlers were a sculpture artist, Randolph Johnston, his wife and three sons (by the way Pete is one of the sons).  The foundry is still used for the casting of magnificent bronze sculptures of the area wildlife.  These sculptures by Randolph and his sons are on display and for sale in the gallery on the island.

This is one of my favorites.

Can you imagine living in here?

Here are some bronze sculptures
on display at the gallery.

Sometimes there is a curly tail lizard
 resting inside his mouth.
Can you see it?

We just love this spot.  We can eat lunch and make friends at Pete’s Pub, snorkel and swim anytime, wander around the area to explore, watch the sea turtles in the harbour, admire the beautiful surroundings, and relax in the perfect weather.  To me this is what the Bahamas are  all about.

Here we are moored in this
perfect little harbour.

I'm enjoying another wahoo sandwich.

‘

We will reluctantly leave here for Marsh Harbour on Monday morning to re-provision as Little Harbour has no facilities for groceries, water, or laundry.  Maybe that’s what is so perfect about it…it is unspoiled.

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Marsh Harbour to Man-O-War Cay

March 17, 2017 - March 24, 2017

We opted to stay in Marsh Harbour for St. Patrick’s Day even though there was a Barefoot Man Concert at Nippers in Guana Cay.  Our friends were going over, but Bob thought it might be too crowded and rowdy for him to enjoy the excursion.  Marsh Harbour had a parade at 5 pm and several local businesses along the two block parade route were passing out free beer, jello shots, and green cocktails.  The parade was the shortest one ever and lasted about five minutes.

The parade participants, though few in
number, exhibited plenty of enthusiasm.

What would St. Patrick's Day be without
Irish coffee and green Jello shots?

On Monday the 20th we moved on to Man-O-War Cay which was settled by loyalist during the Revolutionary War.  It was great to be back on the water again even though the trip took less than 1.5 hours.  The harbour was quite crowded, but we found a mooring ball easily.

The boats were packed into this little harbour.
 

This was our view of the settlement on
Man-O-War Cay from our mooring.

The settlement on the island is small, but very industrious.  The Albury family still makes their famous boats here, there is a shop full of items made from Bahama batiked fabric (the store clerk was busily sewing as she was answering our questions about the merchandise), and there is a Sail Loft Shop that had every type of bag imaginable made of sturdy sailcloth and Sunbrella (there were 4 or 5 ladies sewing bags in that shop while we browsed). 

We docked the dinghy at the end
of the pier leading to Albury's Sail Loft where
we purchase two sturdy bags.

This is a example of the beautiful
and well maintained homes in the settlement.

The water here is crystal clear and beautiful.  On a dinghy trip we found a lovely protected cove that was perfect for swimming.  It had a lovely beach and just over a narrow strip of land was the ocean.  

This is my favorite cove and swimming
spot so far in the Abacos. You can see
the ocean on the top left of the picture.

One day we rented a golf cart to explore the island more thoroughly.

The beauty of the ocean in the Bahamas
makes it almost impossible to take a bad picture.

Man-O-War community is a very religious one.
This Methodist church is one of four
churches in the settlement.

There is beauty everywhere you
turn on this island.

We will be staying in Man-O-War Harbour through the weekend as we are expecting high winds and unfavorable seas for the next few days.

Thank you for reading my blog.

Marsh Harbour 1

March 11, 2017 - March 16, 2017

We have been anchored in Marsh Harbour for the week.  High winds that blew into the area with a cold front have kept us from visiting other points of interest, but we continue to enjoy this spot. 

We love the beautiful turquoise
water in the harbour.

Our friends, Nancy and Ken (s/v Hafli) and Marion and Jonathan (s/v Eleuthera II), are anchored nearby and we spent a couple of evenings with them. One night we all went to “Steak Out” at the Jib Room which consists of a huge steak cooked on the grill, baked potato, salad, and steamed vegetables.  There were lots of people there enjoying the delicious food and the music afterwards.  Another night we hosted a pizza night on our boat.  The pizza was better than we could have hoped and the conversation was great as usual.

We have explored the town extensively, done laundry, bought groceries, and seafood.  One night Bob fixed some outstandingly delicious lobster tails.  Life here is relaxing and pleasant with turquoise water, bright sunshine, and cool breezes.  I guess you might call it paradise!

Houses here are colorful and
surrounded by lush foliage. 

Local families enjoy a day on the water, too.

Snappas is a great place for fresh seafood.

Kalik, the local Bahamian beer, goes
well with seafood.

I luv da palm trees, man.

It has rained almost everyday we have been in the Bahamas, but usually just briefly.

This rain shower lasted almost
an hour one morning.

Curly Tails Restaurant has a bar
upstairs with great views of the
harbour and great food.

Outside of Curly Tails we found
this real curly tail lizard sunning
himself on a log.

Every night we are treated to a
beautiful sunset and conch horns played
by observers on land.

Thank you for reading my blog.