Cruising on Ondine

We hopped on the Bahama fast ferry from Spanish Wells to Harbour Island yesterday (Friday Dec. 17). We moved along at 25 kts from a lovely fishing village where tourism is down the list of priorities to a pure tourist destination. The ferry passed along narrow channels, in fact other power boats are told not to try the channel to the Devil's Backbone without a pilot. Sailing vessels such as our boat are warned to stay away!

We arrived to a crush of taxis, golf cart rentals and tourist memorabilia in booths. We went straight to the local Tourist Information Bureau and received great advice on where to find local (read reasonably priced) food.

We walked (no golf cart for poor Jimmy) to "Beyond the Reef" restaurant. We found the perfect choice, which was fried lobster and fries. It was every bit as good as the lobster dinner that cost 5 times as much in the fancy restaurant.

We walked through Dunmore Town, which was founded by the same Lord Dunmore who sneaked away from Williamsburg in the dead of night as the American Revolution began.

We found our way to the pink sand beach, complete with horses, kite board sailing, and electronic surfboards. There are several large and beautiful resort hotels on the beach. We stopped for a quick nap in rented chairs and then retreated to the Coral Sands Hotel for a Goombay Smash (lots of fruit juice and alcohol).

With our list of required activities completed, we return to the ferry and headed back to Spanish Wells.