Cruising Eluthera Cay

We decided to rent a car with Conny and Alvin to see Eluthera.  Couldn't rent from our first choice (had his 4 cars already rented out), so we went with the local gas station guy.  Sure, he had a car, but his "24 hour" rental period actually ended at 7:30 at night; couldn't keep the car overnight.  A bit put off, we decided to live with it and went ahead and reserved it.  Well.  As soon as we arrived at 7:30 a.m., the troubles began.  No, no credit cards.  By the way, he has no insurance on the car and we are totally responsible for any damage.  Without using a credit card, we have no way to put insurance on the car. The piece of junk old Toyota was "valued at $15,000".  Break down?  Our problem.  Hit by another driver?  Our problem. He also pointed out that parts and repairs are very expensive. After consideration, we reluctantly decided to go ahead and take the car. And, by the way, it was due in at 7:00 PM, not 7:30. With all of his dire warnings of any damage being our problem, we went out to give the car a good once-over with him so we could have a record of all previous damage.  Luke pointed out a dent in the top and by the time the "conversation" ended, the old buzzard decided that "I don't think you need my car". We didn't want it by then, anyway.  We tore up the forms, took our cash back, and stomped outside.  A very nice gentleman offered us a ride to the airport to get a rental car from there.  It took 3 tries, but he found someone who had a car for us.  A "Jeep" and boy are we glad it didn't rain! "Gas money" for our friendly driver, an easy, gentleman's agreement transaction with the car supplier (he didn't even take our names), about 7 gallons of gas for $50, air in the spare tire, and a quart of oil in the engine, and  and we were ready to explore the island!

It is a beautiful island, full of different settlements.  First on our trip northward was Savannah Sound.  Goats.  Lottsa goats.  I don't know but something about these guys with their black markings makes them look a little demonic to me.  The yellow ones are ok.

This church was built about the turn of the 20th century, using the old loyalist's church as a partial foundation.  Very interesting.

From Savannah Sound to Governor's Harbor, the first capital of the Bahamas.  Governor's Harbor was founded in 1649 when the original Eleutheran Adventurers came seeking freedom. This is a much more ornate church, full of bells, statues, and nice walkways.

It also has a large, old cemetery, with disturbing info on the tombstones.  Seems like a lot of folks here just "fell asleep"... makes me want to stay up all night...

The cemetery with the islands first library in the background (plus Luke, of course). This library was built - as a library - over 100 years ago.  It's the largest one in the Bahamas other than one in Nassau.  Restoration was done in 2006.  It's a beautiful building.  The cloudy day made it impossible to capture the true, beautiful colors of the building.

In the anchorage, some adventurous soul, living on their "Antiki". Note the design is that same as the famous Kon-tiki constructed by Thor Heyerdahl and sailed across the Pacific in 1947. For info on that expedition,  click here for link  I'll take Latitudes, thank you!

En route northward, we were amazed at this huge apparent royal palm tree, standing proudly above all of the rest.  On closer look???  A Batelco cell tower!  Someone here has a great sense of humor!

The land changes as we go north; green and higher, it supports crop growth.  We stopped at a wonderful vegetable stand on the road and bought freshly grown tomatoes, oranges, a yuka type plant called cassava (used to make tapiocoa), and imported pears.  Now, not being sure how to spell "cassava", I googled it and learned that it is in the top 10 of the most dangerous foods in the world!  Seems that if prepared incorrectly, it makes cyanide! Deadly if consumed!  That veggie is getting tossed overboard.

The former use of the land is apparent, by the many old silos. While construction materials and methods vary, these two seem to be of the same techniques as the loyalist ruins of the late 1700's. They include blocks of rock in a cement type material, and are constructed in a spiral fashion.  The clearly visible foot high layer spirals around the structure is one continuous band.

Gregory Town has always been of interest as we view it from the water.  Sitting high on a hill, it reminds us of an Italian town.  Well, it is colorful, with a few houses surrounding the small inlet.

The harbor is narrow and not very deep into land.  A conch and fish cleaning station stands on the inner corner.







The other side of the harbor has the town school, part of the roof blown off in a recent hurricane.  Also, a loyalist ruin, carved completely on 3 sides into the rock of the teraine.

The other side of the harbor has caves, used by pirates to hide their booty in the old days.  Apparently the caves are filled with bats now.  We did not visit.

The "glass window" was originally a natural bridge connecting the northern Eluthera to the rest of the Eluthera cay. The sharp edged cliff in the picture is one end of the former natural bridge. Blown away by years of hurricanes, a man-made bridge was built.  Blown away by years of hurricanes, a second man-made bridge was built.  We couldn't get a picture from the narrow road, but were delighted to discover a blow hole just off the road before we crossed the bridge. Air, compressed by distant ocean waves, rushes out of this small hole in a column maybe 50 ft high.

Into northern Eluthera and the ferry system to the somewhat elite Harbor Town.  At $5 per person, each way, the ferries run continuously, taking tourists and workers across on a regular basis.

Harbor town has many quaint shops, nice restaurants, and narrow streets, all filled with folks on golf carts.

Also famous for her pink sand beaches, we had to see them.  And pink they are!

Local fish in a small local diner for a late lunch and back across on a ferry before dark.  It was almost 9 by the time we arrived back at our boats, but a really great day!

Today, Saturday, it's rainy and blowing.  We will stay on the boat, probably playing cards or dominoes with Conny and Alvin this afternoon.  I won't have internet for a couple of days, I expect, after it runs out at 9 pm tonight.