May 6th - 10th Trip Report

[athomas16]

Sorry for the delay in posting my trip report. It took a week for me to recover, compile everyone's photo's, etc.

Four guys from Alabama headed for Abaco with a crazy idea of camping at the "Hole in the Wall" Lighthouse. I was the only returning visitor (2002,2008), so I organized the trip and acted as tour guide. We arrived in MH on Wed around 1:00 p.m. Bought some conch salad from a road side stand, and had went to Mangoes to await the ferry.

Arrived on Guana around 4:00 p.m. We were greeted at the dock by Jerry and Chorene (proprietors of the Pirates Cove) who served as our hosts. They hauled us and our luggage to Coconut-Tyme. Thirty minutes later we were snorkeling in the cove near CT. This was a good way to end a day of traveling, and allowed my crew to get used to the snorkeling gear and blow off some steam. We saw some small coral formations and some large fish. Headed over to Nipper's for supper. The meal was good, I like how they put pineapple in the coleslaw, but there weren't many people there (Wed. night), so we got to bed pretty early.

Thursday morning we met Terrance Davis at the dock to begin our expedition. Terrance is an accomplished Bone Fishing guide and is well known for his delicious conch salad. I fished with him in 02 and 08 and he helped organize the trip to HitW. We enjoyed the boat ride past MoW, Elbow, Tilloo, etc. My friends marveled at the beauty of it all. When we hit the open sea, the waves picked up a bit. No one got sick, which wasn't a sure thing since most of our boating experience is on lakes and rivers in Alabama.

Roughly 2 hours after leaving the Guana Dock, we spotted the Hole in the Wall Lighthouse on the horizon. At this point we throttled back to trolling speed, and put our lines in the water. We didn't have much luck fishing, but we did land one Baracuda and one Dolphin (fish). Late afternoon we decided to try to make landfall on a beach a mile or so north of the lighthouse. We'd brought sleeping bags, and intended to explore the lighthouse, sleep, and search for the caves the next morning.

No chance. The waves were so violent that it was impossible to attempt a landing. I know some people have done it, I don't have any idea how, unless the sea was amazingly calm... We were disappointed, but it was worth the trip just to see the light house and to watch how violently the waves crashed against the rocks. As team leader, I had a fall back plan, Pete's Pub. We motored north to Little Harbour, ate a great meal (again I enjoyed the cole slaw, walnuts, sweet flavor) and enjoyed the sights. After we finished eating, we decided to head for Guana, get a good nights sleep, and spend Friday diving for conchs and exploring.

Left Guana first thing Friday morning, and tried our hand at fishing off the coast of Guana all the way down to Elbow. We didn't have any luck, and my companions were starting to get a little restless. Terrance and I made the executive decision to abandon fishing and start diving. He took us to a couple different places where we could snorkle around, see fish, and dive for conchs. That afternoon Terrance cleaned our 2!! fish, and made the best batch of Conch salad money can buy. That night we grilled our fish, ate conch salad and headed for Grabbers.

We met some cool people at Grabber's, tried our hand at the ring game (ring on a string which you try to swing onto a hook), and finally got up an international bocce match. While the locals killed us at throwing the ring onto the hook, we held our own at bocce and after way too many drinks we called it a draw and headed home.

Saturday was originally planned as a day of rest, and after all the activities/drinks from Friday I really needed it. When I finally awoke around lunch, we hit the beach on the ocean side of Guana. We spent the whole afternoon playing frisbee, goofing off, snorkeling the reef, and never saw another person !!!

Saturday night we ate our favorite meal of the trip at the "Pirates Cove". Jerry, our host, was in the restaurant business in the US before retiring to Guana. We ate BBQ ribs and Stone Crab until we were stuffed. Also had our third batch of Conch Salad in three days. Went back to Grabbers and played bocce and ring toss for a couple hours, and then headed home.

Sunday morning we said our goodbyes, and headed back to Alabama.

I had a blast and I know my friends enjoyed their first trip because I heard a couple are planning on taking their wives back next year.

[it'lldo]

Great report, I love how you and your crew made the best of things. Everything happens for a reason. I also want to mention your details right down to the slaw @ Nippers. well done.

[athomas16]

Originally Posted by it'lldo

Great report, I love how you and your crew made the best of things. Everything happens for a reason. I also want to mention your details right down to the slaw @ Nippers. well done.

Don't get me wrong, I was upset about having to turn away from the lighthouse. However, it was absolutely impossible...

So I've got some unfinished business with a lighthouse in the Bahamas, sounds like a reason to return soon.

[it'lldo]

like I said...always a reason.

[BahamaAngie]

Great report. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

[Patti Puzo]

Sounds like the 'Bama Boys did it right! Thanks for the report and the pictures.
Also sounds like Abaco fever is spreading rapidly amongst the group.

[DaGoose]

Sounds like you all (or y'all) like a good adventure! Camping out at the lighthouse?

Thanks for the report and pics, glad to hear you had a great time!

4 more days for us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tina