Happy Birthday David!
Still windy and we started the day with bumper adjustments, wind, and thunderstorms on one side and blue sky on the other.
We decided to spend the morning searching for the Marsh Harbor Castle. This was a landmark that had our attention since we arrived, a yellow castle like structure on top of the hill. We had tried several times to walk up to it but had run in to dead ends each time.
I was thinking it was some sort of church and when a google search for yellow church or cathedral was not helpful, Deb tried castle and we learned it was called Seaview Castle.
We then learned that it had been built by a doctor who treated patients on the outer islands in the 1940’s and 50’s. He had built the place himself and had left it to his daughter Gayle who lived there and also had other houses on the island that she rented to make a living and pay for the castle’s upkeep. The castle had survived Dorian with some damage and Gayle had survived the storm in the castle basement. Unfortunately, all of her other properties were destroyed.
I found a blog post called Two Coconuts and a Castle written by a cruising couple who also tried to find the castle. Although the information was old, we thought with that and the wrong turns we had already made, we could find it.
Deb, David and I set out on our quest. We passed over the now familiar two hills to where we could see the castle from the road. We took another road that looked good on Google maps and initially led in the wrong direction but then gradually wound its way around.
We were at the driveway but could not see much. The bushes and trees were overgrown hiding the view. We ventured partway into the driveway but were deterred by a sign. Two fenced in dogs started barking and we backed off and went to another corner to try to get a view. Just then, a man approached from the castle and waved at me so I thought he would be friendly. I apologized for disturbing them by getting the dogs excited.
The man was Gayle’s ex-husband. He is staying at the castle trying to recover from the storm. He is helping to try and do some upkeep there. His home was destroyed as well as the home next door which belongs to his sister. They are almost finished rebuilding that home. He told us that Gayle was in the house but was not too social these days. He invited us to walk up and look around as much as we wanted.
He soon left in a car and we walked up to take a few photos and to see the castle. It looked like a very welcoming place with dolphins and pineapple decorations adorning the windows.They had put out a great number of solar panels, with wires crossing across the yard and walkway. We saw the wash house that did not have any damage at all in the storm. We did not want to cause too big a disturbance so we took a few pictures and left. On the way out, we passed a sign that said “Trumpers not welcome.” I think it must have been from the first term as it was quite faded already.
There were two books written by the late doctor. One was Out Island Doctor and the other Castle in the Sky. The gentleman said we could find them at a gift shop near the hardware store.
After leaving, we walked down a road that leads from the castle to the ocean side. There were some beautiful homes and gardens in this area. We worked our way back and stopped at the boutique across from the small grocery store that had been closed on prior visits. They had some beautiful art and clothing and we also found one of the books and purchased it. We will continue to look for Castle in the Sky. They both seem to be out of print and difficult to find.
We returned to the boat for lunch and when the sun came out, David and I headed to the Mermaid Reef to snorkel. There is a small beach where you can enter the water that was right across the road from our marina. It was a bit murky, likely stirred up a bit from the winds in the harbor but we saw some lovely fish. We both saw the largest parrotfish we have ever seen! We also were able to follow 3 turtles. Some of the fish followed us along the reef. Sometimes people feed them breadcrumbs or crackers but we do not. It was a lovely snorkel.
We returned for a swim in the pool and a shower before preparing the birthday dinner. We hooked our propane tank to the marina grill and David and Jeff grilled the steaks. We decided to eat on the boat because it was still quite windy. I made coleslaw and peas and rice and then we had the cake. I had tried to decorated it a bit and made a mahi out of a small batch of butter cream frosting. I decorated it with some blue and yellow m and m’s stolen from our last remains of Trader Joe’s trail mix. It worked just fine. The candles all blew out as the wind funneled down the hatch but we relit them at the table and sang the birthday song again. Good food and good company.
Tomorrow we head around the Whale Cay to the northern Abacos. The wind is predicted to drop through the night.