Day by Day Trip Report - 2006

Saturday

We basically spent the better part of the day traveling from Baltimore-Washington International (BWI) to Governor's Harbor, Eleuthera (GHB) via Fort Lauderdale, Florida (FLL). We picked up our rental car (a Suzuki Samari) at Governor's Harbor airport upon our arrival in Eleuthera, and drove out to the house. Along the way, we stopped off in Governor's Harbor to do our grocery shopping at Burrows grocery store. You drive past 3 different grocery stores on the way to the house, Eleuthera Supply (by the traffic light), Burrow's ( the main store a block further into town), and a small store on the right just as you turn left off the Queen's Hgwy to get to the house.

Sunday

We were both still tired from traveling all day Saturday, so we decided to stay at home in the morning and relax on the front porch. It was real nice enjoying our late breakfast on the deck, watching the waves on the beach, and reading.

After lunch we thought we were finally ready for some exercise so we took a long walk southward along the beach same as 3 years ago. We were surprized to find several new houses along the beach just south of le Sable Rose. We eventually rounded a point and came upon a long beautiful crescent of soft sandy beach that stretched on for about 2 miles, Double Bay. We only saw a few people along the way. When we reached the end of the beach at the rocky point of land that extended about a quarter of a mile out into the water, we followed the access road back into the woods. We walked back about 100 yards till we came to the main access road that ran behind the beach houses. There we turned left and headed south down an abandoned dirt road that had been blocked off to prevent vehicular travel. Dave had been checking the area out on the internet using Google Earth and it appeared that there should be a deserted beach at the end of the road. Sure 'nuff! After about a half mile the road ended at a small empty beach. We explored the beach area and took a quick dip before we turned around and walked back to the house.

That evening we went to Mate and Jenny's for supper as it was close to the house. One of us got a fish dinner and the other a burger. We each ate half our meal and then swapped plates and finished the other's meal. It's a way for both of us to try two different meals at the same time.

Monday

Today was our first day of major exploration. We had really enjoyed Lighthouse Beach last time so that was our first destination. We were the first to arrive. Shortly after us was two families with a total of about 8 people. We went over to the Atlantic Beach and started walking north, leaving the "mob" scene behind us. After we rounded the first point, we lost sight of all mankind. It was just us and 3 miles of uninhabited beach to stroll. When we finally got hungry we stopped beneath some low rocky cliffs and had our lunch. On our way south thru Tarpum Springs, we had stopped off at Sammy's Restaurant and gotten some sandwiches which they wrapped up for us.

After lunch we strolled back to the car, checked out the old lighthouse once again, and left for the drive back home. We stopped off at the docks in Tarpum Springs to see if there were any fishermen with fish to sell. We always like to get fresh fish and grill it at the house when we're in the Bahamas. Unfortunately, the fishermen hadn't gone out that day and there were no fish to buy. Bummer. :-(

That evening we had supper at Unique Village. After driving most of the day, we didn't feel like going far for supper. It was a lot nicer than last time in that we didn't have the hordes of mosquitos attacking us while we ate.

Tuesday

Yesterday we drove south, so today we drove north. We had the book "The Elusive Beaches of Eleuthera" and we wanted to check out a few new beaches.

The first beach on our list was Rainbow Beach on the Caribbean side. It was real easy to find. It was like a small state park. It was still early in the day and nobody was there yet. It was supposed to be good for shelling so we checked out the shoreline. We found a nice small conch shell. To our surprize, we found a young live conch inside! He wasn't too pleased with being picked up and turned over. He tried to get out of the shell, exposing most of his body. It was the first time I ever saw a real live conch. It was fascinating and gross at the same time. So that's what's chopped up small and put in conch salad!? We returned him to the beach where we found him.

The second beach was Surfer's Beach. This beach was a little harder to get too in the sense that the access road was rather primative. I was glad I had the jeep. The last 100 ft of the road turned into soft sand and since I wasn't sure whether the 4-wheel drive would work, we parked early and walked the rest of the way. The road was also very narrow and there were several other small SUV's there and I didn't want to get blocked in while some guy surfed. There was a real nice "gazebo" on the hillside overlooking the beach below. There were several surfers out in the water riding the waves. After a few photos, it was back into the jeep and off to the next beach.

