Life Without Shoes in the Abacos

Kent and I sailed Bangarang from Florida to the Bahamas in December and have spent the winter months in the Abacos. The Captain and I have enjoyed every minute. We've based ourselves in Marsh Harbour but we've sailed around, anchored off, docked at, ferried to, and explored Great Abaco and many of the outlying cays here, including Great Sale, Manjack, Green Turtle, No Name, Great Guana, Man O War, Elbow, Tiloo and Treasure. Each cay (pronounced like "key") has its own personality but they all share the gorgeous turquoise Bahamian waters, historic settlements, white sand beaches, sea life, wildlife, shells, sunrises and sunsets. Kent and I visited a few of these cays as we sailed here from Florida, but our stays were brief (typically only one night) as we passed through on our way to Marsh Harbour. Now that we've had a chance to explore Abaco and the outlying cays, here are some highlights...

(This is a long post with lots of photos. Read when you have time!)

 

Meet "Showboat" at his conch stand in Marsh Harbour, 

where he makes delicious fresh conch salad to order. 

 

Showboat is ready to put on his show...

 

He starts by hammering a spot on the shell and cutting

out the conch. 

 

Then he trims the conch down to the yummy white meat.

 

He scores and chops the conch meat, then combines it

with diced tomato, green pepper, onion, and some 

cucumber. Showboat tops it off with a little salt, lime

juice, orange juice, and his secret hot and spicy marinade. 

 

We like Showboat's fresh conch salad with crackers for 

lunch. Yum!

 

Our anchorage just outside Hope Town on Elbow Cay.

That's the historic Elbow Cay Lighthouse off our bow.

Built in 1836, it is 89 feet tall and is one of two hand-

wound kerosene-burning lighthouses still operational

in the world. Kent and our friend Linnea enjoyed the 

view from the top, but alas, my fear of heights kept 

me at ground level.

Yikes, what is that? It's a 7-foot nurse shark looking

for a handout! The shark circled Bangarang a few

times during our stay. Apparently, he's the

neighborhood moocher. 

 

A view of the lighthouse in Hope Town from the 

Hope Town Inn & Marina

 

A stroll through Hope Town

 

A typical view of Hope Town from the harbor's edge

 

Hope Town Harbour Lodge, where you can eat lunch

with a view of the Atlantic, swim in the ocean, then

take a dip in the pool.

 

Fresh fish, anyone?

 

A rental villa in Hope Town

 

An example of the wooden boats still being hand-crafted

by local boat builders in Hope Town.

A visit to the lighthouse

 

The lighthouse lenses

 

The shells and sea life in the Abacos are beautiful. A 

walk on any beach here is filled with discovery. Here's a

helmet conch. 

The colorful sea urchins and the bleach-white sea

biscuits collected among the sea grasses are my favorites. 

 

Wild horses inland on Great Abaco

 

Top shells

 

Little starfish

 

Queen conch

 

A live starfish underwater

 

Brain coral

 

A welk we found wading in the shallows at Manjack Cay.

Huge! We just couldn't allow ourselves to take him for

supper when he was so large and obviously old. Back into 

the Sea of Abaco he (she?) went!

A crab on the rocks on Manjack Cay

 

Trooper running along the beach at Manjack Cay

 

As we waded in the shallow waters at Manjack Cay, the

stingrays circled around us. It's a popular spot where

visitors come to feed them and some even try to pet them. 

 

It's both a thrill and a bit creepy to see and feel them 

glide silently and smoothly around your legs!

A very bright moon is peeking out over Manjack Cay

 

I have to include some pictures of the wild pigs on 

No Name Cay, where boaters bring them food. 

When we were there, we saw at least two dozen of them, 

including some cute little piglets.  

 

Snort, snort!

 

They really are pretty adorable. 

 

They love to swim and often swim up to the boaters, 

knowing there is food coming. 

 

The pigs are known to be somewhat tame but many 

weigh about 200-400 pounds, so I keep my distance!

 

A big welcome for visitors at Green Turtle Cay

 

A view of the Bluff House on White Sound at 

Green Turtle Cay

 

The Albert Lowe Museum on Green Turtle Cay

 

It's not Whole Foods or Mariano's but it's a

surprisingly well-stocked grocery on Green Turtle Cay!

 

"Ye Olde Gaol" in New Plymouth on Green Turtle Cay. 

A close look at the historic jailhouse and out buildings

would be enough to keep you on the straight 

and narrow here in the old days. Built in mid-1800s. No

wonder there isn't any crime here to speak of in this

community of just 500 residents!

 

Green Turtle Cay

 

Beautiful tropical flowers everywhere

 

Green Turtle Cay

 

I think these are Plovers--very common to the Abacos

 

We anchored in Black Sound at Green Turtle Cay

in front of the yacht club.

 

Lunch poolside at the Leeward Yacht Club

 

One of the most gorgeous beaches at Treasure Cay

 

My next ride!

 

Anchored off Treasure Cay in glistening waters

 

Candlelight supper with our shell collection, which

seems to grow by the day. Gotta control myself!

 

Supper: spiny lobster on the BBQ

This blog got so long. And I didn't even get a chance to include our sails to Tahiti Beach, Tiloo, Man O War Cay, Sandy Point, or Little Harbor! Thanks for sticking it out and taking an interest in recent highlights of our adventures!