Five days in Hope Town catching up from our last visit in 2017 shows us there’s lots of building going on as we do a golf cart tour — both reconstruction after the hurricane and a major boom in new housing construction beyond the village center. While the town folks are pleased with the investments in the community, they are committed the settlement maintain its historic background and distinctive charm. Many of our old haunts are still here though. Vernon’s, an institutional market is still run by 7th generation islander Vernon Malone, now in his 90’s and a direct descendent of Wyannie Malone, the notable original settler. His current main concern is Trump’s policies that prevent his getting a Visa to visit his children and grandchildren that are living in the US. We found that others in the community have the same problem!
As elsewhere in the Abacos, there are fewer boaters than in the past, but we still find that most are as friendly as ever. A group of 4 guys (one from Radford, VA) we met at FireFly, a local restaurant, just brought a 28′ boat over from Florida that they and their families will use over the coming summer. Plus, Carey met a former Manassas resident now staying here. As a weather update, it’s still in the 70’s with plenty of sunshine.
Here is a better picture of the Lighthouse, followed by one of the Atlantic from the Abaco Inn, and a sailboat moored on the Sea of Abaco. Following that is a very strange houseboat and, then, our favorite ferry guy, Micky, driving the shuttle around Hope Town Harbor. Next is a picture of Hope Town (from Dreamstime) showing the entrance at left and the bay that the town surrounds at right. The picture is probably taken from the top of the lighthouse. BenjOllie is at the Hope Town Marina near the little blue circle. Following that is a picture of a home on one of the main streets in Hope Town.
