So far, Charlie and I have deeply enjoyed the rugged beauty here on Elbow Cay.Today is Friday,March 13, our Christa's 28th birthday and we found an internet connection at a restaurant in Hope Town to wish her a very Happy 28th Birthday and to do the blog. Charlie and I are currently in our third week out of four here at Sea Spray Marina on Elbow Cay in the Abacos.
First here are some basic facts of the Abacos
(Italicized text below taken from the” Guide to Abaco 2008,” by Steve Dodge)
The Abacos and its cays form one of the largest bodies of semi-protective waters in the Bahamas, and are less traveled than many of other islands. Miles of secluded beaches can be found and there are plentiful harbors and sheltered areas for anchoring one’s boat. These northeast islands of the Bahamas are laid back and more rustic than the more populated areas surrounding Nassau or Freeport on Grand Bahama Island. The population of the Abacos is about 15,000. The Abacos consist of Little Abaco Island, then southeast to the Great Abaco Island, and running along the eastern side of both islands are a string of outer Cays.
This photo above was taken near our marina at the beautiful Abaco Inn. Their restaurant and pool overlook this panoramic view of the rugged coastline of the Atlantic Ocean. During one of our walks, Charlie took my picture with their beautiful backdrop on their property.
We have walked along the beach close to our marina more than once, collecting things like sea glass and shells along the way and taking all the time we wanted to have a close look at some fantastic creatures like the one above. He looked like a baby in his size of about 5 inches.
I took this little crab home to the boat and put him in a container of saltwater with the hopes that I could photograph him more. But alas, the next morning he had crawled out, shell and all and apparently took a giant leap over the boat! The beauty and delicacies of nature! It was fun to have a pet for a night. Our girls used to have a hermit crab pet they brought home from Myrtle Beach named Hermie!
The water was clear and calm went we went to Marsh Harbor and back in our dinghy which enabled us all to see everything on the bottom from the sides of our dinghies quite clearly. We saw sea grasses, fish and starfish and something amazing which you will have to read farther down to see what it was! In the photo above, we borrowed Jim, and Lisa’s viewing bucket and could see things even more clearly like this beautiful starfish.
When we leave our marina around March 22, we hope to do more island hopping back north and west as we head back to West End again to cross back to Florida. Among the places we might get to include the pink and white beach with shallow, clear water at Treasure Cay, the great snorkeling opportunities at the 3rd largest barrier reef in the world at Great Guana Cay (where we recently took the Hope Town ferry on March 6 to attend the Barefoot Man Concert at the famous restaurant-bar, “Nippers”, on one of their beaches), and possibly we can go to Man-O-War Cay, for its natural quiet beauty, boat building, (and for its store that features handcrafted, quality handbags made from sailcloth!
Tourism is their biggest business with ship building, construction, and the seafood industry important as well.
Charlie and I have found that the people we have spoken to are most always are very friendly and helpful, and have displayed a lot of pride when answering our questions about their culture and heritage.
Their traffic rules follow the British laws so driving is done on the left side of the road.
Along the roads we have used, there are no sidewalks and very little room to walk along the edges of the roads. Even though we have seen about half cars and half golf carts with a few trucks go by us, we have to keep remembering to walk facing traffic on the right side of the roads and ride our bikes on the left sides of the roads with the traffic!
There is no sales tax on purchases but 15% tip is expected and is frequently added on the restaurant bill automatically. Linda recently spoke to a store owner who showed her all the Bahamian coins and bills currently used. The coins each have their own design on them; the penny has a starfish, the nickel a pineapple, the dime has bone fish and the quarter has a sailboat. All the coins are round except the nickel which is shaped like a fluted pie crust.
Tourism is their biggest business with ship building, construction, and the seafood industry important as well.
Charlie and I have found that the people we have spoken to are most always are very friendly and helpful, and have displayed a lot of pride when answering our questions about their culture and heritage.
Their traffic rules follow the British laws so driving is done on the left side of the road.
Along the roads we have used, there are no sidewalks and very little room to walk along the edges of the roads. Even though we have seen about half cars and half golf carts with a few trucks go by us, we have to keep remembering to walk facing traffic on the right side of the roads and ride our bikes on the left sides of the roads with the traffic!
There is no sales tax on purchases but 15% tip is expected and is frequently added on the restaurant bill automatically. Linda recently spoke to a store owner who showed her all the Bahamian coins and bills currently used. The coins each have their own design on them; the penny has a starfish, the nickel a pineapple, the dime has bone fish and the quarter has a sailboat. All the coins are round except the nickel which is shaped like a fluted pie crust.
Roads in the villages and towns were originally designed for human traffic and wagons only and remain the same narrow width today. Automobiles are scarce; so the sounds one hears in the towns are most generally limited to boat building, small construction sites, and the church and school bells. ( And roosters crowing!)
Tourists and locals in town get around by walking, biking or riding in golf carts as well as taking ferry boats to and from the other islands.
Bait for fishing is from the waters.
