Hope Town, Abacos

After spending the morning snorkeling again in Pelican Cay Park, we left for the short hour and a half run to Hope Town. Because the seas were so calm, we decided to go on the ocean side which took a bit less time.  After entering HopeTown Harbour through a pretty skinny passageway, we took a mooring ball that was associated with Hope Town Marina and Inn.  This was a great choice because we had use of their beautiful facilities (pool, bathrooms,  laundry, etc.) for a  very reasonable price.  There were many beautiful boats in the harbor and we always had the iconic lighthouse in our view.

As soon as we arrived we met up with our new friends Daniel, Mika, Jill and Steve at the pool.  We walked through town past the a most interesting cemetery - the Cholera Cemetery for victims of the cholera epidemic of the 1850's..

Afterwards we all went into town for dinner that night at Sip Sip Wine Bar which had been recommended by another cruiser we had met at Mangoes.  It was a good local place that served food other than the ubiquitous fried fish!

On Wednesday we had the treat of meeting our friends Steve and Tisha Ziskind at their children’s school in Hope Town.  Steve and Tisha have recently moved from Florida to live full time at their Hope Town home.  They have two young children and they enjoy the village atmosphere and slower pace of living that island life affords them.  The little Hope Town School was established in  the mid 1800s, and has been a great experience for their kids.  We joined Steve and Tisha for lunch duty that day and met their kids.

We later had lunch together with another expat from Austria that now makes Hope Town home and visited the local historical museum that had some interesting photos and artifacts about Hope Town.  Walking through town frequently ended in beautiful passages to spectacular waterfront views.

After returning to Zendo, we spent some time cooling off in the marina’s pool – very comfortable!
Jonny had been wanting to do some fishing, so Steve offered to take him out on Thursday to try their luck.  They were gone most of the day but unfortunately came home empty-handed! That evening one of our boaters was trying to retrieve his parrot who had decided to visit the neighboring boats.  He must have spent an hour following the parrot in his dinghy as he flew boat to boat in the mooring field!

 On Friday, we spent the day walking through Hope Town's settlement area, the central part of town.  It’s very small, quaint and authentic.  There was a great coffee shop and some good gift shops.

 This is a town where people get around either on foot, by golf cart or by boat or ferry.  Everyone seems to know everyone else, crime is almost non-existent and there is a very relaxed atmosphere  in this Bahama time zone!

Steve and Tisha invited us to their Hummingbird Hill home for dinner on Friday night.  Just before it was time to take the dinghy in to meet Steve, it started to rain, so we donned our rain gear and ventured out to meet him at the town dock.  

The last time we had been to their home was 20 years ago for our 10th wedding anniversary.  It was lovely then and Steve has expanded it considerably since making it into a real family home especially now that they are living there full time with their two young children, Teddy and Rosie.

Our enjoyable evening brought a perfect closure to the time we spent in Hope Town, which remains  one of our very favorite spots in the Abacos.