Well, 5:00 a.m. came awfully early, but Mikel made it to the taxi on time, and Dan came back to the boat for a few more hours of sleep. The rest of the day was spent doing what you usually do when tied to a dock in a marina -- 3 loads of laundry, scrub off the deck to remove all the salt, repair things you don't want to mess with while at anchor, clean off the stern where exhaust from the diesel accumulates (so the people eating in the marina restaurant have a good view of our back end!).
We were frequently told that boaters tend to get to Marsh Harbor and never go any further. We certainly can understand the attraction. We had expected a huge bump in prices in the Bahamas, but our slip at the Harbor View Marina is $40/nite, $3.00/day for unlimited water, and they have the nicest/cleanest bathrooms I've seen since we were in Solomons. Oh yes, did I mention a pool (with fresh water! Usually, you expect to find salt water pools in the islands). And did I mention, the pool is heated!!!!
Tuesdays are the day for the boater's dock party, where everyone gathers for a pot-luck dinner and a game of Trivia, with questions made up by local boaters. Everyone donates a beer for prizes and the competition is fierce! It must have been beginners luck b/c our team won first place, and Dan came back with 4 beers to add to his stash!
We are definiitely the newbies on the dock as the rest of the boaters have been here since Nov/Dec ... all the better for us to collect good tips on places to visit and shop. The best news was that a new grocery store opened in town, Maxwells, and we were totally blown away when we biked over to see it. Besides being HUGE, it was stocked with everything you'd find in the states, and prices were fairly comparable. For all the coffee I've been hoarding, it cost just $1.00 more here ... and lemons are 4 for $1.00 which is less than I paid in Palm Beach. Compared to the tiny grocery stores we saw at Green Turtle Cay, this place is heaven!
We only planned to stay here for one night, but now we may wait out the next cold front coming through later this week ... but we've promised ourselves NOT to be one of the boaters who gets here and never leaves! But I hear they have a great annual rate .... hmmmm, something to think about! I wonder what our insurance rates would be?
Friday, March 11
Well, we've decided to move out from Marsh Harbor tomorrow (Saturday), so we spent our last day in this lovely town (3rd largest in the Bahamas, after Freeport and Nassau), doing what we've enjoyed doing all week -- taking our bikes for long rides around town.
Great folding bikes from Camping World. They fit in our bow anchor locker.
It was a blustery day (20knots NE wind), so we decided to ride to the end of the island. On one side, we could see white caps rolling in from the outside islands while the other side was placcid, like glass.
Never get tired of the color of this water!
We rode by lots of property for sale on the island ... for sale but not selling due to the huge price tags. Due to their British heritage, people drive on the left side of the road, something we had to get used to ... and since the roads are quite narrow, drivers are generous with their horns to let you know they are zooming up behind you, something we never got used to!
Chilly today - 68 deg - but we're in the Bahamas!
Several of the homes built their own personal beach bar across the road of their home.
On our way back to the marina, we decided to ride to the other side of the island where there was a another marina we wanted to check out. For such a flat island, we had to climb one hellva hill to get there. Thank goodness Dan had the forsight to bring cash b/c the stop at the Jib Room bar was the motivation we needed to get back! The thing I love most about the bars here is that they are so open ... no walls, no windows, just open to the outside and the sea.
So, after exploring Marsh Harbor from one end to the other, we can see why it's a favorite place for boaters to spend their entire season ... everything you could possibly want it is here ... Ace Hardware, Napa Auto Parts, fresh fish markets, Bahama Telecom Company where we bought a sim card for an unlocked GSM cell phone I bought on ebay before we left Florida and are now the proud owners of our own Bahamian phone number!
But, we get antsy when hanging in one place for too long ... we are cruisers at heart ... so tomorrow, we'll take our last long, hot shower, top off the water tanks, and then untie the dock lines and shove off once more. Time to get out the Abacos maps and pick another anchorage.
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