Hope Town Lighthouse

If you look at someone's photos from the Bahamas, you will likely see a picture of a candy striped lighthouse.  This iconic lighthouse has been saving sailors lives for over a hundred years and has been lit every night at sunset by the lighthouse keeper for just as long.  After so many have been switched to automated systems, it is a rare gem to find one still functioning on kerosene.  It is an even rarer gem to be invited up by the lighthouse keeper to witness his daily duty.  We couldn't believe our luck when we met "Sam" the local lighthouse keeper.  Sam's father had been in charge of running the lighthouse for many years, and now it was Sam's turn to take on this important role.  When we asked Sam how he would feel if he had a son who wanted to follow in his footsteps, he said that would make him very happy.  Cool.  

We arranged to meet with him at 7:30 - just before sunset.  We stood at the bottom of the lighthouse, nervous that we had gotten the time wrong and had missed him, when a head popped out of a little window about half way up and shouted "ten minutes!"

Exactly ten minutes later the old wooden door creaked open and Sam led us into the tower.  Immediately the smell of kerosene filled our nostrils.  We started to climb the 101 steps up to the top.  Along the way, Sam explained to us how when the lighthouse was initially proposed in the 1860's, there was a lot of resistance from the locals because they made their living from wrecking.  After much argument, the safety of the sailors was deemed a priority and the lighthouse was built.  As we neared the top, we went outside through a tiny door to catch a breathtaking view of the sunset.  It was equally exhilarating and terrifying to be up so high, especially with the 20 knot breeze.  After a few minutes, it was almost time to light the lamp so Gary, Lynn, Marianne and I crawled back inside through the little door.  Sam showed us the massive metal housing that encircled the lamp.  The 18 ton lense housing rotates atop a thin layer of mercury, driven by a system of hand cranked weights.  Sam has to re-crank the system every 2 hours until sunrise.

The time had come to light it up.  Sam struck a match and in an instant the 325,000 candle power light shone 17 miles out to sea.

We started back down the 101 steps, thanked our new friend and were struck by the ironic realization that none of us had remembered to bring a flashlight to guide us back through the woods to our boat.