The Abaco Islands, Bahamas - January 2019
Paradise Lost to Hurricane Dorian ~ Sept 2019
Sarah and I traveled to The Abacos, Bahamas in January of 2019. We had been to Eleuthera several times already and wanted to explore more of the amazing Bahamas out islands so we decided to visit the boaters paradise of The Abacos and it was clear why this island was a favorite of boaters. The vibrant array of blue water, the island long bay created by all of the barrier islands, the large number of marinas and the vast but navigable reef system
On September 1st 2019 Hurricane Dorian hit The Abacos and changed its landscape forever. With sustained winds of 185 mph (298 km/h) and gusts of 220 mph (355 km/h) the storm completely destroyed the Eastern Shores and destroyed 90% of the capital Marsh Harbor. Approximately 60% of the structures in the Northern Abacos were damaged or destroyed. The impact of the storm is still prevalent today with only parts of the island being rebuilt to date. Our trip was just 9 months before the hurricane and I was able to capture some of the beauty of what was Abaco before the storm. It’s unbelievable to think of the impact caused in just a few short hours. Almost all of the landscape and structures I show here are no longer there, these memories are all that’s left.
Eastern Shores
Eastern Shores of Abaco is a peninsula located northeast of the capital Marsh Harbor. Before Hurricane Dorian this mile long peninsula was home to a number of upscale homes along the beautiful shorelines of the Sea of Abaco. With most houses having a dock it was the perfect location for boaters to vacation with easy access to the Sea of Abaco and the plethora of protected reefs and National Parks. That all ended in September of 2019 when Hurricane Dorian completely destroyed the entire peninsula leaving it still uninhabitable in 2022. With only the barrier islands of Man-O-war Cay and Elbow Cay to slow the storm the Eastern Shores took a direct hit cutting it off from the mainland and flattening anything in its path. What was once a popular vacation destination sits in ruins today because of the power of nature.
Marsh Harbor
Marsh Harbor is the capital and commercial center of The Abaco Islands. It’s the largest town in Abaco and was once the third largest in the Bahamas. Located in the geographic center of the island chain it has a majority of the services provided on the Abaco’s including a post office, supermarket, specialty shops, travel agencies, banks, gas stations and laundry. Before the hurricane Marsh Harbour was a popular destination for boaters because of the larger number of marinas, restaurants and amenities located within a close proximity to the docks. Boaters could anchor or dock and have access to laundry, food, night life and any other amenities that are highly desired by traveling sailors. Again, another tragedy of the hurricane, much of Marsh Harbor is still not rebuilt 3 years after the hurricane. Between the shear magnitude of damage and the increased impact of covid, the island and its capital has still not been fully rebuilt and is no longer a desirable stop for boaters.
Eventide Villa
After our normal exhaustive search for a place to stay we settled on Eventide Villa on the Eastern Shores. We typically prefer a location in the middle of an island so we can easily access and visit the entire island. In addition, one thing that drew us to Abaco was the boating culture so we wanted to choose a place with a dock so we could rent a boat for a few days to explore the surrounding islands. Eventide Villa being on the Eastern Shores in close proximity to the capital Marsh Harbor was a perfect place to call our home for a week.
The villa was separated into a top unit called Eventide where we stayed and a smaller lower unit called Lowtide. The southern facing porch was used many times at sunset with an excellent vantage point to the southwest where the sun sets in the winter months.
Unfortunately Eventide was another casualty of hurricane Dorian and has been reduced to ruble with no recovery in sight. Another tragedy of Mother Nature.
Treasure Cay
Treasure Cay is actually not a cay anymore after an inlet connecting Sand Bank Creek with the Sea of Abaco was filled in by a number of hurricanes and storms over the years. It’s located in the northernmost part of Central Abaco abutting North Abaco and is on the eastern coast of the island. It serves as the gateway to the famous Green Turtle Cay and a popular tourist destination for its sugary white sand and turquoise water. The water in Treasure Cay has a unique and vibrant tint that I haven’t seen many other places. This light blue color is created from the shallow water and bright white sand that absorbs (red and green) and reflects (blue) the right wavelengths of light to create this magical color. Treasure Cay has 6 named beaches along 3.5 miles of uninterrupted white sand. Causarina Beach is the most northern beach followed by Banyan Beach, Buckingham Beach, Brigantine Beach, Sandpiper Beach and the most eastern beach at the opposite end being Leeward Beach.
Barrier Reefs
The Abaco Islands have a vast barrier reef system that are home to 6 national parks which aim to preserve the natural beauty of the reef system and sustain the islands as an attractive tourist location. The national parks located within the Abaco Islands are Pelican Cays Land and Sea Park, Abaco National Park, Black Sound Cay National Reserve, Walker’s Cay National Park, Tilloo Cay National Reserve and Fowl Cays National Park. All of these parks except Abaco National Park are located on the barrier islands and in order to get there you need to own a boat or take a water taxi. Since the day we planned to visit the islands was too windy for the small boat we rented we decided to experience the water taxi so we took one of the many water taxi’s at “The Crossing” in Marsh Harbor to Elbow Cay for a day visit. These water taxi’s are critical to The Abaco’s due to the many barrier islands with significant population.
Conch Salad
Conch is the national dish of the Bahamas and one of my favorite foods to eat there. Its meat is firm and white with a chewy texture similar to calamari and can be served steamed, deep fried, in fritters or raw with citrus juices and fresh vegetables in the form of Conch Salad. Due to overfishing it can be challenging to harvest conch in the Bahamas but preparation is relatively simple making it the perfect dish to serve from a roadside stand. There are many conch salad stands on Great Abaco but we chose Krik’s Da Real Conch Man which was located at the corner of the turnoff road to go to Treasure Cay. It didn’t disappoint and we even got two orders so I could have mine spicy with habanero’s.
