Hope Town (Part 1)

 We left Man O War on February 9th and made the 4.5 nm trip over to Hope Town. One of the nice things about traveling around in this part of the Bahamas is that everything is very close together. The trip was short, but the change was dramatic. Hope Town has a totally different vibe. There is a nice harbor with about 30 mooring balls. We arrived early and picked one up with no drama. 

 

Hope Town is famous for it's lighthouse. You can see it for miles around. This picture is taken as we are on approach to the harbor in the well marked channel. 

Here is a shot of the lighthouse from inside the harbor. 

The first order of business was to go ashore and take a walk around town. Here is a shot of the harbor. SHIFT is out there in that sea of boats.

We had to go check out the beach. It is of course beautiful.

The mooring balls are very close together, but nothing to worry about.

Kim enjoying the beautiful water.

We always need a Kim on a beach shot.

The colors never get old. 

This monument was erected in honor of the people that died in a Cholera Epidemic in the 19th century.

It was a very calm day when we arrived, so we decided to go on a snorkeling mission in the dinghy. We did not see much, but I did find my first keeper Queen Conch.

We decided that we were not ready to make a Conch Salad, so we ended up throwing it back. 

 That night we went to our first performance of the Hope Town Music and Rum Festival. There is a famous Country Singer Songwriter, Phillip Lammond, from Nashville that has been coming to Hope Town for years. He has invited a bunch of his songwriter friends and they perform many of their songs live on stage. The show is at a different venue each night. This night was at the Hope Town Marina that was a short distance from our boat. Some of the songs we have heard and some not, but it is all great music performed by some very talented folks. 

We had some seats just behind the stage, but we could see fairly well and could hear great. We enjoyed the evening and Kim found that she really likes a Pink Sands Beer. 

The following day we decided to take a tour of the Lighthouse. We really enjoyed that.

The Hope Town Lighthouse was built in 1860 and is still operating on Kerosene and hand winding today. The oldest to do so in the world.

It is 101 steps to the top. We had to go for it.

Can the old man make it?

The view of the harbor from one of the windows. The thickness of the walls is why it has withstood so many storms. 

The view of the harbor from the top is very cool. SHIFT is down there in the center.

This is the entrance channel to the harbor

Evidence I made it. No I wasn't scared...really!

The Fresnel Lens is very cool. You can see the light from our boat each evening.

The view of the Sea of Abaco side. 

I think I will stop this entry there after day 3. We ended up Staying in Hope Town 9 days. Why so long? I will tell you all about the other 6 days in my next entry. I will tell you now, it was not all enjoyable.