Returning to USA

Entering Atlantic Ocean

After two months on the Sea of Abacos it is time to return to the USA and to complete our loop. And as our friend Steve said comeback to reality.
To leave the Sea of Abacos you must check, double check and triple check the weather forecast because you have to cross the whale. There you enter into the Atlantic Ocean and a few miles later you exit it.  It is a treacherous area.  We had so so weather prediction but we decided to do it since it isn't a long crossing. We could take an hour of rocking.  As we neared, the weather looked favorable but we wondered if the exit would be bad. Turns out the weather predictions were wrong.  The ocean was calm and the tides were favorable.  Easy.. Easy.
First stop as we left the Sea of Abacos was to No Name Cay to feed the wild pigs. They live alone there but they have plenty of visitors. Even tour boats go there. It was fun to see.

Then we were off for one night of anchoring. There we met up with our buddy boat who had beeen visiting at Green Turtle Cay while our friends visited us.  We missed that island. Now we have a reason to return. We anchored at Great Sail Cay.  We were there in February and there was about six boats.  But this time, we were thirty one boats. We were rewarded with a beautiful sunset and sunrise. WOW.

Sunset

Sunrise

The next day we were off to the West End to await our crossing. We waited an hour  for fuel so we aren't the only ones crossing the next morning.  That night, we celebrated our seventh month on the loop and our last night in the Bahamas. We did this at the best restaurant in town. It's also the only restaurant. We celebrated with our buddy boat and friends from Midland we met on the river system.

Crossing day we were expecting rough waters but it turned out very nice. I got some tuque knitting done.  That and reading are my favorite things to do for long travel days.

We arrived at Fort Pierce City Marina early afternoon.  It's a great place with an easy walk to the center of town.  There are several restaurants and a beautiful waterfront. The only downfall at Fort Pierce was checking into Customs because we were reentering the USA. We had this number but neither of us could call with our telephone.  We borrowed a telephone to make the call.  That was a 45 minute call.  After we were told that we had 24 hours to check-in in person. The office is at the  airport.  It's no fun because we don't have a vehicle.  Uber it is.  Our driver said it was her first day of driving.  I hope I misunderstood that.  

Now we have permission to resume our adventure as we travel North towards Canada.  First stop was Sebastian. It's a smal town in the Treasure Coast. We went to visit Mel Fisher Treasure Museum. Nice place to see the work of salvage explorers.  In 1985, Mel found the largest treasure find in the world.  

Nuestra Señora de Atocha on July of 1985. They continue to salvage that ship today. 

After two days of being rocked by the strong winds at Captain Hirams Marina we are off. It is a travel day. We are off to chase the Easter Bunny. Now that the internet is better I might resume my map so you can follow along.

http://www.scribblemaps.com/maps/view/Wt4h2Q71PF

As far back as the 1800s, people were moving to Florida to make their dreams come true. Rick Scott

Driving on Great Abaco Island

We'll we spent the last two weeks exploring Great Abaco Island.  We had friends visiting so we explored further by car and revisited old spots. And here we are leaving the Sea of Abacos.

My friend Sylvie and I visited a primary school in Marsh Harbor. It was fun reading books to little ones and helping the grade one class select a library book to take home. Put my experience to use... just a different age group.

The school Angel Academy  is a private school but they rely on fundraising and volunteer.  Not sure if we made a difference but it was an experience.  I'm sure they could use some of Tammy's ABC's for Rice experience. Lucky for them Tammy will be in Bahama this Spring.
      As for event, it's at Monkey Joe's in                 
Freeport on April 21st. Will be $25  including dinner and a drink.  There              will be a dj or band.  And will likely                begin at 7.

Yvon and I went exploring the local reefs by dinghy.  I stayed in the dinghy and as he swam away with his snorkeling gear. I saw a six feet shark about twenty feet from him.  We'll what's a girl to do?  Try to take a picture?

We also saw the Saint Patrick Day Parade. It's the shortest parade. It's about a mile long. There was one leader, one car and parade enthusiasts.  We decided to participate by walking in the parade. We were rewarded with free drinks, beer and Jello shooters. It ended with a live band, Irish food and new friends.

We have Floridian friends visiting. We are excited to show them the area and explore with them. We took them to my favorite place.  Hope Island is the most beautiful town in the Bahamas. Even seeing it again you can feel it's magic.  We were planning on renting a golf cart but they are fully booked until November. It was disappointing but still worth walking around town and seeing the Atlantic Ocean side.

