Done Reach

June 27th, 2014 - Done Reach

I am typing this entry from the top floor deck of our house on Elbow Cay, TreEscape. We have a lovely view of the sea of Abaco including the Parrot Cays. The house does not have cable TV, but I am strangely content with this situation as there will now be plenty of time to truly enjoy Abaco and its incredible beauty (not to mention have some opportunity to finally provide a trip report for Abaco Forum).

On Time?

With Vernon Malone

On Time...Not Exactly

Time to Get Going

An Excited Traveler

Let's Hope This One Works

We arrived at the Hope Town Harbour Lodge dock yesterday evening after a fairly noneventful day of travel from West Palm Beach. For the first time since our travels to Elbow Cay began, back in 2005, our Bahamas Air flight was delayed. For some this comes as a surprise, but we have never had any bad luck using Bahamas Air. However, due to a "mechanical issue" with the plane, our flight was delayed several hours so they could find a working bird to fly over from Nassau. We were curious as to what the new airport in Marsh Harbour would look like and, better yet, if things were more efficient. As we deplaned, we could not help but take a nostalgic glance over at the location of the old airport facility. Honestly, we missed the "character" of that place. Still, the new facility was pretty and clean. Who can argue with plenty of room and working air conditioning after all? We breezed through customs and immigration and made our way to the claim our baggage. At this point and time, I decided it would be a novel idea to take a few pictures of the facility for my friends on the forum. After snapping a few photographs, I was asked by one of the airport personnel to take out my phone and delete all the pictures I had just taken in front of him. I did so with hesitation, but decided that I was the guest and did not want to make a scene.

New Airport Building

Dr. Sharon, the best cab driver we have ever met in Abaco, quickly carried us to the Albury Ferry dock. Instead of waiting for the 5:45 ferry to Hope Town, we decided to charter a ferry. Mr. Vernon Malone, whom we had bumped into at PBI in West Palm asked if he could join us. Of course, we did not mind so off we were to Elbow Cay!

Dad and Vernon Sharing Stories

One cannot describe the feeling I get when seeing the candy-striped lighthouse as it comes into view on the ride over. And, as the sign greeting you as you enter the harbor persuades you to do, we slowed down...we were in Hope Town!

The remainder of the first evening was somewhat of a blur strictly due to the tiredness having experienced a long day, with a five year old no less, and the relief of knowing we had reached "home away from home" once again. We gave a ride to Sea Spray a friendly group of travelers who were looking to connect with the rest of their group already on the island. Afterward, we unpacked our coolers and headed to On Da Beach for our first taste of island cuisine.Visiting the grill at On Da Beach has become somewhat of a tradition for our family when visiting Elbow Cay. I enjoyed a BBQ chicken burger while dad devoured his fish sandwich. While we were eating, a quick shower cooled things off. We have found this to be the norm on our little island, small and infrequent showers that do not inhibit us from enjoying our tropical summer fun.

On Da Beach 

After leaving On Da Beach, we made a quick stop at LVA (twice a day!) for some grocery items and headed for home. We completely unpacked and settled in as we made plans for the next day. A refreshing cup of coffee and a quick game of scrabble later and it was bedtime for all. Feels good to be layin' low in Abaco!

A few notes:

• Cab fare from the airport to the ferry dock was $17.00 for the first two people and $3.00 for each additional passenger (plus tip). 
• The island is more crowded/busier than I have ever seen it. This is a good "problem" for the locals, but I miss the days when Abaco was that hidden gem that very few had discovered. 
• We rented the last two golf carts on the island, literally. There are NONE left.