04-30-2015 - BAHAMAS, Hope Town, Elbow Cay, 4-19-15 - 4-30-15

On Sunday, April 19, we sailed south from Man-O-War Cay, to Elbow Cay, where we found Hope Town. We had trouble getting the boat engine started, but eventually it worked. We fueled up in Man-O-War and were on our way.

April 19 is my birthday, and I was feeling a little bummed that I had come all the way to the Bahamas to celebrate my big birthday in a special place and it was not really working out. We had no connectivity (no Face Book Birthday Greetings???) and things were breaking left and right. Everything electronic was giving us trouble. My phone, the radio. Our dinghy engine stopped working. Even our yeast expired, so the coconut bread that I had tried to make didn’t rise. We went to shore to mail postcards and couldn’t, because the PO is closed on Sunday. There are no mailboxes on the streets like in the US. 

The Hope Town Post Office (upstairs, on the left)

We went to the grocery store and it was closed. Went to the second grocery store and it was closed, too. Nothing is open on Sunday!

Finally we found a little food and ice cream place, Muchees, and got cups of ice cream. Chuck managed to talk the owner, who turns out to be an accomplished chef, into singing Happy Birthday with him. The chef, Norris, was also a very good singer!

Chef Norris served us ice cream and sang “Happy Birthday” to me

“Munchees” restaurant, from inside, where I was cheered up with ice cream and song

We walked around the town and visited the beach.

Another restaurant in Hope Town.
Only in the Bahamas, can you spend more for a veggie burger than a lobster roll!!

This is not a Spanish speaking island, so maybe this was not intentional.
Usually you see the expression, “Mi casa es su casa”,
meaning “My house is your house,” or “Make yourself at home”.
This homeowner felt differently?

Beach on the ocean side

Beach on the ocean side

Beach on the ocean side

Chuck got our spare dinghy engine working. So for our test drive, we visited our friends on BuBu, Paul and Dawn, who we had met on the dock in Cape May, NJ, and later saw at the marina in Vero Beach, FL. On their advice, we visited the light house, a “must see,” the next day.

The lighthouse

Which way is the Light House???

Approaching the Light House, with lots of visitors on the balcony viewing platform

Approaching the Light House

Light House Entrance

The Hope Town light house is one of two still operating in the world that is lit each evening by a lighthouse keeper. The lighthouse keeper winds it up every 2 hours throughout the night. People can visit the light house, climb the 101 steps, and even walk out onto the tiny balcony for a fabulous view in all directions.

It’s windy up on the light house!

View from the Light House. Can you spot Summer Wind? 

We accidentally wandered over to one of the two lighthouse keepers houses. We met the lighthouse keeper’s girlfriend who told us that there are two lighthouse keepers, and they work on alternate nights. 

Light house keeper’s girlfriend

The next day we found ourselves back at Munchees for ice cream, again! We visited the town and the beach, and got drenched in a sudden rainstorm.

On Wednesday, it rained again in the morning. None of our dinghy engines were working (again!), and we (Chuck, that is) had been rowing the dinghy. By now, the dinghy was full of rain water. While I was washing dishes on the transom, he decided to raise the dinghy and dump out the water, by himself. His usual routine was disrupted because the engine was not on the dinghy, and he forgot to remove the dinghy bag, which contains the anchor, bilge pump, sponge, cable and lock. As he lifted the dinghy, the bag fell into the water. For a short while, it floated, but it quickly disappeared. We went into the water with masks and snorkels to look for it, but the visibility was very bad because of the rain. We decided to wait for low tide (a 3 foot difference), and meanwhile went into town for groceries. We snorkeled again later that day, but still didn’t find the dinghy bag.

The next morning, we snorkeled again, but the tide was high and we saw nothing. We finally decided to go in with scuba gear.  We tried to be organized and do a search pattern, but we were more like a Roomba – all over the place. At one point, Chuck found a conch and showed it to me. This completely distracted me and I swam in a direction that I didn’t plan to go, where it “couldn’t” be, and suddenly, there it was! Very exciting! I brought up the bag, and then I went back down to clean the barnacles off the bottom of the keel. There were plenty, even though the boat bottom had been cleaned 3 times in FL.

Diving makes us hungry, and we needed to celebrate finding the bag and contents after 2 days of effort.  So we headed off to “Pappa Nasty’s” barbecue restaurant for a celebratory lunch!

We’d heard it advertised on the Cruiser’s Net, and really want to try it. We had no idea how far it was, or even really where it was. We headed off on foot, and walked and walked in the hot sun. Finally, who drove by in a golf cart and offered us a ride? None other than Mr. Norris! He dropped us at a nearby intersection, and we walked to the restaurant.

This is it??? 

Yup, Pappa Nasty’s. Delicious barbeque! (To the left are two picnic tables)

When a young couple showed up in a golf cart looking like they weren’t sure, we told them it was really good and they should stay. And could they give us a ride back to town? Yes, sure. The woman of the couple was celebrating her 40^th birthday that day, and their trip from FL was their second in 10 years, each time to celebrate her birthday. When we asked them what they liked about the Bahamas, they said the weather. We said we thought it was pretty hot. They said that was because we were from CT, they were from FL. They were very sweet and gave us a ride back to town, even though they were actually going elsewhere.

