Part 6: The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow
Thursday night, we got a bit of respite from the rain, but it started up again in earnest very early Friday morning. Will it EVER end? We had hoped for the rain and wind to let up so we could have another crack at Baker's Bay this morning, before heading to Marsh Harbour for the night, but the rain is intense, leaving us rooted to our spot. At least we don't have to wear sunscreen on this, our last full day in Abaco. By late morning, since the weather shows no signs of abating, we give up on our plan for Baker's Bay and decide to head straight to Marsh Harbour after lunch.
And so, at 12:30, we are on our way across the Sea of Abaco. Wouldn't you know it, the sky starts to clear. Clear enough to catch some -- even too many -- rays. Enough un-protected sunbathing that my resulting tan was good enough to make my co-workers not believe we got rained out. Shortly after 3 p.m., we are in the harbour and Rick wants to anchor out. Even though its hot, I'm lobbying to return to our slip at Marsh Harbour Marina. It's still blowing hard out of the southwest, choppy, and very crowded in the harbour, and with our engines cutting out in idle and neutral, I'm very anxious about anchoring. Rick prevails, and I'm left a jangling bunch of nerve endings, even though by all appearances, we've done a smooth job of anchoring. After this, I deserve a Kalik. (I also deserve the opportunity to mess with Cap'n Rick's head by dragging him into the Abaco Gold shop for threatened paybacks, even though I didn't really plan to get anything).
Before heading into town, we ride over to Sail Abaco's docks to say hello, and find Mike and Jane working on one of the boats. Mike had cut himself, so we run back to Trinket to grab one of our first aid kits for him (Rick usually just uses rigging tape -- it's like white electrical tape -- to repair himself). Then we go into town to pick up some cold medicine (I'm having severe sinus distress, which is unusual because I find that being IN the islands usually cures what ails me. In retrospect, since it cleared up immediately on arriving home, I suspect that I was getting sick from all the mildew we'd cultured). We also make the above-mentioned visit to Abaco Gold, which ended empty-handed. Finally, we swing by Mangoes to make dinner reservations and have one of their very dangerous mango daiquiris.
We showered before dinner and dressed in the only clean and dry clothes we had left (which we'd guarded zealously against our smelly selves and the pervasive wetness). At Mangoes, we had pre-dinner drinks and then took our reserved waterfront table. With the skies finally clearing, it was a lovely night. Sadly, our meals didn't live up to either the atmosphere or the price. My conch chowder tasted like Maryland crab soup, which is OK but NOT right. My grouper was overcooked and oversalted, the potato wedges tough (that's a neat trick), and the vegetable du jour was corn-on-the-cob which was soggy and tasteless. Bummer. At this point, we didn't have the energy to either catch up with Mike and Jane at Sappodilly's or to go to the Goombay Festival, so we fell asleep to the sounds of the festival.
The weather finally breaks on Saturday morning -- departure day, dontcha know. Though we've run fans and opened the hatches to try to air things out, all of our stuff is still soggy and my body feels like its rotting. My hair hasn't been dry since Monday. We woke early to finish packing and cleaning up the boat, and by 9, we're topping up the tanks at the fuel dock and helping Trinket into her slip. We have time for showers, off-loading, and leaving books at the marina book exchange. We say our goodbyes to Mike and make plans to get together in Annapolis later this summer. By 10, we were off to the airport, with bags that weigh twice as much as they did when we brought them down. Do you suppose I need to declare all that moisture and mildew to the U.S. Customs Service?
Our flight departs at 12:36 p.m., and we get to the airport just a few minutes before the recommended 2 hours in advance. This seems to be magical, because we get through the check-in line (which includes hand inspection of all bags) in a matter of minutes. At almost exactly 10:35 a.m., a huge mob of people arrives, but we're already limin' in the benches outside the terminal, waiting for a breakfast order of conch fritters.
Because of bad weather in Miami, the Eagle was late in arriving and late in departing. We had a very long layover in Miami, so we didn't care, but those with late connections missed them. Immigration went quickly, but our bags were delayed reaching the Customs baggage claim area; once we got them, we went through Customs quickly as well. However, after that and after re-checking bags, arriving passengers are tossed back into the teeming maw of MIA, requiring going through security again. We had lots of time, and the security lines weren't too bad, but this could be a problem for others. The bad weather, which had cleared the Abacos but not yet Florida, was delaying flights, so our departing flight to BWI left late as well. We didn't get home til midnight.
CLOSING THOUGHTS:
Needless to say, this was hardly the vacation of our dreams. But we "go wid da flow" (in this case, literally and figuratively) and make the best of things. After all, we are in one of the loveliest places in the world, and we are together and not at work. I love coming here, knowing that familiar beloved spots won't change much from visit to visit, but also that there are new places to explore. We've left the cays north of Green Turtle un-touched, so we have no choice but to return. Maybe next time it won't be a mere vacation, but an extended cruise. But first I gotta get back into the groove of working so I can save up the money to do it again!
