Marsh Harbor and Hope Town

We stayed at Guana until Monday which gave us a chance to go to the weekly pig roast at Nippers Bar. It was all you can eat pork and sides for $20 each which was a good deal. It was very windy and the waves in the Atlantic were pretty big but it didn't stop a kite boarder from enjoying his hobby. He would go out into the waves and then do a flip over the wave and keep going. It was pretty amazing to watch.

We left Guana on Monday and headed for Mangoes Marina in Marsh Harbor about 10 miles away. We had heard good things about Marsh Harbor so we were excited to be there. The marina was nice and the people were friendly but the city is bustling with people and traffic. We didn't even try to ride the bike and even walking was a challenge sometimes because you end up walking very close to some fast drivers, but they do have a lot of amenities such as a large grocery store and several well stocked liquor stores. Sid and I did get out on the dingy to snorkel at Meremaid Beach. We tied to a mooring ball and snorkeled over a coral reef. On the other side of the rode across from our marina was another upscale marina ($3.25 per foot per night) called the Abaco Beach Resort at Boat Harbor. We were invited to a party hosted by the Royal Bahamas Yacht Club on the beach. It was $15 for all you can drink and eat which is a great deal. The drinks were strong and burgers and hot dogs were good.

We ate on the boat the others nights so I can't tell you if the restaurants are any good. We had planned to stay 4 or 5 nights but none of us much liked Marsh Harbor so we moved to Elbow Cay and Hope Town. We had slips at the Hope Town Marina but the harbor is very crowded and the wind was blowing quite hard so we all had a tough time docking but we made it fine. The marinas are on one side of the island and the town is on the other and there is no road to get around so you have to take the dingy over. Hope Town is by far the nicest place we have stayed in the Bahamas. It is beautiful, clean, good food and easy to walk. There is a resort and marina on the South end of the island about 3 miles away which we went to by golf cart. There is a great beach called Tahiti Beach which is protected and clear water. We had lunch in town the first day and the next day we shared a golf cart with Sid and Evelyn and had a great lunch at the Abaco Inn. We went to Steak night on Friday at Capt'n Jacks.

The plan was for the group to go to Little Harbor which is about 16 miles South and then start heading back but Ginny and I are going to start heading back today while the other two boats continue together. The wind is non stop and not expected to let up for at least another week so we will go to Man-O-War Cay today and then on to Treasure Cay and wait for good weather so we can cross the whale and start heading West.

The Atlantic in front of Nippers

John and Sid on the beach below Nippers

Kite boarder

Leaving Guana Cay

Our marina in Marsh Harbor

I hope there are no more heroes because the wall is full

Sid and I going snorkeling

Party on the beach at the Abaco Resort

Big grocery store

I didn't see any police

Sid walking back from the store with his supplies

Leaving Marsh Harbor

Coming into Hope Town

Coming into the harbor

This is where we docked the dingy each day

Many bars on the beach

There are a lot of really big houses on Elbow Cay

Doing what I do best, navigating and sitting

Tahiti Beach

Another view

Nice house on a small island in the harbor

This is for Mike and Marge

Many nice rentals on the water

Bad day for somebody

Enjoying happy hour at the pool