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June and I had already committed to attend her niece Katy's wedding on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, in late October 2018. We had already booked a round-trip flight into Savannah, Georgia when we decided to visit The Bahamas, a short flight off the coast of Florida. Neither of us had been there before, so since we were that close, it seemed like a great opportunity.
The Bahamas, a collection of rather small islands, is
actually an independent country, having won independence from Great
Britain in 1973. Learn
more about The Bahamas.
To compare and contrast the two islands:
| Nassau | Eleuthera | |
| Size: | 80 square miles | 150 square miles |
| Population: | 266 thousand | 10 thousand |
Eleuthera
is about 100 miles long and 1.5 miles wide on average.
We arrived at the airport in Nassau and quickly met Travis when he enthusiastically grabbed June's bag and headed toward his cab. At first we were both startled, but we soon found him to be very professional, as well as warm and outgoing, pointing out sights along our drive to the hotel. As he dropped us off, we asked if he would be available to take us back to the airport in the morning. We used him again for our return trip to Nassau. By the time we left, we paid him $160, spent about two hours with him, and learned, among other things, that he is 40 yrs old with 4 kids and spends a lot of time on Eleuthera. Good guy!
We set out for our first adventure that evening to find food. A few doors down from the hotel, we found a Thai restaurant and were gravely disappointed with their Tom Ka soup. The next day, we set out early, walking East from the hotel to find The Queen's Staircase. The journey took us at least a mile through the downtown area at commute hour. We visited many cool spots, not the least of which was the John Wallings Rum distillery. Just walking through the streets provided us with great entertainment.
On our return from Eleuthera, we stayed at the same hotel (The Marriott
Courtyard). On our walk that evening we headed West to Fort Charlotte and
the Fish Fry, a row of restaurants specializing in Conch salad and other
assorted fishy treats. On both visits, we really enjoyed sharing the same
meal of Jerk Chicken with Beans and Rice at the Tikki Restaurant. My lips
were burning!!
After we landed, as we were filing out of the tiny fuselage, I peeked into the cabin and said 'great job' to the pilot. He turn around in his seat and I was shocked to see how young he looked. I jokingly asked, 'What are you, like 15?' He replied, 'No, I'm 20'.
Check out the pictures of Nassau.
Months earlier, June found a nice VRBO house in Rainbow Cay for rent, and she soon learned that a car rental is an absolute must. The property manager arranged for us to pick up a car at the Eleuthera airport, about 30 minutes south of our place in Rainbow Cay. The 'car rentals' are cars that belong to locals who rent them for $65 to $75 a day. So, just outside the terminal on Eleuthera, an older gentleman named Israel greeted us with a sign that read "Ottis". Obviously we concluded that he was looking for us. He walked us out to the parking lot where he offered us a choice of two vehicles: a smaller 'jeep-like' car with the steering wheel on the right, UK style. The other car was a full sized SUV with steering on the left like the USA. Both were automatic transmissions. Since they drive on the left, I thought it would be fun to drive the jeep, and potentially cheaper since a gallon of gas was $5.40. As we climbed in, he warned us to leave the car in 4-wheel drive. If it comes out (by pushing a button), the car will jolt violently. We assured him we would take good care of his car. So we took off and I quickly noticed that the engine was rev'ing very fast when going about 40 mph. It felt like it wanted to shift but couldn't. Just to see what happens, I eventually pushed the button to take it out of 4-wheel drive and it immediately shifted and the engine said, "Whew..thanks!". But then when speeding up to 50, it jolted violently as Israel forewarned. I called Israel and asked to trade vehicles and he obliged; he dropped off the SUV the next day. He then warned me, "the passenger door does not open from the inside, so you will have to let your wife out of the car every time." "No problem", I replied. "I do that all the time". "Haha", replied June. And for the next few days I would exit the car, and several seconds later, remember that I had to let June out.
We were previously told by the property manager that we should stop for food
at the well-stocked grocery store in James Cistern, a few miles up the
road. We found the well-stocked grocery store and were immediately
underwhelmed. June cannot eat gluten, so we foraged through the aisles
trying to find food that she could eat. We eventually walked out with some
chicken, rice, frozen broccoli, cereal, almond milk, cheese, juice, fruit
and some assorted other snacks. We left about $100 poorer.
When we got to our place in Rainbow Cay, we were delighted to see how nicely appointed it was, complete with it's own rainbow!
Except that night, June awoke with a feeling of something crawling across her legs. At first she ignored it, but when it happened again she turned on the light and pulled back the covers to find a frightened cockroach escaping onto the floor. We both yelped as I got out of bed and smashed the poor critter with a shoe quite a bit harder than was necessary. Over the remainder of our time there, we had several more encounters with the bugs, mostly in the kitchen area.
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We spent the next day driving North a few miles to refill the 5-gallon container of purified drinking water at the 'Lutra water purification center'. It only cost $5 and we had more than enough drinking water. |
I called on the landline at the house to see when they were open, and then let the gentleman know that we could be there around 3:30. He said that would be perfect. When I asked if reservations were recommended, he said, 'It's always nice to know when someone is coming in so we can put on our nice clothes'. The meal was absolutely perfect. A couple nights later, we called again to make reservations. All 5 tables were full.
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On the 2nd full day, we drove North about 20 miles to Harbor Island. You have to take a water taxi to the island, so I did some research and learned the details of taking a water taxi. But I didn't realize until we were lost that I never found out WHERE to catch the water taxi to the island. I assumed it would be from the point closest to the island, but after we saw only a rough dirt road heading there, we started asking questions. We learned from this experience that signs are not a strong feature on the Eleuthera. |
Harbor Island was the closest place we saw to a true tourist attraction. We rented a golf cart for the day and toured several 'Pink Sand' beaches, buildings, restaurant, and the local 'Piggly Wiggly', a VERY well stocked grocery store. An entertaining and uneventful day was enjoyed by all.
Our next full day was spent on a drive to Governors Harbor, about 20 miles South of Rainbow Cay, at about the very center of the island. We saw many more white people in this area than we did elsewhere on Eleuthera. We visited the Leon Levy Native Plant Preserve, which was more than one might expect on this remote island. However, it also paled in comparison to other botanical gardens we have visited around the world. We then enjoyed a nice snorkel on a beautiful Atlantic-side beach called French Leave. At a nice lunch at The Buccaneer in Governors Harbor, we sat next to a couple we met the previous day while looking for the Queen's Bath near the Glass Window bridge. They told us about a great snorkel spot next to Coco di Mama beach. So we stopped on our way North and were not disappointed. See the pictures.
Our last full day on Eleuthera was spent relaxing, snorkeling at our favorite beach, and exploring the immediate area. For dinner, we drove to James Cistern and visited a restaurant with only outside seating. No one else was there, so we sat at a table and were immediately attacked by mosquitoes. The waitress admitted that NO one ever eats there at night. We asked to get our food to go, and in the following 15 minutes as I waited for our meal (June was in the car) other groups came and picked up, and left.