The availability of much of the food in the grocery stores is dependant on when the next boat comes in. Fresh meat and food shipped from the U.S. is expensive and water is at a premium ($0.40/gallon at our dock so we limit our boat washing - it takes us 50 gallons to wash our boat!).
Tourists and locals in town get around by walking, biking or riding in golf carts as well as taking ferry boats to and from the other islands.
Bait for fishing is from the waters.
The availability of much of the food in the grocery stores is dependant on when the next boat comes in. Fresh meat and food shipped from the U.S. is expensive and water is at a premium ($0.40/gallon at our dock so we limit our boat washing - it takes us 50 gallons to wash our boat!).
Much of the world’s best seafood is here and is plentiful year round.
The following italicized information is from the “Waterway Guide 2005, Bahamas section
One of the reasons for the popularity of the Bahamian islands is their temperate climate. The average temperature in Nassau is 77 degrees and the difference between the daily maximum and minimum is only about 12 degrees. Floridians often come to the islands in summer to escape the mainland’s heat and humidity. There are two distinct weather patterns in the Bahamas: winter and summer.
Winter begins in November or December and has cold fronts that last up to five days. With the fronts come high pressure winds from the continent, 20-30 knots that interrupt the easterly trades. Winds average 10-15 knots in the winter. Winter is also the dry season. (And can get very dusty, as we have experienced on windy days.)
These strong winds combined with the waves and current allow the sand to shift along the banks a great deal, creating unknown depths and unknown rock and coral exposure. While boating, it is important not to use “eyeball navigation” and stay strictly in the marked channels.
The summers begins in May, have lighter winds, high humidity and lots of thunderstorms and lightning.
Here at Sea Spray Marina, the cold front of several days last week with high’s in the 60’s and strong enough winds to make it difficult to get on and off our boat gave way to current weather that everyone is currently smiling about. Lately the weather has improved to the low 80’s and less wind. Recent nights of a full moon have given us fantastic views (along with extreme high and low tides ranging up to a three foot difference in our dock height getting off and on our boat.) Charlie and I have swum in the marina’s pool, and have been able to watch some of the MSU basketball games outside at the Tiki Bar.
The highlight of this week was on Monday, March 9 when Jim, Lisa, Charlie and I took our dinghies out into the Sea of Abaco to the town of Marsh Harbor, a 3.5 mile ride to the Boat Harbor Marina. In the marina, Jim and Lisa recognized the boat Christine from Toledo, Ohio. The owners, Jim and Joan let us all tie up to their boat while we visited Marsh Harbor for the day. We were grateful as the marina charges $25 for a day just to use their dinghy dock! After a walking day in the small town and a lunch on a waterfront restaurant called Mangoes, some sightseeing and shopping for groceries, we went to a boxcar looking building called “Buck a Book” where anyone can go and buy used books. The proceeds go for the efforts of protecting the wild horses of Abaco.
The following italicized information is from the “Waterway Guide 2005, Bahamas section
One of the reasons for the popularity of the Bahamian islands is their temperate climate. The average temperature in Nassau is 77 degrees and the difference between the daily maximum and minimum is only about 12 degrees. Floridians often come to the islands in summer to escape the mainland’s heat and humidity. There are two distinct weather patterns in the Bahamas: winter and summer.
Winter begins in November or December and has cold fronts that last up to five days. With the fronts come high pressure winds from the continent, 20-30 knots that interrupt the easterly trades. Winds average 10-15 knots in the winter. Winter is also the dry season. (And can get very dusty, as we have experienced on windy days.)
These strong winds combined with the waves and current allow the sand to shift along the banks a great deal, creating unknown depths and unknown rock and coral exposure. While boating, it is important not to use “eyeball navigation” and stay strictly in the marked channels.
The summers begins in May, have lighter winds, high humidity and lots of thunderstorms and lightning.
Here at Sea Spray Marina, the cold front of several days last week with high’s in the 60’s and strong enough winds to make it difficult to get on and off our boat gave way to current weather that everyone is currently smiling about. Lately the weather has improved to the low 80’s and less wind. Recent nights of a full moon have given us fantastic views (along with extreme high and low tides ranging up to a three foot difference in our dock height getting off and on our boat.) Charlie and I have swum in the marina’s pool, and have been able to watch some of the MSU basketball games outside at the Tiki Bar.
The highlight of this week was on Monday, March 9 when Jim, Lisa, Charlie and I took our dinghies out into the Sea of Abaco to the town of Marsh Harbor, a 3.5 mile ride to the Boat Harbor Marina. In the marina, Jim and Lisa recognized the boat Christine from Toledo, Ohio. The owners, Jim and Joan let us all tie up to their boat while we visited Marsh Harbor for the day. We were grateful as the marina charges $25 for a day just to use their dinghy dock! After a walking day in the small town and a lunch on a waterfront restaurant called Mangoes, some sightseeing and shopping for groceries, we went to a boxcar looking building called “Buck a Book” where anyone can go and buy used books. The proceeds go for the efforts of protecting the wild horses of Abaco.