Also at Pappa Nasty’s we re-met our friend Don, on ‘Straight from the Heart” and met his wife, MaryAnn, (who also has an April Birthday!). We had met Don in Vero, and their boat was now near ours in the mooring field in Hope Town.

After Pappa Nasty’s, we went to a bar, Harbor Edge, for ice tea and internet (for Chuck, the only one of us with a working phone, sadly), and then stopped for a few more groceries and some fundraiser cookies from kids outside at the harbor.

Harbor Edge, where we stopped for Wifi

On Friday morning, we went to the coffee house for internet and breakfast. This time I dragged my PC along so I could play too.

Coffee House

In the afternoon, Don very patiently showed Chuck how to rebuild the carburetor on the dinghy engine.

Dinghy engine maintenance

Don and Chuck

One evening we were treated to a grand wedding celebration, complete with Junkanoo parade and band. The wedding party, Junkanoo band and other wedding guests boarded a special ferry to cross Hope Town harbor for the wedding dinner and dancing. Junkanoo involves elaborate (and heavy!!) costumes, sort of like Mardi Gras, or Las Vegas (but far more modest).

Junkanoo parader (from a different event)

Later that evening there were fireworks to rival any municipal fireworks in the US. We heard this was the finale to 4 days of festivities. It seems this is a popular wedding destination. Fortunately, they had great weather.

Other days we rode our bikes around the island, and explored. We stopped several times at this outdoor restaurant/beachclub for drinks and live music.

Lemonade made in front of us, from scratch. 

Delicious, and so refreshing on a hot Hope Town day!

We discovered another favorite lunch restaurant, Mackey’s Take Out, where there were no tables, but we could sit on the porch and split one of the huge entrees, with abundant side dishes.

The cook at Mackey’s.

Mackey's Takeout

Eventually we found Tahiti Beach, at the far southern end of the island, past new construction and a sign that suggested that the area was private, but it was really just a road.

Tahiti Beach

Tahiti Beach attracts tourists from everywhere, these people were from Italy.
For (these) Italians, every coconut was a soccer ball.

Tahiti Beach

Tahiti Beach

Tahiti Beach on Elbow Cay was, in the end, the most southern spot that we reached in the Bahamas. We had hoped to go farther south, but the weather held us back.

People come to Hope Town from all over.

 As the end of the month of April approached, we started trying to plan our return trip, but the weather was not cooperative. There was rain, and too much wind. Chuck and MaryAnn were comparing weather info daily. Finally one Thursday morning we started the engine and headed out for Green Turtle Cay. The weather was OK, but not as smooth as we’d expected. This was because nice weather was forecast for Friday, and somehow we thought it was Friday! At least we landed back at Green Turtle in time to enjoy the Island Heritage Roots Festival, which started that Thursday.

Sandy and Chuck on S/V Summer Wind

Hope Town Harbor, at sunset

Just after sunset

04-19-2015 – BAHAMAS, Man-O-War Cay, 4-13-15 – 4-19-15

One and one half hours after leaving Marsh Harbor, on 4/13/15, we were tied up at a mooring in Man-O-War Cay’s Eastern Harbor.

Man o War’s eastern harbor with view of Déjà Vu, 

one of two historic Albury boats that was being restored.

Drying on our life line, at the far right in the picture above, are the remnants of a Bahamian courtesy flag that we found underwater, while checking our anchor. (Things that we might find above ground and call “trash” are always considered “treasures”, at least temporarily, when found underwater.)

The other Albury boat under restoration

Man-O-War is a Cay, a small, narrow island along the ocean, 2 ½ miles long and about ½ mile wide, far less in some places. It is a dry island, and the people here are religious and loyalist. Most are white and many of them have ties to England or other British colonies. Shop owners and workers are nearly all white and many speak with accents that are at least slightly “British” (to my ears, which, I confess, cannot tell British from Irish from Scottish from South African from Australian, etc).

A house by the beach

A terrific name for an exotic beach home!

Man-O-War is a clean and quiet island. It has a museum, open 3 days a week from 10 AM to 12 PM, with island history and artifacts.

Man-O-War Heritage Museum

Man-O-War Heritage Museum

Chuck, across the street from the Man-o-War Museum

Chuck and Sandy, across the street from the Man-O-War Heritage Museum

There are 3 well stocked, small grocery stores, and several stores that sell gifts or specialty items. One of these sells batik cloth and soft goods made from it, and another sells bags of every size and style made from heavy canvas cloth. The canvas bag store has 3 women working at sewing machines, turning out carrying bags and toiletry kits and luggage, in many patterns, all with very heavy duty plastic zippers.

There are two restaurants. We went to one (yum, conch chowder!) but have yet to find the other. There are almost no cars. Most people drive golf carts.

