A Walk Up-along: March 22nd

We spent the rainy Easter weekend in on a mooring Hopetown Harbor (pictured here). During breaks in the rain, we ventured into town on Saturday and Tuesday for some shopping and exploring. Easter Monday is a holiday in the Bahamas and most stores and offices were closed.

On Monday we took a hike southward on the center road of Elbow Cay about mile and a half to see what was happening in up-along and visit the Abaco Inn. This was an area we hadn't explored before. Along the way, we found many pretty cottages and also a couple of roads off into the "bush" where a small community of Haitians are squatting in makeshift homes.

These folks are mostly illegal immigrants who find employment as laborers or service people in the resorts and private homes. Many speak only Creole. As in the US, illegal immigration is a thorny issue here in the Bahamas. There are several squatter communities one of which is only a few blocks away from the Police Headquarters in Marsh Harbor! Despite the often meagre living conditions here and some half-hearted attempts by the government to crack down on it, illegal immigration continues. The immigrants are better off here than in Haiti. Here their children attend school and they find better paying jobs.

Our walk up-along, was interrupted by a substantial rainfall. Luckily, we had just reached the Abaco Inn, our destination. As the rain continued, we sat on the enclosed porch visiting with guests of the Inn and reading. Eventually, lunch time arrived so we had enjoyed some delicious conch fritters and dolphin. By the time we were finished with lunch, the rain had stopped. We gladly retraced our steps back to the harbor, so we could work off a few of the calories we had just consumed.

At right is a view from
Turtle Hill which is the "Up" that the name refers to. The dirt road in the distance leads to some of the pretty homes along the shore. It's the shortcut we took to Abaco Inn. Off this shortcut is where we saw the track road leading to the Haitian enclave.

For a map of Elbow Cay, Click here

The Gospel Singer: March 21st

Hopetown never fails to offer us at least one special moment, every time we visit. On Good Friday as we finished our walk to the north end of the island, we heard the sound of music coming from the vicinity of the Harbor. We decided to see what it was all about and quickly arrived at Jarred Park, the tiny public park on the waterfront.

There we discovered Bahamian Gospel Singer Leo McCarthy. He stood facing the village with a microphone and small sound system which provided background music. The lovely traditional and modern gospel songs cast a spell over us as we leaned on the white picket fence and listened to him sing. His voice was full of joy and spirit and bought us a feeling of reverence and peace. His lilting Bahamian accent gave his performance a special charm. His audience was small, just a handful of passers-by, but the applause was sincere and his enthusiasm was undaunted.

We learned from a resident of Hopetown standing next to us that he is a native of Long Island Bahamas and makes his living doing painting and carpentry. Occasionally he comes to the Abacos to give free concerts of Gospel music. With him were his daughter, who handled the sound and kept his lyrics sorted out and his granddaughter, an adorable five year old who skipped around the park and encouraged her papa by clapping and saying, "Way to go Papa."
He sang for about 90 minutes and just as he was wrapping up, a group of small children appeared at the park which is also a playground. He gathered them together and sang a special song just for them.

We left the park with a feeling of reverence and peace, inspired by the beautiful voice, the simple faith and the joyful spirit of this humble man.

Cat Lady's House: March 22nd

One day we walked down-along Hopetown for a while and were surprised to discover that the Cat Lady's house had been torn down. Miss Lilly, the elderly lady who had lived there alone for many years was the self-appointed guardian of probably 20 or more stray cats. She spent her days striding around Hopetown rounding up her stray kitties or sitting in her doorway watching the tourists, probably because her house was so stinky inside from all the cats! Anyway, she died a few years back and a couple of other folks fed the cats, who mostly seem to have dispersed or disappeared. Recently the house has been torn down. Only a tiny portion of one wall has been left standing. I don't know for sure, but it seems as if the residents of Hopetown may have left it there as a tribute to the cat lady. Or perhaps it was just left standing because of the little sign tacked to it that points the way to Froggies Dive Shop. I don't know. There is much more on the web about Miss Lilly. If you are curious, click on the title above to see oneof the sites.

Upalong and Downalong :March 20th

Hopetown is informally divided into two sections by the residents. Up-along and Down-along. Up-along is southward on the island where the ground is higher, and the higher income people lived. Of course, Down-along is the reciprocal. You might think the point of division would be the lighthouse the prominent landmark in the area, but it's actually a little cottage called The Jib. This happens to be one of the cottages that Peter's parents rented on one of their several visits to this cay.

On the day we walked down-along, we met the owners of the Jib so we stopped to visit and talk about the old days when the cottage was a rental. The present owner is an artist and part of the cottage is a small studio and gallery where he paints scenes of Hopetown and sells his work. While we were there we purchased one of his prints. Once we are home, it will bring us fond memories of Abaco.