Here is the surprise we saw when coming home from Marsh Harbor in our dinghies!
Imagine our surprise when Jim and Lisa pointed to two sharks along side both of our dinghies!! They were each 6-8 feet long! (Later, Jim looked them up in a book and told us they were Nurse sharks. ) We took our photos carefully as they were very close. They moved swiftly past us and we had to go after them to take our pictures! This photo shows the body of the sharks taken right next to us! Wow!
The Bahamas have approximately 2,000 islands extending south west 800 miles. Hopefully when we leave Seas Spray, we can see much more. We are enthralled with the beauty here and the lore of the people and the culture. And it is a place in the world that looks like and feels like paradise. What a beautiful day. So let’s go out and play.
10th Annual Barefoot Man Concert, Nippers Bar and Restaurant,
Guana Cay, Abaco. Friday, March 6, 2009
Charlie and I boarded the Hope Town Ferry on March 6; the day of the year in the Abacos that boasts the much waited Barefoot Man Concert; a noonish concert and party complete with a pig roast and golf cart decoration competition at the very popular tropical beach bar-restaurant –gift shop place called Nippers.
The buzz of the concert had been building up everywhere since we arrived at Sea Spray Marina and we wanted to go. It would mean getting a courtesy ride from our marina to the ferry in Hope Town early in the morning of the concert and then taking the one hour ride to the island of Guana Cay. Then the concert, then the one hour ferry ride back to Hope Town, then we would have to walk the 3.5 miles home in the late afternoon.
Getting around from one island to another requires getting on a boat of some kind for everyone and so we set off for another one of our adventures!
The buzz of the concert had been building up everywhere since we arrived at Sea Spray Marina and we wanted to go. It would mean getting a courtesy ride from our marina to the ferry in Hope Town early in the morning of the concert and then taking the one hour ride to the island of Guana Cay. Then the concert, then the one hour ferry ride back to Hope Town, then we would have to walk the 3.5 miles home in the late afternoon.
Getting around from one island to another requires getting on a boat of some kind for everyone and so we set off for another one of our adventures!
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Here is our view from our ferry arriving at Guana Cay for the concert.
Here is a photo of me standing next to a Cat Lady. Friends of the Human Society were out with their buckets on concert day dressed like cats and collecting funds to help control the island’s cat population by neutering the cats.
Here is the pathway leading up to the very colorful Nippers Beach Bar, Restaurant and Gift Shop.
The festivities began three hours before the concert with an appearance of the woman with the tiny waist. She is part of the lure of the islands! She is also listed in the Guinness Book of Records as having the smallest waist of 15 inches!
Everyone was enjoying the beautiful weather and the party atmosphere (3 Bahama Mamas for Linda!) building up to concert time with live music from Barefoot Man’s band.
See if you can find Charlie; (Where’s Waldo?) he has on an orange sherbet-colored shirt!(in middle – he had three Bahama Mama drinks also)
In spite of the fact that we had never heard his music before, we liked Barefoot Man’s songs immediately; they are a lot like Jimmy Buffet’s songs only more laid back.
Barefoot Man is actually the stage name of George Novak, from the Grand Cayman Islands who tours his homeland, the Bahamas, and Florida with his band to sing his own version of the Jimmy Buffet style. When he comes to Nippers with his wife and band, his concert draws people from all over the world. They come by yacht, plane, private plane, ferry and even golf carts! His lyrics are stories of the Abacos with places we know of and have heard of and the beat is a laid back, Caribbean, steel drum kind of sound. (you can go to http://www.barefootman.com/ if you wish)
No charge for the concert, just the costs of your food and drink. We got there three hours before the concert and were glad we did in order to get a spot at a table! I became a groupie and had to look up security to find Barefoot before the concert to get his picture with me and my new friend Ann. 
Did we mention the golf cart competition?
No charge for the concert, just the costs of your food and drink. We got there three hours before the concert and were glad we did in order to get a spot at a table! I became a groupie and had to look up security to find Barefoot before the concert to get his picture with me and my new friend Ann. 
Did we mention the golf cart competition?All in all, this event was essentially an older kid spring break party! Charlie and I didn’t go on spring break trips for the most part when we were growing up like our girls did, so now it was our turn!
We say hello and hope everyone is getting some early spring-like weather up north these days.
We are grateful as always for our house sitter; another Christa, who watches over our home. We are also grateful that so many people can read the blog to know we are OK and having fun; especially Linda’s mother who goes to Tecumseh’s library each week to read about the trip and to Dick at the senior center who prints out the blog so that others can read it. And last, we are grateful for Linda’s new grand nephew, Noah, born to Melissa and Jia out in the Seattle area recently. Melissa is the daughter of Linda’s brother, Larry and wife Carolyn of Fowlerville, MI.
And we send big Happy Birthdays to daughters Christa and Carrie, Linda’s brother John, and to our friends Jeff and Marcia.
Sincerely, Linda and Charlie