We drove to Cherokee point. It is the southern most point of the Little Abacos island. It is a sleepy fishing village. It has the longest dock in the Abacos. 

We also visited Pete's Pub in Little Harbour.  It is on a dirt road and we bounced around to  get there. There is a huge cave there but we didn't visit it.  We saw the bar that people leave their tshirt as souvenirs.  Looks like a laundry room. 

We also drove to Treasure Cay because you can't visit the Abacos without seeing it.  The besutiful beach is still breath taking even though we had spent a week there. 

Well enough exploring time to say goodbye to our friends and for us to plan our return journey. 

11miles, 12miles,and 9miles

When we left Treasure Cay, we travelled eleven miles to Great Ghana Cay, followed by another twelve miles to Hope Town and later nine miles to Marsh Harbour.

Hope Town Lighthouse Entry

It was hard to leave the beautiful beach in Treasure Cay, but we still had more to see. The short eleven miles to Great Ghana Cay was beautiful and easy. It was nice to leave later then usual and still arrive in time for lunch. This island is only five miles long. At the tip, there is a private marina and development.  Apparently Disney started developing a complex there, but it was abandoned. We did not visit that area as it is restricted even by water. We stayed in the south of the island and walked around. We only saw one vehicle there. It's mostly golf carts and dirt roads. This island is famous for Nippers. It has a Sunday pig roast. The nearby tourists and locals swarm the island for this party. It was a fun place for a couple of days. We met a nice couple at Nippers who happened to be going to Fort Myers. Yvon sang the praise of our Old Bridge Village mobile park. They went to see it and bought a home.

Color coordinated with the building.. How Cool!

We left the morning after the party for Hope Town. They say, Hope Town is the prettiest town in the Bahamas. The population is 1500 and another 1500 illegal immigrants. The streets are very narrow and similar to European villages. Some streets are reserved to pedestrian traffic. This area was developed by Loyalist. They have a nice museum, explaining the history of the island. There is no water on this island. They collect rain water in cisterns for their needs.

We have watched the island life here, like no other way.  There are many water taxis. Children take them to school, even the little ones.  People commute to work by water taxis or in their own boat.
At the Lighthouse marina we are by the last man manned kerosene lighthouse. We climbed the 101 steps for the spectacular view of the town, the Sea of Abacos and the Atlantic Ocean. At night, we could smell the Kerosene oil. There are two manatees that live under the dock. They were lovely to look at. Especially when they find some freshwater.

Another nice thing here is the proximity to other islands.  We visited Tahiti beach and you would think you were in a different world. Breathless! You can walk at low tide and feel like you are walking on water. We also visited part of Tillico Cay by dinghy.

We met up with old Looper friends from Canada and we have met other loopers. Everyone has a different story, different boat and their experiences varies.

Much more exploring to do, so we are off to Marsh Harbor. It is the third largest city in the Bahamas.  The harbor is slightly congested with mooring balls and there are several marinas here. Our reservations at Harborview Marina where non existent. We had called five times to reserve, so that was disappointing. Oh well another hickup. We are glad they made room for us because they were calling for gale force winds in a couple of days.
Well on first inspection, this isn't as nice as we have seen so far. More a big town but not too big. There aren't many cars here and those we see are not new except for a nice black cadillac. The water isn't the beautiful clear aqua blue but it's still warm and blue. We are in a safe harbour and we are staying here as the winter storms keep coming. Even the mega yachts are coming in.
These yachts are beautiful and the captain's are friendly. They won't say who their owners are. We met an owner, he was moored beside us for a weekend. He doesn't drive his 65 Endeavor. Yvon said he would drive it, if we owned it. It is two years old and very beautiful. Unfortunately, it's not in our budget. But since we are among the rich and famous, why not dress up and go to the best restaurant in Town? This is us at Wally, famous for their bread pudding. And Lil Hide Away safely moored with these giants.

Marsh Harbour has a population of 6000. It is smaller then our home town. It has one traffic light. We are enjoying visiting this area by foot and by dinghy. Some of our friends will visit us for a few days and we will explore the Abaco island by car then.



When the winds died down, we did a dinghy ride to Man of War Cay . It's a seven mile boat ride. Yvon had a surprise when we went to the restaurant.

                                          It is a dry island. You are allowed to bring your own, so he quickly walked back to the dinghy for his cold beer. 

We ended the day with a Canadian dinghy flotilla .

Mini Dinghy Flotilla

So this is the continuation of our adventure. More of the Abacos to follow. Below is the island we are exploring. We are in the center east side.