We woke earlier than usual this morning. We still weren't sure what went on with our anchor alarm last night! To me, it looked as though we were in the same location as when I motored in to have the guys drop our anchor. Anyhow, we left our anchorage at about 7:15 am and arrived at Hope Town at approximately 8:00 am. We wanted to motor through Hope Town’s channel at near high tide….which we did.
Entering the harbor, it looked packed but we found a white
mooring ball. Two different guys
dinghied over to see if we had any garbage to dispose of….that was nice!! The ball we hooked didn't have a bridal which
makes it difficult to snag. It’s a good
thing Rick was on the bow helping me. I
hooked it and Rick tied us up. Then I couldn’t get the hook back out of the
eye! The winds were pushing the boat and
putting tension on our line. We thought
my boat hook was doomed to bend or break but the two of us finally freed it
from the ball. That was close! At the time Rick and I were in the middle of
trying to secure the boat, Chuck spotted a dolphin in the harbor near our
boat. Cool….wish we could have seen it
too! I haven’t see one dolphin the
entire time we've been in the Abacos. 
Now that all the work is done, we made our move north in
time for breakfast and to listen to the net.
Many of the volunteers that broadcast in the morning winter in Hope
Town. The Cruisers Net should come in
loud and clear this morning! One
announcement they made was about today’s Flea Market from 10-2:00 in the park
at Hope Town. The money raised goes to
the settlements’ animal settle for the ‘cake pots’, their homeless dogs. This is the excitement of the day for
boaters and locals alike and we decided it would be fun. Hopping in the dinghy, we knew we had time to walk around and take pictures before the flea market starts. We walked toward the park and then toward
Hope Town Harbour Lodge.
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| Happy Hours looks so at home in moored in Hope Town! |
After admiring
the view of the boats anchored in the harbor, we climbed the steep stairs up
and into the lodge. The hill around the
steps was full of tropical plants and flowers. We walked through the lobby and out the back
door of the lodge and across the road to the Reef Bar and Grill and pool. What a beautiful setting overlooking the
ocean! We actually attended their Sunday
Breakfast buffet in the early 80’s when we were in the Abacos for 10 days with
Bev and Rick. It’s been so long that I
only faintly remember….Rick and Bev think the bar wasn’t there during that time
so it looks different. We kept walking
past the pool and bar and down a few steps out onto the ocean beach. The ocean is very angry today! No matter what kind of day it is though, the
four of us can sit, watch, and listen for hours to the ocean. Soon, it’s time to move on…..too little time
to see so much of another day in paradise!
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| Watching the ocean |
We turned south on the high road and trekked along until we came to the end of the road at a very old cemetery. The family names are: Albury, Cash, Thompson, Russell, and Robinson just to name a few. A group has been formed to fix the weathered and broken headstones and to research to find the names for those burial sites with missing stones and names. 
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| What a view! |
We had to turn around and go back the way we came in, walking 
again by the Hope Town school. Right before the school, we found a set of a very steep stairs that took us down to the lower main road. From here we walked back to where the flea market was being held, passing a local scraping barnacles off the bottom of his skiff. The flea market had already started so we headed to the busy fenced in park. It was pretty difficult to check out the items on the tables because people were crowded around the displays. This is a big event for this settlement! Everyone was there.....locals as well as boaters. We thought we should have gottne there earlier because guys were carrying fishing rod and reels.....we forgot ours. LOL Oh well, I don't know where we would have stored them anywhere!! Bev placed a silent bid on a beautiful picture of a yellow flower that was painted by a local artist. She has to return at 1:30 to see if her bid won or not. The guys soon lost their patience with the flea market and were ready to leave. We went past Harbour Edge Bar and Grill, checked out their lunch menu abd then walked to Capt'n Jacks to browse their menu. Of course, we stop at gift shops along the way. Around noon we retraced our path back to the Harbour Edge's wonderful deck overlooking the 
boats in the harbor. It was shaded nicely and was open to a nice breeze to cool us....it's hot today! Bev and I ordered conch with sides, rick ordered conch patties, and Chuck, a chicken sandwich...that's my guy! At 1:30, Bev left us to see if she won the painting.....she did.
Back to Happy Hours II for boat showers and sundowners. Dinner is going to
be lobster and shrimp. In fact, Rick and Bev bought the two lobsters and conch salad at the ferry dock. A deep-sea fishing boat, Down Deep, was backed into the dock and selling tails, fish, and conch salad. Yum Yum! The rest of the evening is saved for watching the sun set and the lighting of the Hope Town Lighthouse! What a nice night in the harbor.....
More pictures of our day in Hope Town. Rick most of these pictures!
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