It happened here in the Abaco's. Hearing we were on our way they changed their route and joined us at Moore's Island! What a joyful reunion, it was fantastic to see them all again! The first night was fish and crab on Alleycat! Delicious and wonderful company. Laughter and stories filled the evening and of course plenty of wine :)
Moore's Island is spelt in a variety of different ways, even the locals spell it differently between them. There is More's and Moore's. The town of Moore's Island is 'Hard Bargain'. Hard Bargain has the dubious reputation of being the least visited town in Abaco's. We not sure why but most likely is it is slightly off of the beaten track! The people are super friendly and as we wondered around the village school was out. Every child from tiny tots to the seniors greet us with a clear 'Good Afternoon'. There are apparently 950 people living on the island in two settlements. As we walked the 'U' shaped road from shored back to shore there were at least five 'Convenience' stores. We had to smile at the variations in spelling there too. Convenience and Convience. We also enjoyed the sign for 'Home Maid Bread', sadly it was sold out by the time we got there.
We believe the town was called Hard Bargain as this was the last stop of the Abacos before heading South and by the time the boats got there they were out of water and fresh goods and the locals drove a 'hard bargain' taking advantage of the need!
Gorda Cay was our next destination and en route we were reminded why we love cruising with Alleycat. He spotted a rocky island off our port side and decided he was going to explore. Hidden behind 'Long rock' (we found its name), he discovered a sand spit exposed by the low tide and a shallow blue anchorage. We could not resist and followed him over.
The afternoon was spent doing "talking heads" chatting and laughing sitting chin deep in gin clear water; followed by a snorkel on the sea side of the Rock. Wow we swam around the point into a school of Big Eye Jacks, they swam lazily around us checking out the strange 'sea creatures' in their water. A huge Remora (over a meter long) set his sights on mine and Marita's tummy and every time you looked down he was six inches or so below you waiting for an opportunity to attach. They usually attach to a sharks tummy and live off the spill oof of the sharks meals; They are known for their habit of attaching to divers and are easily pushed off. Hidden safely in the coral watching us go by a small Spotted Morey.
A delightful afternoon before we resumed our trek to Gorda Cay a short way away. Gorda Cay is owned by Disney and everyday the Disney Cruise ship arrives and spews thousands of cruisers on their beach! They could not stop us from going in the water but we were not even allowed to walk on the beach below the high water mark. This is usually the rule on private owned islands. Apparently this island was the 'vegetable garden' of the nearby Sandy Point Town. They planted their crops there and would boat over daily to work the fields. It was intimated that locals would benefit when Disney bout the island but we heard one a few for jobs there and no one else is allowed or benefits from the new ownership at all! They too are not allowed on the island anymore!
From Gorda Cayy (disney's Castaway Island) we headed for Sandy Point. We had visited this little town of friendly people on our way up to the reunion and were greeted warmly when we returned with two boats of friends in tow. This visit we discovered Sunset Bar where we said farewell to our friends on Shiloh and Alleycat!
Safe sailing guys see you on the pond sometime!
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| Stone Crab leg dinner on Alleycat! |
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