Great Guana Cay

Another nice couple of days, another fun jaunt out to explore.  The destination today was Great Guana Cay (pronounce like iguana, without the "i").  It took about an hour or two to get across the Sea of Abaco and settle our anchor in sand about six feet below the keel at low tide.  And settle in nicely it did.  No question there.  We could clearly see the anchor, chain, every blade of grass, fish, shells on the bottom and even one beer bottle upside down.  The water was soooo crystal clear!

Neighbours in our anchorage

Great Guana is known for two funky bars:  Nippers and Grabbers.  Both are beach bars with pools and hammocks strung between palm trees.  No shirt no shoes no problem kind of places.  We hung around the boat to make sure it was secure and not dragging while we had brunch onboard.  Then off to town we went to explore.

"Downtown" Guana Cay

We had been here before so all was familiar, but it is such a colourful place to wander, with lots of little brightly painted stores, dive shops and open walled pubs, that it all felt fresh again.  We walked the town then decided to stop at Grabbers for a drink at the bar....  one rum punch and one beer set us back twenty-two U.S. bucks.  Yikes!  We won't be doing that often!  We enjoyed chatting with fellow cruisers for awhile then they cranked up the music so loud that we honestly could no longer converse, even when shouting.  And this was the early afternoon.  We noticed the place was pretty empty.  It's such a cool place to hang out, it's too bad.  We stayed away after that.  Not our scene.

Grabbers

So back to the boat, bathing suits on and a cooler packed, off to the beach we went to enjoy our own private beach bar!  And what a gorgeous beach it was.  I walked from one end to the other while Jeff watched our stuff, hunted for sea glass and chatted to fellow boaters who were snorkeling the reef right off the beach.  Again, we saw a several sharks only about twenty feet from shore where we were standing in knee deep water.  The snorkelers didn't seem too fazed and said one swam right by them on the reef.  I'm happy snorkeling around the boat where there are always a multitude of pretty fish to look at, but I think I'll leave the snorkling with the sharks on the reef to those a little braver than I.

That little spec down the beach is me, enjoying a walk.

The remainder of the afternoon was spent on the boat, swimming, snorkeling, relaxing and leaning over the rail watching the show beneath.  We saw a turtle about the size of a breadbox, Jeff said he was pretty sure he saw a shark, but he may have been just trying to scare me.  I'm the one always in the water.  And there were so many different types of fish.  It's like a giant aquarium.  Funny, they like the shade under the boat.

At night, we stretched out on the bow and took in the show in the sky, a sea of stars, and people-watched the action on the beach.  They had a good party going at the bar with a bon fire that must have been at least eight feet high.

Tahiti Beach

A great weather day appeared and we took the opportunity to take in Tahiti Beach.  Tahiti Beach is actually NOT a beach at all but a sand bar right beside an inlet to the Atlantic that silts in and reveals itself at low tide.

Folks flock here to wander this slice of sand and the knee-deep waters that surround it.  Small boats pull up and thirsty boaters saunter up to the floating bar that's set upon an old barge and decorated to loosely give the impression of a tiki hut.  

Rain in the distance but the sun shone on us.

Tahiti Beach definitely has a laid back feel.  Island music is piped in through the "tiki barge", folks are building sand castles or throwing a ball for a dog.  A group of kids were playing with lacrosse sticks.

Jeff brought his sand wedge and took practise shots from one spit of sand to another (almost hitting me in the head once!).

We both spent quite a bit of time dreamily wandering around in ankle deep water searching for "treasures" on the sea bottom.  It was littered with all sorts of unusual aquatic plants or maybe animals.  It was sometimes hard to tell the difference.  One girl found a little starfish and it sucked on to her hand with tiny tentacles when she tried to lift it to show us.  She assured us it was going back into the sea right after she showed her dad.  We saw jelly fish and found a sea biscuit.

Tahiti Beach Tiki Bar.  Only here on a nice day.

The sky darkened and we could see that it was raining across the way, but not a drop fell on Tahiti Beach that day!  

We dinghied back to the boat just as the sun was setting and watched as the crowd (and the "tiki barge") left on the rising tide.

Soon Tahiti Beach disappeared for the day, like it never really happened.

If you look closely between Jeff's head and the club shaft there is a white dot.  That, I believe, is
the ball that missed my head by inches as I was dutifully taking the picture.  I didn't even realize the danger I was in until I looked over the camera and saw the look on his face.
Jeez Jeff!  Close shot.  Better luck next time!

That's the Atlantic crashing in out there. 

The tide is rising.  Soon Tahiti Beach disappeared.

Man O War Cay

We moseyed over to Man O War Cay one day and, as the main harbour is filled with mooring balls and we did not want to pay for one even if one happened to be available, we anchored outside the harbour in a sheltered spot and dinghied in.

The streets are just wide enough
for golf carts, which are the
main mode of transportation.

Man O War has a reputation for being a very conservative, industrious and religious community. Apparently, up until recent years, it was a dry community and now only a couple of restaurants in town serve alcohol.  Despite that (with our fondness for a cold beer on a hot day) it proved to be a charming little village where quaint little chapels and religious symbols abound.  They are well known as the builders of well-crafted boats which are very popular in the area.  As well there is a busy woodworking shop, a grocery store, a couple of canvas shops, and several gift shops.  The name "Albury" is very prominent here as they were one of the founding families.  You see the name everywhere.

