Jim and Judy Montgomery at their Vero Beach home. Married in 2006, the couple have created a new life for themselves by running a bareboat charter business in the Abacos.
Were it less than breathtakingly beautiful, Abaco might be the kind of place that leaves globetrotters flustered. In this unusual corner of the Bahamas 200 miles due west of Palm Beach, there are any number of infrastructural quirks, beginning with spotty cell phone coverage and on again-off again Internet connectivity. A properly stamped postcard will take up to five weeks to reach the grandkids back home. A rental car, if one could be had, is wholly unnecessary in the picturesque settlement of Hope Town. People here move about largely by foot and dinghy. Only government and commercial vehicles are allowed on the occasional, narrow roadways.
It’s a pleasant enough way to live for Abaco’s 15,000 permanent inhabitants, many of whom are descendants of British Loyalists who left the United States with their possessions and their slaves shortly after the Revolutionary War. Architecturally, this shows up in the form of colorful, Colonial-style cottages reminiscent of historic sections of Charleston and Nantucket.
Vacationers are certainly undeterred by the dearth of American-style conveniences. In 2006, well over a quarter-million people came by sea and air to this sprawling collection of islands. Their chief desire is to cruise one of the region’s most expansive bodies of semi-protected waters. Diving, snorkeling, fishing, and beachcombing are also major draws.
Read the entire article in the February 2008 issue
True Tails is a series written by Amy Robinson for Vero Beach’s dog lovers. Ask Amy about your dog’s behavior by clicking below.
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