Marsh Harbour, Abacos

On a cloudy and warm Thursday, June 9, we left Man-O-War Cay for the quick one hour cruise to Marsh Harbour.  This is the biggest town in the Abacos and the only one where we had a chance of getting our outboard repaired.  It is also the town that people fly in  and out of to get to the Abacos.

We chose a wonderful marina called Mangoes and it has become our favorite marina on the trip so far.  With its funky Key West vibe and small size, it provided all the amenities we needed in an attractive island-like, tropical setting.  It had a comfy and attractive cruisers lounge and an outdoor area complete with pool and hammock.  Lynn spent quite a bit of time in these areas because it was the only place with a decent internet connection (hence the big delay in getting blog posts out).

Upon arrival, our first task was to contact the local Mercury dealer who arranged to come and pick up our outboard. We spent the rest of the day cleaning up the boat, relaxing, and meeting some of the neat people who also made this a great stop for us.

On Friday, we prepared to  walk the mile or so to the Mercury dealer to  pay for the repairs.  We were walking though town which is clearly not the most picturesque one in the Abacos.  It is the best place, however, to shop and get any kind of work done.   We walked through town on this cloudy day but when we arrived at the dealer, our credit card was rejected.  Someone had stolen the number and was making unauthorized charges on it in the U.S.  We then had to trudge back to the boat to get another card.  By this time, we decided to divide and conquer and Lynn detoured to the well-stocked grocery store while Jonny paid the OB bill.  While she was in the store it started to pour with the rain pelting down on the tin roof of the grocery.  Jonny showed up to meet her for the walk home having received a ride from the dealer who delivered the OB back to the boat.  As we exited the grocery, the power went off and we, along with a dozen other patrons, stood on the porch watching the deluge.  Fortunately we were able to catch a cab ride back to Zendo. We spent the evening checking out the local pub’s version of the Goombay Smash.

Next day, Saturday, dawned sunny and bright.  A great day to try the local snorkeling reef on the other side of the harbor.  We dinghied over to Mermaid Reef where several boats were already moored.  It was a   good reef with plenty of colorful fish and we had great fun there.  Afterwards we took a spin around that part of the key and saw some beautiful homes in a quiet harbor.

By this time we had befriended two very lively sets of boaters.  The first set, two guys from North Carolina named Daniel and Micah, were taking a 3 month  break from their jobs to sail Daniel’s boat through the Bahamas.  They were great fun, bright, live wires and just full of energy and good will.  The second set were Steve and Jill from Cape Coral, who were on an extended cruise aboard their sailboat.  They had sort of “adopted”  Daniel and Micah and had been traveling together for part of their journey.  Together we tried the local bars and planned an outing for the next day.  

One of the bars was called Curly Tail after the local lizards that pop up everywhere in this area (see the first picture in this post).  They are very cute and this bar was beautifully decked out with the best view of the harbor.

Daniel’s girlfriend, Erin, had arrived for the weekend and he wanted to give her the full experience so we decided to check out the famous Nipper’s for their Sunday soiree.  Since Zendo could most comfortably accommodate all of us, we set out on Sunday for Great Guana Cay where Nipper's is located.  Jonny and I would have stopped at Guana Cay on the way to Man-O-War  Cay had our travel day not been  so  rainy.  It has a beautiful beach and supposedly good snorkeling.  For those who aren’t familiar with Nipper's, it is a  long standing beach bar that is known for its party atmosphere.  On Sundays they host a big barbecue lunch and people come from all around to partake in the festivities.

As we walked the trail to get to Nipper’s, we were greeted by two very pretty (and topless) young women who had apparently been having a very good time.  They greeted us, obviously very tipsy, and we wondered what we would be encountering when we arrived.  But, perhaps to the disappointment of some of the guys, we found the remaining patrons drinking, dancing, eating and swimming in an array of apparel some more interesting than others. 

We ate lunch on the patio observing the scene and then went down to the beach.

 Reports about the snorkeling were not favorable so Steve and Jonny checked it out to confirm.  The rest of us went swimming at the beach or in one of the pools, had drinks and people watched.  There was music and dancing and carrying on.  A good time was had by all!

Later that afternoon, as we trudged up the dirt path back to our dingy, the party was carrying on without us. 

We had a beautiful cruise back to our calm little Mangrove Marina.  Our guests got a big kick out of traveling on Zendo and we got a big kick out of them including our onboard showers!

That evening we took it easy and had a quiet dinner on Zendo and tucked into bed a little early.

We stayed at Mangoes for four nights and really enjoyed ourselves there.  An added attraction was the fact that that the manager only charged us the monthly rate for staying which certainly added to our appreciation of this cool little marina!