Underway Again # 24:  Hope Town

One of the things that makes the Abacos unique is how close the cays are to each other.  From Marsh Harbour to Hope Town was only an hour and half away so off we went the next day.  Hope Town, located on Elbow Cay, is one of the most picturesque settlements in the Bahamas. 

Our first glimpse of Hope Town.

 

The town which surrounds the harbour has many charming old houses, most wonderfully restored and painted in beautiful pastel shades together with gingerbread eaves and picket fences carved into hearts, fish and pineapples.

 

The harbour, as you can see from the photo, has a very narrow and shallow entrance and can only be accessed at high tide which was about 5:00 when we came in.  We had reservations at the Hope Town Inn and Marina which is in the process of being completely rebuilt and renovated. 

 

It is quite beautiful with two swimming pools and an outside restaurant and bar.  Unfortunately they were quite full and did not have an adequate slip for us.  We spent the night tied up to 12 foot dock and the next day, Bill spied a mooring ball that had become available.  He went out in his dinghy to hold the mooring while we cast off.  It is very difficult to get a mooring in this highly desirable and protected harbour.  We were lucky.  Kalunamoo remained at the marina.

The boat are tied to mooring balls and are quite close together.

 

 The streets of Hope Town, other than the waterfront, are narrow concrete paths.

 

 

There is a beach just to the east of the town with beautiful powdery pink tinged sand protected by an extensive offshore reef that Bill and I explored while Maureen and Roman relaxed on shore. 

Can you see us in the water?

There were many different kinds of fish and coral but nothing like Sandy Cay. Coming out of the water, I noticed that I had lost one of my 14K gold earrings that I always wore.  I walked along the shore just in case the tide threw it out but I knew as I searched, that I was searching in vain.  



We had wonderful weather and the days passed quickly.  We went biking from one end of Elbow Cay to the other. 

We noticed that all the houses have names and many are rented out by the owners when they are not using them.  Below are two pictures.  The small one on the right is a regular home which I believe was called  "............Lodge"  In the front yard right by the roadway was the home on the left called "Lizard Lodge".  This tiny home for the little lizards everywhere was in perfect scale of the original home (before the stairs were added).  The car is a little matchbox car.

One day we biked all the way to the southern tip where we relaxed at Tahiti Beach.  Below the road was covered with lots of sand and we had to walk through that section.

Tahiti Beach is very shallow and you can walk out for a very long time and the water only reaches the knees. Great for little ones! I walked across to a sandbank and even beyond it, the water was very shallow. In the front of the above picture the water is so shallow, it reflects the colour of the sand. Behind me, the colour of the water get more vivid as the water gets deeper. 

 

 

Several days we relaxed at the pool at the marina which has a large outdoor restaurant, pool and bar.  I find I quite like the drink "Yellow Bird". 

On Saturday we were entertained by a Shake & Rake duet all afternoon.

The Bahamians are very friendly!

Roman and I could not resist getting up and dancing.  It has been a long time since we danced.

The most noticeable landmark as you approach Hope Town is the lighthouse.  It is one of two lighthouse in the Bahamas which still use kerosene to manually ignite the lights. The lightkeeper works at the marina during the day and then at the lighthouse at night.

 

 

 

Looking up.

Front doors.

We climbed up the hill to the old door of the lighthouse and then again up the 102 steps and out through an old little door to the narrow observation deck.  From here we had a phenomenal view but the day was overcast.  We waited and waited on the top for the sun and finally gave up.  Wouldn't you know it, as soon as we left the lighthouse, the sun came out but we were too tired to climb up again.



Handle of the door.

Door to observation deck.

 



View from the top.

The marina.

Our boat.

Our last day after heavy rains in the early morning, we biked to the northern tip of the island over a rocky sandy dirt road with large potholes filled with water. Some puddles stretched from one side of the road to the other. It was hard to bicycle but lots of fun and another great beach at the end where we again went swimming.

Sunday we went to mass held outdoors under a large tree in the playground. There is no Catholic Church in Hope Town and the priest comes from Marsh Harbour on the ferry. It was nice to worship under the clear blue sky. After churchwe walked the beach.