Hope Town is Wonderful April 4-11, 2016 A couple nights of anchoring out, April 12-14

Thanks to Vicki and David, friends from the Great Lakes Grand Banks Association, we found the Hope Town Inn and Marina.  Nice.  Very nice.  Free pontoon shuttle across the harbor to town.  2 pools, hot tubs, restaurant on site, nice outdoor bar, a short walk to the famous Elbow Cay lighthouse.  What is not to like? 

Nice place!

A visitor in the marina

 

Here we are with Vicki, David, Martha and Parker at On Da Beach for lunch.  A nice spot.  And good food too! 

 

Thanks Vicki and David for the tour of the area and all the tips on where to eat, what to do, etc.  We were guests on their Albury center console boat which is made in nearby Man O War  Cay.  They are famous for their boats here in the Bahamas.  It was a great day and we really appreciate the hospitality Vicki and David.  Oh, and don't be surprised if we show up again next winter!  :>)
Which way?  Interesting signs.

By the way, Martha and Parker are the former owners of our Grand Banks.  Such a small world to run into them here.  And they were nice enough to pick up our Royal Marsh Harbor Yacht Club burgee (we joined when we arrived here) when they went to Marsh Harbor to pick up visitors.  Thanks so much Martha and Parker.  It was nice so chatting with you and getting to know you a bit.  Safe travels to you on that beautiful Fleming.
We enjoyed the pool almost everyday so far.  We also dinghyed down to Tahiti Beach, a low tide beach lined with palms.  Beautiful spot only about 4 miles away.  So when winds are not too high, a real easy dinghy ride.  Leaving the harbor.

 

Tahiti Beach

 

 

 Here are a few shots of Hope Town.

 

We hiked up to the lighthouse and I went to the top, climbed out of the small door and walked around the perimeter of the structure.  Really a nice view from up there.  Our boat is hidden behind the condo but we are docked in the marina below.  It is still operating manually with Fresnel lenses and kerosene.  It has a weight mechanism that has to be "wound" every few hours to maintain the rotation of the light. What a great step back in history.

The view from the top.

 

Friday night we went to the Harbor Lodge for dinner with Scott and Brigitte.  Cocktails on the ocean side and dinner on the harbor side. A nice meal with great company.
Saturday evening we did a Facebook video call with our friends in Michigan.  Our internet connection here is not too good so the call was not of high quality but it was still fun to see everyone.  We all wish our friend Karen the best with her upcoming surgery and recovery.
Sunday we dinghyed to town and then walked the beach to On Da Beach for lunch.  It is a very nice beach walk.

Very windy day so dinghying out to a beach was out of the question. But it was a nice afternoon to sit by the pool and read.  A nice day in the low 70's with low humidity.  Very nice.
On Monday we did some laundry, etc and planned to leave on Tues to anchor out a few days then on to Marsh Harbour to greet our next guests!
Our friends Tom and Vicki (Grand Baron) took a mooring ball in the Hope Town Harbor on Tuesday and we got together for cocktails and dinner.

On Tuesday they accompanied us to Baker's Bay to anchor out a couple nights.  It was a great anchorage although it is quickly being built up.  The old cruise guide pictures showed only a few houses and now it is "wall to wall" building of homes along the beach.  Still a very nice spot though.



A cool starfish picture taken through our viewing bucket from the dinghy.

Note the large yacht Invictus in our anchorage behind Grand Baron.  I couldn't talk Tom B into dinghying over and asking them if they had some Grey Poupon....

Here is a link to the charter listing if you are interested....

https://www.yachtcharterfleet.com/luxury-charter-yacht-28861/invictus.htm

 

Heading to a small cay to explore the beach with Tom and Vicki.

Nice sunset.



 



We took a dinghy ride over to check out Nippers and Grabbers on Great Guana Cay. Check out the modified jet ski.  Put on a steering wheel and an outboard!

 

 A fruit and vegetable stand along the road to Nippers.

Grabbers beach bar.

Nippers wasn't too busy on a Wed!  Colorful bar with a great view of the Atlantic.

 

On Thursday we stopped at Fish Cays to snorkel.  It was a bit rough but it was OK.

We then moved on to Water Cay for Thurs night.  Another nice sunset.

 

We are also starting to plan a return trip to the Bahamas next year.  Current thoughts would have us spending the winter travelling the Bahamas rather than spending time in the Keys.  But it is almost a year away and lots can change.....but our home will not, we just don't know what our view will be!