On Tuesday, we took a dinghy trip to go snorkeling with our friends Tim and Joan, on “Head over Keels,” who sailed in on Monday from Hope Town, right before we arrived from Marsh Harbor, and their friends Kate and John. We had first met John, who is a boat broker, in Vero, when we went along on a boat inspection trip down the intracoastal to Ft Pierce, with our pal Pete. John was the broker for the boat that was for sale. Small world! 

We all dinghied to the western end of the main harbor and out to a cove called “The Low Spot”, which is the narrowest point on the island. We snorkeled on a reef and saw a lot of different small fish and corals, and lots of empty conch shells. 

Snorkeling - Sand and corals, at Man-O-War Cay

Snorkeling - Conch shell dump, at Man-O-War Cay

Snorkeling - Sponges and Sea Fans, at Man-O-War Cay  

Snorkeling - Tiny fish at Man O War Cay

At the low spot, view of the ocean side, at Man-O-War Cay 

At the Low Spot, (bay side) at Man-O-War Cay  

View of the bay side at the Low Spot, at Man-O-War Cay. We snorkeled on the bay side.  

Lovely sun shelter at the Low Spot, at Man-O-War Cay  

Picnic area, at the Low Spot, at Man-O-War Cay  

Chuck and I both took pictures and we found a couple of “sea biscuits.” I also found a conch shell that I thought had a conch in it. We brought it home and started pounding it open with Chuck’s heavy hammer and large screwdriver. When we stuck in the knife to cut the muscle of the conch, out crawled a large, stocky crab! Chuck wanted to cook it but I sort of freaked out, and we tossed it overboard.

Too bad we didn’t realize that this was an empty shell. Usually the empties already have a hole in them, from when somebody removed the conch. (The hole looks like the coin slot in a piggy bank).

Conch Shells with holes from conch harvesting

Without a hole, they can be used as a horn. (With a hole, they can still be used, if the hole gets plugged. They're just not quite as pretty).  Occasionally we hear cruisers blowing conch shells in the anchorages at sunset.  I think as a former French horn player, Chuck would make a great conch blower!

On Wednesday, Chuck and I hiked all over the island in search of the library and the ocean beaches. It was a very hot day, and the island is a little hilly. Our packs were heavy with water, cameras, towels, bathing suits and other things in case we found a beach for swimming, so walking was pretty tiring. The beaches were pretty to look at, but not places we wanted to spend time. They have a lot of rough black coral and no shells to speak of. 

View of the ocean, at Man-O-War Cay  

We were equally disappointed with the library. We asked some school kids when the library is open, they said they thought it was open on Tuesdays. We asked a storekeeper and she said it’s been closed for a couple of years, there is no one to run it. (She did offer to loan us some books if we needed something to read. We declined.)

On Thursday, Joan and Tim left for Green Turtle Cay and the start of their return trip. We took another snorkel trip to one of the two tiny islands just outside of Man-O-War Cay, on the Abaco Sea, with our new friends Dave and Lisa, on “Virginia Dare”. 

Virginia Dare, in the eastern harbor at Man-O-War Cay

We saw a lot of signs at the island saying “Private” but landed our two dinghies on the beach and hopped in the water. At one point I went back to the dinghy to drop off my camera and a man with “Sandy Cay Staff” on his shirt came along. He told me the island was private. I told him all beaches in the Bahamas are public. He told me the island was private. I told him all beaches in the Bahamas are public. He told me the island was private. I said, “So what does that mean? Everything is fine as long as we don’t go on the island?” He said “Yes.” I went back in the water.

We had a nice time with Dave and Lisa. Here is a link to Lisa’s beautiful blog, with terrific pictures: http://sailingcoopers.blogspot.com/

We learned a new word: Snore Box. Chuck was looking at real estate ads and came across this term, which we, of course, thought was a typo, Shore box? But it occurred in more than one ad. Then we saw one, and it looked like a garden shed, or a root cellar. It wasn’t until I read Lisa’s blog that I found out what it is – a spare room for guests to sleep!

Sandy, at the “snore box”

On Thursday night Chuck and I went to the theater on Man-O-War Cay. It was a fundraiser for the island school. When I saw the signs I was hoping it was a play, but it was a movie, “The Best of Me”. It was PG 13 and the signs said that anyone under 13 would need parental permission to attend. The audience consisted of young high school kids and a few other islanders who were considerably older than 13. About 15 -20 people in all, no other cruisers. I was proud to be among the best supporters of the concession stand. We had hot dogs, nachos, and milkshakes. And we bought some baked goods to bring home, too.

Finally on 4/19/15, at 10:00 AM we dropped the mooring and continued over to Elbow Cay, which contains the lovely harbor of Hope Town.

Passing “Sandy Cay” where we had snorkeled, on the way to Elbow Cay.

On the way to Elbow Cay/Hope Town

Sandy and Chuck, on s/v Summer Wind

Sandy, washing the dishes on the transom, at Man-O-War Cay