There's Still Hope

June 24 – 28, 2012

With several days of poor weather in the forecast associated with tropical storm Debby, we made a good decision to go back to Hope Town where we could pick up a secure mooring.  We wouldn't have to worry about our anchor dragging and other boats running into us when the wind kicked up and the rains poured down.  We would have access to land and the internet and be around some of our cruising friends.  We could all commiserate together about the extended bad weather.

Public dock welcome sign

One morning Wayne, Ursa, and I took a walk all the way to the north end of the island, about 1 1/2 miles.  The road is one lane and mostly dirt with some shade, so it is good for getting a little protection from the sun, but all the vegetation proves to be a good place for the mosquitoes to hide.  The road gives you chances to see both the Atlantic Ocean side and the Sea of Abaco (bay side).

Natural fencing

Several homes use the Aralia plants as hedges.  All you need to do is cut off a stalk and stick it in the ground and it will grow into a new plant.

Warning sign

The owner of this property doesn't need a hedge.  I've mentioned before that most all the homes have a name associated with them and some go to great lengths to put up creative signs using all sorts of materials.

There are some tracts of undeveloped land.  When we came to one of the vacant Atlantic side lots, the property was blocked off and several signs said no golf carts we permitted, presumably to try to preserve the vegetation and help prohibit dune erosion.  I liked the sign that said “Let no one say, and say it to your shame, that all was beauty here, before you came!”  Fortunately a lot of the private home development on the island has landscaped with  native vegetation.

The lighthouse is on the west side of the harbor, and it has its own little dock where you can land your dinghy to make your visit.  You can't walk there from the main part of town because the harbor entrance splits the areas. 

One morning I had Wayne drop me off at a marina facility on the west side, south of the lighthouse, and I wanted to find a back way path to get to the lighthouse.  Eddie was being lazy and didn't want to go with me.  I asked a couple of locals who were working at the marina which way to go and soon found a road up through some thick underbrush.  I had Ursa with me and once we got in the thick vegetation out of the wind, we were both covered with mosquitoes, especially on Ursa's nose.

Mosquito gun

The old canon sits in front of Lighthouse Marina.  Two tour groups of teenagers had just been let off at the dock so they could visit the lighthouse.  Many of them wanted to stop and pet Ursa.  When Ursa and I were walking back to our pick up area I looked up and could see the kids on top of the lighthouse so I waved at them.  I could hear a couple of them say to the others “Look down there, it's the lady with the dog!”  Shortly after that, we got caught in a heavy downpour.

When I got back Eddie was still in his PJs.  In fact, he still had them on at 3:00 when Wayne suggested that they try to work on fixing the dinghy steering since it had continued to decline.  Eddie remarked that it was 3:00, quitting time, and Wayne and I both chimed in “You never even got started today!”  It is easy to put off things while we are aboard, and we all do it more than we should.  I think we should have a rule that we all should do something productive every day, but the guys don't like that idea.

My life is like this sign

By the third day, and with a 70% forecast of rain, I made the announcement that I was going to rent a bicycle in the morning and check out the southern end of the island, 3 miles away.  I knew that the road was paved in that direction.  I said I was tired of trying to figure out the rain forecast and if I got wet it wasn't the end of the world.  Both guys decided they wanted to go too.  The bikes had baskets, so Ursa could also go.

The bicycles are rented for $12/day, and coincidentally they are rented out by the same guy, Andrew, who owned the mooring ball we were on.   Wide tires, fat seats, and one speed, easy to pedal.  Andrew remarked that there was really only one hill on the route, but we ended up having to walk the bikes up several inclines, and I was a little nervous during some of the speedy downhill runs.  I didn't like thinking about crashing and having to go back to Marsh Harbor to get patched up.

Hope Town School

This is the cutest island school we have ever seen.  The month before when we were here they were putting on the newest addition, the one you see here, closest to the road.  The colors and shutters are so islandy!  The contractor was there checking everything, and I told him how great it turned out.

School emblem

Notice the things in the school emblem, all reflective of the heritage of the little settlement.

There was a new neighborhood outside of town, now only with a couple of homes on the platted lots.  One of its “claims to fame” was having a disc golf course scattered throughout the development.  You play it like golf, only you throw a frisbee-like disc and try to get it to land in the basket.

The hole

The course has shell rock tee boxes (most of which are overgrown) and a hole sign telling you the distance and what the par is for the hole.  The person with the least amount of throws is the winner.  This course is so tucked into the vegetation, if you have a poor throw that goes into the brush, you cannot retrieve the disc.  We determined that the course wasn't much of a draw for selling lots.

Parts of the southern end of the island are a lot more open and exposed than the northern end.  When hurricane Floyd hit the island in the 1999, the ocean washed over sandy section of the island, wiping out several homes and cutting the island in two pieces.  It took a LOT of fill to piece it back together again.

On the edge

Even today portions of the road show a lot of erosion, and it is difficult to justify funds for paving if the road is going to keep getting washed out.  This photo shows a popular surfing area, off the rocky point in the upper left hand portion.  I think this might be the only place to surf in the Bahamas, and it looks like a dangerous spot to me.  I had a hard enough time on the road just trying to stay out of all the holes.

We made it all the way to the end of the roadway, Tilloo Cut and Tahiti Beach with strong head winds.  I was glad to have the wind on my back helping me along for the return trip because it was past the noon feeding time and the sun was getting pretty hot.

We made a couple of more detours on side streets to look at some interesting homes and island yard art.

Tropical guards

In addition to the sculptures, notice the heavy rope and shells lining the road.  The driveway is made of freeform patches of concrete with turfgrass growing in between, very attractive.

Pay at the pump

These prices are why gas golf cars are so popular instead of everyone having an automobile.  We could have rented a golf car for $40/day, but we all agreed the bicycle ride was a lot more fun.  Plus, we could really use the exercise since our time in the water has been so limited.

One more letter

On the 28th, when the remnants of Debby finally passed, the harbor began to clear out.  I made one last trip to the Post Office (above photo) to mail a letter and say good bye to the post mistress, Nora.  I had asked her many questions, so she was probably glad to hear I was leaving!  Wayne wanted to get another key lime pie from Vernon, but when we went to the store in the morning, we were told the eggs hadn't arrived on the freight boat that morning and so no pies were made.  5000 calories were eliminated from the menu!

We turned in the keys to the bike locks to Andrew and wished him good luck for his sailing competition in the upcoming Regatta Time in Abaco races.  Then we waited for the tide to rise to mid level, 2:00 p.m., so we would have enough water to get out of the harbor and be on our way.