The third beach was Lover's Beach. This beach had a relatively easy access road, but it was long. The last 1/2 mile of the road was just two tire tracks running thru 2 foot tall grass over the gently rolling hillsides leading to the beach. We parked the jeep up on the hill and walked down to the beach. The water was a bit too rough for swimming. We definitely had the entire place to ourselves, without a sole in site to the north or south. We ate our lunch under a sun shelter we made from flotsam and jetsam we found on the beach.

The next beach we went to was Ben Bay Beach. This was all the way at the top of northern Eleuthera. Just follow the Queens Highway to the Spanish Wells ferry. Take the last right turn before the ferry and start following a maze of dirt roads thru an agricultural farm area turning left then right then left (or was it the other way around?). See the map page for the directions (click here for map). Ben Bay was a beautiful small horseshoe shaped bay ringed with a nice soft sandy beach. The bay was very protected making for easy safe snorkeling. It was here that we sighted a Southern Stingray.

Along the way to the next beach we passed by the Hatchet Bay caves. We nearly didn't see the sign at the entrance due to the overgrown grass surrounding it. We pulled over and drove into the parking lot. The entrance to the cave was a small opening with concrete stairs leading down into the darkness. Unfortunately, we didn't have any flashlights so we couldn't go in very far. The entrance area of the cave had the usual amount of spray painted grafitti on the walls. It was a shame. I'd expect that back in the states, but not in the Bahamas.

After leaving Ben Bay Beach, we headed back home, doing a little food shopping along the way. Tomorrow was Diane's birthday and we picked up some party supplies (cake pan, cake mix, candles, ice cream).

Wednesday

After all the driving from the past two days, we decided to stay at home, relax on the front porch, and read our books. We took a short break from our relaxing to snorkel around the reef right off the beach in front of the house. We saw a new fish while out there, an Ocean Triggerfish.

After supper we had a special dessert. Since today was Diane's birthday, I baked her a cake and decorated it with icing. She blew out the candles and then we feasted on cake and ice cream!

Thursday

When we were here last time in 2003, we had walked north along the beach starting at the house, but we ran into a rocky outcropping that impeeded our forward progress. This year we wanted to try the walk again, but this time, find a way around the rocks and continue as far north as we could.

About halfway to the rocky outcropping we came upon a live sea turtle that had washed up on the beach. It was about 3 ft long from its back end to its nose. At first we thought it strange until we noticed that it was missing three of its flippers. Instead, there were three bloody torn-off stumps where its flippers used to be. Only the left rear flipper was still intact. We figure it must have been attacked by a shark that bit off its fins? Lacking the ability to swim, the turtle was at the mercy of the waves and was washed up onto the beach. We felt real bad for it, but there was nothing we could do to help it, so we continued on our walk.

When we came to the rocks that stopped us last time, we worked our way inland to get past the rocks. We ended up having to go back in to the road and walk up to Unique Village where we could get back to the water again. From there we walked for about 5 miles along the beach, seeing about 6 people the whole way. When we got tired we stopped for lunch in the shade of a tree. We walked a little further and then decided to turn around and head back. We had hoped to make it to the Club Med Beach but the more we thougth about it, we realized we still had a loooong way to go to reach that destination.

When we got back home we relaxed about the house and swam at our own beach.

Friday

We didn't really have much planned today. It was just as well since we woke up to a flat tire on the jeep. Fortunately there was a spare which I put on. We then drove out to Unique Village to use the phone there to call the jeep owner. He sent us to a local garage where the mechanic replaced the tire with a new one at no cost to us other than our time. The bill went to the jeep owner.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing around the house and the beach. The weather was a little rainy/drizzly today so it was just as well that we didn't go any where. That night we started to pack up since we were leaving the next day.

Saturday

Our last day in paradise. I wanted to just sit around the deck all morning relaxing like before, my body had gotten into a routine, but instead, we had to quick eat breakfast, pack up and get out of the house before the cleaners arrived. We had a quick lunch at the Sunset Inn before we drove up to the airport for our flight home.