Christmas on Coyote - Part 2

We have had a wonderfully unique Christmas holiday season on Coyote. We arrived in Hope Town, Abaco on Christmas Eve morning. This is one of the most popular anchorages in the Bahamas, which is not at all surprising because it is such a lovely place. It is located on Elbow Cay and is overlooked by a red-and-white-striped lighthouse. The town has a very distinctive character with quaint streets (I think only two, named Front Street and Back Street) lined with pastel-colored cottages that are beautifully maintained. They do not allow vehicles to drive on the streets, only the odd golf cart, so the whole place has a very relaxed, serene quality. There are many paths leading to the beaches that are very natural with only a few cottages visible behind the dunes.

We started our celebrations on Christmas Eve by climbing the 101 steps to the top of the lighthouse. From there we had a spectacular view of the harbor (sorry, harbour for the Canadians) and the Sea of Abaco. The Hope Town lighthouse is one of only three manually-operated kerosene-fueled lighthouses remaining in the world. Because we were at the top just before dusk we witnessed the actual lighting by Franklin, the Lighthouse Keeper who arrived promptly, Heineken in hand. First he removes the protective screens followed by lighting the burner to slowly warm the lamp. He then has to crank the weight 600 times to start the lantern turning. The light can be seen for 20 miles. We all took turns cranking till we reached 600…I’m sure Franklin loves the tourists!! The cranking must be repeated every two hours to keep the lenses turning. According to witnesses, the lighthouse has been observed to be at a standstill several early mornings…I suppose by then Franklin may have had a few too many Heinekens!

We then quickly changed and headed to the church for evening mass, which was presided over by Vernon, the local grocer who fills in when the Minister is busy on another island. The setting was perfect, with the moonlit ocean visible through the windows. The mass consisted mostly of singing Christmas carols (not one verse was missed) and finally the lighting of candles. We were a little worried about the elderly woman on oxygen sitting in the pew ahead of us, but her daughter wisely turned off her tank just before the lighting. We emerged from the church with a warm feeling and topped off the night by strolling along the streets gazing at the houses glowing with Christmas lights.

We awoke to a lovely Christmas day. We exchanged a few presents and decorated the boat for our afternoon party. The funny thing about a boat party in the Bahamas is that your guests arrive by dingy. It was a fun afternoon of festivities, including finally popping the celebratory bottle of champagne, great food, and a white elephant gift exchange. One of the highlights was calling home to our families…it was so great to hear the voices of those we were missing.

Boxing Day is celebrated here (that’s the day after Christmas for you Americans) so it was quiet. Actually, I don’t remember what we did; one day kinda blends into the next. We did finally go to the beach on the 27th and were just in time to see a wedding. It was so pretty with the wedding party adorned in the colors of sand and sea glass. Of course it was Vernon presiding again. We had just seen him baking bread and key lime pie in his store. Then, an hour after the wedding he was back in his store in his yellow T-shirt selling his goods. We bought both the bread and the pie and they were equally delicious. Lynn asked him if there was any job he didn’t do, to which he replied, “I don’t deliver babies!”

The rest of our time was spent relaxing, doing some chores and wandering about town. We also spent a day snorkeling where we saw lots of colorful reef fish. Gini, a most observant naturalist, sighted a spotted eagle ray. I, a very unobservant wildlife loser, did not. I did however see a 5-foot barracuda, which was pretty cool. Actually, we met the wedding party on the trip, who turned out to be from Pennsylvania. We had a very enjoyable time and look forward to seeing them again when we return home.

Gini and David departed for home on December 30th. We were sad to see them go. Lynn says he always feels like he is fulfilling his boyhood dream when he sails with his brother. Although we would have managed the trip here without them, it would have been much harder and not nearly as much fun.

We capped the holiday season off with a New Years celebration, Bahamas-style. First we had the challenge of staying up 3 hours past our bedtime, which we did by gathering the gang on Coyote and urging each other to keep our eyes open between yawns. Finally we took the dingys to town just in time for the fireworks, a display to rival any we have seen before. Afterwards was the Junkanoo, a kind of parade consisting of about 10 people dressed in costumes and banging rhythmically on drums. They meander slowly through the streets surrounded by a big crowd of rather drunken partiers. You end up following along like the Pied Piper. It was a fun night!

All in all it was a fantastic week that we will never forget. Right now we are hunkered down in the boat because a cold front has blown in (probably from Canada) and it has become very windy and cold (60s). I know, I know, stop complaining! We are now looking forward to the arrival next week of two of Lynn’s daughters, Traci and Jami, and Lynn’s Grandson, Justin. I’m sure their visit will provide me with lots of bloggable quotes!