2021: Christmas Lighting of Faro Blanco Lighthouse

 5 December 2021

Dinghy travel only.

Being a Sunday, this morning at Marlin Bay turned out to be exceptionally quiet. The bar was closed, and no one was in the pool. When Clark and I walked up to use the restrooms, I only saw two other living things anywhere around.

These guys climbed up on the railing. 
Perhaps to take advantage of the warm metal.

These creatures are so tiny but incredibly fast.
It is hard to get a good picture of them. They scoot!

We lounged on the boat during the morning. Since the weather was so perfect, I took my Kindle out with a chair to sit in the cockpit and read. I did not get much reading done. I think I read the same paragraph multiple times and finally gave up. Since I was sitting outside, one-by-one, the neighbors came to visit and introduce themselves. 

The two neighbors to our starboard side are both from the same marina in North Carolina. One boat is a big fishing boat named  'Cuda, and next to them is "Gator Girl". On our port side and over one slip is a couple on a Katey-Krogen "Bagus" from Tampa, Florida. Everyone is super friendly. 

After lunch, Clark decided he wanted to check out the pool. He tried to coax me into going, but I had no interest. I had things I wanted to do on the boat to get ready for our planned outing for the evening - a dinghy ride to visit Faro Blanco to see the annual lighting of the lighthouse for Christmas.

Since the event was open to the public, we decided we should attend. Also, since Anne on "Morning Star II" had told me to come multiple times, I figured we best not disappoint!

The activities started at 3:00, so we decided to leave here just a little before that since the two marinas are so close to each other. We debated on the best means of transportation, i.e. bicycles or dinghy. Knowing it would be dark for our return trip, we opted for the safer option and took the dinghy. We have lights for our bicycles, but the dinghy is a lot more convenient as we could tie up to the swim platform on "Morning Star II" and instantly be at the party. 

When we ride our bikes along Route 1, watching for crazy drivers, even in daylight, makes me quite tense. In the dark it is only worse. The dinghy ride took all of 5 minutes.  I was surprised by the minimal number of traps in our path between the two marinas. That definitely made it an easy way to go.

Every year the lighthouse is strung with Christmas lights and there is a lighting event. This year, however, it was a much grander affair than any we have seen here before. We arrived just at 3:00 in time to see the vendors awaiting customers at their stalls. 

To mark the beginning of the festivities, a husband and wife bagpipe team walked through the marina playing Silent Night. 

Bagpipers - to kickoff of the event

The vendors lined the walkway from the entrance of the marina towards the lighthouse. 

Cotton Candy or Sno-cones anyone?

Look for the guy in the green shirt and you
will find Clark deep in conversation with
Anna Mae on composing songs.

Anna Mae at the
"Fish Fin Jewelry" booth

Handmade signs; Celtic Kilts

Two vendors sold jerky. The one near the Celtic Kilts sold many exotic flavors such as tuna, wild boar, and alligator. I did not try any of the offerings.

Here are Ella and Wendy sampling the tuna jerky

"Gurucat fl"
sold clothing, jewelry, and textiles. 

Near the pool area, a children's orchestra played Christmas-related songs, and at intermission another group of children performed a dance routine. Since the proceeds of the event went to the Marathon High School, I can only assume all of the talent came from the local school system. They were talented indeed.

I thought that the vendor selections might include food, but other than jerky, cotton candy and sno-cones, that was not the case. Clark and I were invited by the Faro Blanco boaters to join them for hot hors d'oeuvres setup up beside "Morning Star II". The food tables were located there to keep the main walkway clear for visitors to the marina for the lighthouse lighting. 

We had a wide variety of food to choose from including shrimp & sausage skewers, barbecue chicken sliders, mini pizza slices, lentil soup, and coffee cake, rum balls, and brownies for dessert.

We saw a number of familiar faces as we enjoyed the event.

Lisa

Mia

Lynne

Camera-shy Anne

Ryan, Yasmine, and baby Beau Beckett (7 mos.)

Devon Beckett and daughter Cora Cay

"Morning Star II" had an abundance of holiday spirit as it was well decorated with lights and even a wreath on the stern.

MS II decorated for Christmas

No Christmas event can be complete without a visit from Santa, and sure enough he, or his Santa helper, was there to meet with the children. He even brought Mrs. Claus with him!

Devon posted pictures of her children with Mrs. Claus and Santa on Facebook, and I have included them here.

Just before 6:00, a bunch of us suddenly realized that the lights on the lighthouse had been lit. We had all been anticipating the grand finale of the evening and expected some sort of fanfare! Someone in the orchestra tooting a horn. Someone making an announcement. Anything, but no warning occurred. 

Once we realized the lighthouse was lit up, we went to get the obligatory pictures to mark the occasion. No surprise here, it looks the same as prior years.

With the lights on and the sun setting fast, Clark and I jumped into the dinghy for the trip back to Marlin Bay Marina. Clark brought a handheld spotlight, but when I turned it on, it reflected off the dinghy and blinded me. I had a much better view of the water without the aid of a light. I diligently looked for traps but saw none at all. Fortunately, the trip was totally uneventful and in short order we were back on the boat.

Totally out of character, Clark left the dinghy down overnight. That way, we did not have to deal with getting it up on the boat in the dark, and more importantly, the dinghy would be available the next day for other activities. 

The folks on "Bagus" told us that they watched the sunset from their boat tonight, a daily occurrence, and then got the bonus show of seeing the lighthouse suddenly display its Christmas lighting.