The post office.
Open 10-2, three days a week.

We spent the morning wandering the town, chatting to a few locals and other boaters.  After lunch aboard, we put on our swim suits and dinghied back into town to check out the beach.  I walked it while Jeff searched for sea glass, which didn't prove fruitful.  He only found a couple of pieces and as he bent down to pick one up he took a big wave on the side of the head.  It almost toppled him over and that piece of glass got away despite his effort.  He had a sea water plugged ear for a couple of days!


We spent the evening, as usual, in the cockpit cooking dinner on the barbecue as the sun set and enjoyed a peaceful evening swinging on the hook. 

Main Street, Man o War Cay

Aubrey's sail shop

Inside the sail shop

Aubrey's Boat Builders

I walked the beach while Jeff unsuccessfully
looked for seaglass

This is one of the famous boats
built on the cay.  You see them everywhere
in the Bahamas.

Hope Town, Elbow Cay

We ran the boat an hour across the Sea of Abacos to visit the charming little town of Hopetown, on Elbow Cay.  And charming it was!  Like all the little towns in the area, the main harbour is filled with mooring balls that are available to rent but are all full, so we dropped the hook outside the harbour, right under the famous Hopetown lighthouse and dinghied in from there.

Boats tied to mooring balls in the crowded harbour

Two beers and an order of fries: 
$25.00usd!!

Hopetown has a reputation for being "artsy", which is right up my alley.  And sure enough, as we got off the dinghy, there were two women right there, working on watercolour paintings of the lighthouse.  We wandered the town, admiring the quaint little cottages all painted up in bright colours, and poked around in some of the little shops and galleries.

Narrow streets sized right for golf carts.

After lunch, we dinghied over to the historic lighthouse.  It is a pretty interesting structure.  It was originally build in 1864 but updated significantly in 1936.  Now managed by volunteers, it operates with a pressurised kerosene pump, reminiscent of old camping lanterns. It flashes a direct beam of groups of five flashes every fifteen seconds, keeping mariners off the reefs... and it makes a great backdrop to an anchorage!  We climbed right to the top and went outside.  The view was spectacular!

The lighthouse.  There are several of these round houses, which are marked as "private" on the door.
We heard that this is where the volunteers who run the place live.

We climbed right to the top

East:  looking out over the harbour and the Atlantic beyond.

West:  Looking out over the Sea of Abacos.
Gran Vida is anchored out there. The only boat that is not a sailboat.

And then, speaking of spectacular, we discovered the beach!  WOW!  

Hopetown Beach

Waves hitting exposed coral reef

The photographer at work

Just GLORIOUS!

We found quite a bit of seaglass.

 

We spent the rest of the day and most of the next on the beach.  We walked, chatted to a few snorkelers who were checking out the reefs just a short distance out, and searched for sea glass.  We saw three different sharks swim by, about five feet long, not twenty feet from shore where we were standing in knee deep water.  The snorkelers were a little apprehensive but, figuring they were probably nurse sharks, continued to snorkel the reefs.  We took a pass!

The evenings were spent at anchor, cooling off with a swim, barbecuing dinner and watching the sun dip below the horizon and the stars coming out one by one.

Jeff set the alarm and got up early to take this pic of the
sun rising behind the lighthouse. 
It was very peaceful... I hear.  

Marsh Harbor

This pic took many takes
and lots of laughs as I set
the timer on the camera
and ran around
the pool in time. 

Rainy day.  

Lazy day.
GV is in her slip in the background.

Marsh Harbour is a small bustling city and the centre of commerce in the Abacos.  We decided to take a month long slip here on the quiet side of town as i) we got a good deal, and ii) everything we want to see down here is within an hour to two by boat.  Easy short jaunts.  It gets crowded in town this time of year.  This way, we can explore the area on short trips and always know we have a slip to tuck away in if the weather gets bad.  Also, we actually get some t.v. reception here.  Not that we watch a lot of TV, but right now Jeff is kicking back on the couch and watching some Sunday afternoon golf.  It's a nice homey feel.

Marsh Harbour has all the comforts of home in terms of grocery, hardware stores etc., albeit at somewhat inflated prices compared to the U.S.  The streets are narrow and cars zip around on the "wrong" side of the road.  That takes some getting used to.  There is a large protected bay that has some mooring balls but tons of space to anchor.  It's not our favourite place to be in the Abacos but it has all the conveniences and for this year, anyway, it's a fine place to base ourselves.  If we ever came back, we would likely anchor in the bay.

Bahama Mocking Bird
serenading a morning walk.

Days at dock are spent puttering on the boat.  Jeff spends time watching the stock market.  We both read the news a lot.  Probably too much.  We're trying to go for long walks most mornings.  We're not always successful.  We visit with friends or dinghy around.  Just picking up milk is a bit of an adventure, requiring a dinghy ride, a long walk dodging cars going way to fast on the wrong side of the road and lots of pit stops to chat with other boaters.  Daily life.  No complaints.  Tonight we'll have a nice Sunday dinner.  Tomorrow we'll check out Hope Town again and see what Tahiti Beach is all about.  Gran Vida!