January 22 - 24,2017- Hope Town

January 22, 2017

7:00am-  Every night we bring the dinghy up on the side of the boat with the halyards so that the bottom doesn't get dirty.  This morning, I decided I would take initiative and bring the dinghy down myself.  I successfully did it and thought that wasn't too bad.  I tied it to the back of the boat in preparation to go to shore.  Guess what happened.  The line detached and there was our dinghy floating by itself. Guess I need to practice my knots.  We were about to use the kayak to fetch it but a kind young man came by to rescue the dinghy. Whoops!

9:00am- Steve, which I now refer to as, Tony Soprano, relaxed by the pool while I sat on the huge porch while I did a load of laundry and caught up with my email.  There is good free Wi-Fi here.  It seems to slow down at night though. 

Noticed Steve is the only one around the pool. 

They have a beautiful porch with rocking chair and benches.

It is a nice place to sit around.

You can tell I am not used to Bahamian time.  I sure need to chill.  It ended up taking us 3 hours to do one load of laundry.  Their dryer wasn't functioning correctly, so we had to keep putting in tokens to continue the drying process. Good thing they have wifi that work.  Take a deep breathe!
1:00pm- We went on board a stainless steel boat which a guy from New Zealand had it custom made.  What a gorgeous boat.  He was a very interesting gentleman and now needs to sell it for health reasons.  Only $850 US in case anyone is interested.
2:30pm- I dropped Steve off at the dock since he wanted to watch the NFL games at the local bar while I went back to the boat to paint.  I went back to pick him up but the game wasn't over until 6:00on so I went for a nice long walk on the beach.

Everything is closed on Sundays.  Even gift shops and museums.

Museaum

There was a church right on the water.  What a view!

View of the church

 

View of the church looking out

 As we were coming back to the boat at sunset, I took this photo. 

7:00pm- After I made a nice stir fry for dinner, Steve went back to the bar to watch the football game while I stayed on the boat and watch a movie and painted. He came back around 10:30pm.  Looks like a windy night.

January 23, 2017

7:00am- The boat was rocking and bouncing around last night.  

8:00am- Heavy rain and wind picked up.  Steve went out in the rain and decided to wash his hair.  At least it is warm enough to do that.  We are trying to conserve water since it is too rough to go out the bay to make water.  You always want to make water out in open water and not in closed harbours. 

Pouring rain

Looking out the boat while it poured

12:00pm- After the sun came out and we had a bite to eat, we decided to go explore the island.  First stop was the post office which is only opened until 3:30pm. 



I was going to try and sit on this ledge but almost lost my balance

 

Such beautiful scenery

 

 

Went by a school while the children were out playing



It was cute to see a model home match the original home

Visited an old cemetery

 



Went inside a memorial for locals

Resting time

6:00pm- Had Sheppard's Pie for dinner then washed a DVD Berlin. 

In this town, at every sunset, you can hear someone sounding the conch.  Also, a couple of times a day, you hear music from the church for 5 minute periods.  So quaint.

January 24, 2017

Another windy and bouncy night.  At least the sun is out and no rain.

 

9;30am- Went for a nice long shower at the marina which cost $7.00. You sure don't take water for granted here.
10;30am-  Filled up the dinghy with fuel. $21.45 for 4.2 gallons.  Wouldn't want to be a power boater filling up.
Went up the Elbow Reef lighthouse in Hope Town which is the most recognized landmark in Abaco and the last lighthouse of its kind in the world. It was built in 1864 and at the time showed a fixed light only.  In 1936, the lighthouse got a major refit, using the lens and turning mechanism which had been at the Gun Cay Lighthouse. The brick lighthouse is 89 ft high with 101 steps.  Good exercise for us.  The lighthouse is in great need for more repairs and welcomes any donations.


We just listening to the waves crashing on the beach

Looking down the stairs as we go up the lighthouse



 



Gorgeous view looking down the lighthouse.  A video is posted on my Facebook page.

 

3:00pm- Met John and Terry and they showed us more of the island.  What a beautiful place.  Along our walk they had signs posted with distance signs to different places.

We sure enjoyed our long walk

















Coffee  time on the beach....cappuccino with a heart

 6:00pm- Came back to the boat and made hamburgers, then watch DVDs.