March 2008
Hope Town is one of the prettiest settlements in the Abacos with a central lagoon and preserved old buildings mainly used as rental cottages now. We chose to go on the ferry from Marsh Harbour to avoid shallow water and tidal restrictions.
The ferries are fast and run without navigational aids or radar. We have seen them disappear into rain squalls at full speed. Most passengers are locals going to or from work or visitors going to rental properties and hotels. Generally a great way to travel.
Hope Town has a picturesque old lighthouse and a central lagoon with moorings. There used to be an anchorage but the moorings have really taken over and make more sense of the available space. There are lots of wooden buildings which date back to the Loyalist era. Most Loyalist settlers in the Abacos were traders or boat builders.

The lighthouse at Hope Town - we never did get there
The local government office in Hope Town
A large lagoon side house which had just been sold
The first time we had seen a crab spider - most of them are ambush predators not web spinners
Captain Bligh's Breadfruit tree
Plaque explaining the tree's history
Gingerbread along the porch of one of the old houses
A huge shoal of gray or mangrove snappers await lunch
Some were bigger than others
The mooring filled lagoon

We had a great day wandering through the old part of the settlement. The houses have lots of gingerbread (flat board decorated by fret work and painted) but some are fighting battles with the termites. The atmosphere is very calm here and it appears that lots of the rentals were occupied by families.
The lagoon moorings were almost all taken during our visit but it is possible to book them through the owners in advance. Since there is perfect protection here they are most difficult to obtain when a front is due to sweep through the area.
We had lunch at a nice restaurant overlooking the lagoon and met with the huge shoal of Gray (Mangrove) Snapper who haunt the dock there. As diners threw little bits of food into the shallow water the snappers showed why they are named that way.
After lunch we decided it should be possible to reach the lighthouse by walking around the lagoon. The lagoon is about a mile long, then there is the mile long channel leading through the mangroves away from the lagoon. It is another mile to an unmade road leading towards the other shore and this led to another mile of track heading vaguely in the right direction. Having walked four miles in the heat of the day we now had a glimpse of the lighthouse and it was further away than when we last saw it. Realising we would run out of time we walked back to the ferry.
In the settlement itself is a large Breadfruit tree. The plaque traces its history back to Captain Bligh of Mutiny on the Bounty fame! Breadfruit was seen as a potential cheap energy source for settlers. We have never been in the right place when it ripens so we don’t know what its like.
We could certainly see why so many cruisers rave about Hope Town but our tastes still run to enjoying the sea voyages and visiting lots of places rather than settling in one place for the winter - a common practice here.

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