On Monday (5/7) we traveled a short distance from Man-O-War Cay to Hope Town on Elbow Cay. As we mentioned in our last post, destinations are quite close in the so-called 'Hub of Abaco'.
Hope Town has an extensive set of moorings in a well-protected harbor, so it is very secure and comfortable. We have ended up staying a few more days than originally planned because of weather.
The village is quaint with a lot of houses in classic Bahamian colors. The harbour is overlooked by the picturesque Hope Town, or more properly Elbow Reef, lighthouse.
Hope Town is definitely the most touristy destination we have been to in the Bahamas, with the exception of Old Bahama Bay in West End (which was an actual resort, but adjacent to West End, a Bahamian settlement). The village seems to have fully embraced the tourist economy. Most of the houses are rentals or tourist lodging of some type and several restaurants vie for the food and entertainment dollars.
More on the light house. It was built in 1864 by the Imperial (British) Lighthouse Service. You can climb to the top and see the kerosene-fueled lamp and hand-wound rotation mechanism which needs to be wound every two hours. Its construction was originally opposed by the local residents of the cay, who made a living 'wrecking' or salvaging ships that came to grief on the reef. It still is lit nightly, but is now mostly a tourist attraction. This is true of most lighthouses these days, which have been largely pushed aside by more sophisticated means of navigation. This became clear to me one night when I was up in the cockpit at 1 AM. The light was not rotating, so it had as navigators would say, an 'improper characteristic'. The characteristic of a light is one of the primary ways that a light is positively identified by mariners. Mentioning this to a friend the next day, he said that happens all the time. Oh well, so much for a serious aid to navigation.
Our stay in Hope Town, however, has been been comfortable and enjoyable. The Hope Town Coffeehouse (http://hopetowncoffeehouse.com/) has good coffee and Internet and is a great place to hang-out. We had several great lunches at the Harbour's Edge Restaurant.
We got a chance to get together with William and Judy of Optimystique, friends from our home marina in Bradenton. We also made some new friends of Ken and Sara from Tintean, a sister Island Packet 40. We enjoyed several conversations with Ken and Sara and found that we have much in common with regard to cruising style (a traveler not a tourist). We hope to cross paths again some day.
On Monday (5/14) we essentially begin our trip back to Bradenton. We will be returning to the states via a 'southern' route that will take us around the rugged and sparsely populated southern tip of Abaco, across the Northeast Providence Channel (a busy shipping lane) to the Berry Islands, across the Bahama Bank to Bimini, and then finally across the Gulf Steam to Miami.
Tom
Hope Town
Elbow Cay, Abacos, Bahamas
http://g.co/maps/vfvnn
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