Note: This was our second trip to Abaco and Moonrise Cottage. Since we had done many of the touristy things before, we concentrated on just relaxing this trip. Therefore, this trip report is a bit "thinner" than the last one. Also the winds were a little stronger this trip so the Sea of Abaco was a little rougher so we didn't feel like boating as much.

Sunday 5/16/04

We flew from BWI to West Palm Beach where we caught a small commuter plane over to Marsh Harbor. Our taxi driver stopped off at the local grocery store in Marsh Harbor so we could pick up the main part of our provisions for the next week. We spent the rest of the day settling into the house and relaxing.

Monday, 5/17/04

This morning we boated over to Hopetown where we enjoyed a nice lunch at the Harborside Restaurant, visited the lighthouse where we made our required climb to the top for the fabulous view of Hopetown Harbor, and walked about the town. We also got a loaf of local bread from Vernon's Grocery.

We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing about the house.

Tuesday, 5/18/04

Today we went down to check out the ruins of Wilson City down near Sandy Cay. I had read that Wilson City was once a major commercial center on Abaco but was nothing but abandoned ruins now. We had a hard time getting close to shore to anchor since the water was very shallow. The "jungle" growth on land was very thick, dry, and rough so we couldn't wander in too far. We walked along the shoreline a bit and checked out the ruins of an old stone dock. We had a snack in the shade of a Casuarina tree and then left to return back to the house. On the way back past Sandy Cay we had to pass by an inlet that was exposed to the sea. The area was filled with 3 to 4 foot swells. I had a "fun" time trying to maintain my heading and keep up some speed while the swells were trying to swamp our small boat. Once I got back in the lee of Tilloo Cay the seas calmed down and we could relax and take our lifepreservers off.

The rest of the day we relaxed around the house.

Wednesday, 5/19/04

Today we took a half-day kayaking trip with Abaco Outback. (Click here for their website) This is a small company located in Marsh Harbor that offers guided eco-excursions to different areas on the main island of Abaco. We chose their half-day kayaking trip thru a remote mangrove swamp down near Snake Cay. They transported us in comfortable van from their Marsh Harbor office down to the put-in point They used another vehicle to pull the trailer full of kayaks. After some brief instructions on how to paddle a kayak, we were in the water exploring the mangrove swamps. We stopped at one point, got out of our boats and snorkeled thru a narrow deep channel checking out the marine life. It was there that we saw our first nurse shark sleeping. When we got out from snorkeling, they had a nice snack buffet waiting for us. Then it was back into the boats and we headed back to the put-in point.

The rest of the day . . . you guessed it . . . we relaxed around the house.

Thursday, 5/20/04

Today we thought we'd try a new snorkeling place called Mermaid Reef that I had heard about thru the Abaco Community Bulletin Board on the web. It's located about 100 yds off the shoreline north of Marsh Harbor. It's shown on the map in "The Cruising Guide to Abaco". To find it look for a row of 3 bright multicolored small cottages low along the shore. To the left is a house up on a terraced hill. The reef is right in-between those two landmarks. The reef is not very deep and the fish are used to having a lot of humans snorkeling amongst them. It was the best location for getting up close to the fish.

That evening we boated down to Cracker P's for supper.

Friday, 5/21/04

Today we boated down to Tilloo Bank where we explored the beach and searched for sand dollars in the shallow water. On the way back we stopped at the reef near the "castle" and did some snorkeling.

Saturday, 5/22/04

This morning we visited Mermaid Reef again. In the evening we celebrated our last evening in Abaco with a real nice dinner at the Abaco Inn restaurant. Having our last supper at the Abaco Inn has become a tradition for us. It's nice cause it's an easy short boat ride from the house and we can easily get back just before dark.

Sunday, 5/23/04

Our last day in paradise. We had pretty much packed-up everything the night before so we could just sit around the house and relax before we boated back to SeaHorse Marine in Marsh Harbor. We enjoyed a nice lunch at Mangoes and then taxied to the airport.