Conch generally lives to 25-30 years and reaches sexual maturity between 3 - 4 years at which time they stop growing in length and only grow in thickness. Females require direct contact with males to fertilize and carry eggs for several weeks during which time multiple males may fertilize them. An egg mass containing around 750,000 eggs are laid over a 24-36 hour period and after about 5 days the eggs hatch then float in the water column for 21-30 days before settling to the bottom and growing into their adult form.
Sunset from Eventide Villa
Sunset from Eventide Villa was an unexpected surprise. With a south facing porch it wasn’t a guarantee that we’d have a view of sunset but with an unobstructed view to the west and the fact that the sun sets in the southern sky in the winter we had a perfect view of the sunset every night. I have many pictures of the sunset here but this was my favorite. I like this picture because I felt it highlighted the vibe of Abaco pre Dorian. An ocean based island that revolves around boating with beautiful sights of nature everywhere you look. Although there are land based attraction on Abaco it is predominately a water based island that attract boaters and ocean lovers from all over. Being surrounded by water provides for some long, flat horizons that provide for some amazing sunsets.
The Jib Room
We were drawn to the jib room for the Saturday night steak dinner and the music. They were the self proclaimed “Best Steaks and Ribs in The Islands” with a steak dinner you had to reserve on Saturday’s and a rib dinner on Wednesday’s. We didn’t have steak anywhere else on the island but both agreed it was a delicious steak which can be hard to find on the out islands. We approved! After our steak dinner we stepped outside to watch some traditional Bahamian Rake-and-scrape music including one band member playing a saw.
The Jib Room Restaurant was located at the Marsh Harbour marina on the beautiful Pelican Shores. This was another tragedy of Hurricane Dorian which has yet to be restored. It was an excellent place to get some delicious food and experience traditional Bahamian music while sitting by the ocean.
Pete’s Pub & Little Harbor
Pete’s Pub was located in Little Harbour about 30 min south of Marsh Harbour on a beautiful beach in a well protected harbor with calm water and warm sand. The pub was located directly on the beach and had the quintessential vibe that you can only get from a true beach bar where you walk directly onto the sand from the bar to the outside tables. The people were laid back, the drinks were strong yet delicious and they had an array of local food to try.
The harbor was in a remote area away from anything else but the almost fully protected harbor attracted a number of homeowners and boaters alike. When we visited you could tell there were a lot of regular visitors that called this place home. Sadly, this is another tragedy of Hurricane Dorian that has yet to reopen.
Sundowners at Eventide Villa
Sundowners are a term often used by sailors as the official end of the day drink enjoyed while watching the sun set. However, the term originated in the African bush as a “happy hour” over sunset in the bush. On a boat electricity is always at a premium so stopping projects and boat work once the sun goes down has become somewhat of a tradition best ended with a cold cocktail and a beautiful sunset.
The tradition of “Sundowners” actually originated in Africa during British Colonialism and grew out of necessity rather than pleasure. In the 18th century it was discovered that quinine, an extract from the South American cinchona tree, was effective in treating and preventing malaria. Since quinine was distilled into a bitter tonic the every day regiment to help prevent malaria was best mixed with government issued gin making the gin and tonic the unofficial drink choice for a traditional sundowner.
Conch Fritters
Since conch is the national dish of The Bahamas it comes in many forms. It comes raw mixed with citrus fruit and vegetables in a conch salad or ceviche, you can get cracked conch, which is pounded conch breaded and deep fried, you can simmer it in a conch stew or you can mix it with a batter to make conch fritters. There are many other ways to prepare conch but these are the most common in the Bahamas. These conch fritters were from Mangoes in Marsh Harbour which is no longer standing. Prior to the storm the restaurant sat over the water in the harbor. The storm brought a 23ft surge and completely destroyed the restaurant and surrounding buildings/businesses. The magnitude of a category 5 hurricane is hard to comprehend until you see the before and after pictures of an impacted location. Knowing and having photographic evidence of what the island looked like prior to the hurricane and comparing it to the pictures of the island today, 3 years after is disheartening.
Caribbean Blue Water
The water in the Caribbean and more specifically, The Bahamas, is the home of some of the most beautiful blue colors in the world. From space, The Bahamas is thought to be the most beautiful place on Earth for its stunning blue colors and stark contrast to the surrounding ocean that can be seen from miles above. The many shades of blue that can be seen throughout the islands are due to the absorption of red and green wavelengths of light and reflection of blue wavelengths. In water deeper than 60 feet the water is almost always a deep blue or almost purple color but the color of water shallower than 60 feet, which is the case in most of The Bahamas, is largely dependent on the depth of the water and the composition of the ocean floor. In The Bahamas, the ocean floor is mainly composed of bright white sand with minimal sea life leading to a high rate of reflected light.
Eight Mile Bay
The northernmost point of Eight Mile Bay is located 18.2mi (29.3km) south of the capital Marsh Harbour on the eastern shore of Great Abaco. True to its name Eight Mile Bay is a bay that’s eight miles of uninterrupted, white sand beach with shallow Caribbean blue waters. If you’re looking for a place off the beaten path, away from the hustle and bustle of a busy town and people, Eight Mile Bay is the perfect place. We didn’t see another human while we were there enjoying the warm shallow water that stretches for miles. There’s a small residential development on the beach but more than half the beach is uninhabited providing plenty of open space for an uninterrupted day on the beach.
