The guide books say that it is remote and isolated but with spots of great beauty. The reviews can be harsh saying "no exciting nightlife", "boring drives", "less than adequate cuisine", etc. Many told us "don't bother".

To some degree this is all true.

Much of Eleuthera has fallen on hard times because it doesn't have the quantity of tourist action that other islands have and it is a large land mass to manage in comparison to other Bahamian islands. But if you go as a traveler/adventurer/seeker/ and not a tourist looking for canned Bahamas, you will be rewarded over & over.

We have actually now covered the majority of the island by car (mostly down the middle with a few trips to the west side) and by boat (on the eastern side). Alex referred to some of our favorite stops in his last blog entry - Governors Harbour, South Palmetto Point, and Ten Bay Beach. We had a great side trip on the Bo Hengy Fast Ferry to Harbour Island on the west side which is more for tourists but still very olde Bahamas in many ways with the luxury homes/shops salted through the island. For the last few days we were in a slip at Cape Eleuthera Marina. We were going to cross to the Exumas from there but decided to backtrack approx. 12 miles north to Rock Sound for provisions.

So right now we sit at anchor just off the shores of Rock Sound in southern Eleuthera, about 75% of the way down from the northern tip (about a 3-4 hour drive) of Cape Eleuthera. Iolite amazingly negotiated the infamously shallow waters of the harbour to rest in almost 10''of water at high tide with 0.0' under the keel at mean low tide (7').

As I type, there is only a flutter of wind, full firing sun & the most spectacular blaze of turquoise that exists anywhere beyond the artful oils of a paint palette. You want everyone you love to be teleported beside you so they can breathe the air, feel the healing warmth and fill their memory banks with tangible bliss.

Last night for dinner & this morning for breakfast, we joined Dan & Debra from Sea Song in pure dining pleasure at Four Points Restaurant. They have a dinghy dock to come into (makes it instantly inviting), a grass tiki-hut style building right on the water with the main building just behind where you eat on a deck under a canopy. A Bahamian, Rock Sound family has leased the building to run the restaurant (owned by the folks who have the best grocery store in Eleuthera, only 5 minutes away on foot). The mom worked in Nassau in high end restaurants/resorts. Her son, Vaughn, worked in the aquariums of Atlantis, Nassau but both grew tired of the fast-paced New Providence life and longed to return home. He has become the pastry chef (he's good!) and his aunt does the lunches.....very much a family affair as dad tends bar and another relative sees to maintenance/landscape.

The view from your table rests between perfect palm trees that frame a setting sun behind boats anchored in the brilliant mix of blues. It's one of those settings that compel you to gasp & remark about it every 10 minutes....too stunning for your brain to come up with additional adequate adjectives.

We all ordered the fresh strawberry grouper last evening (name of the fish not the dish - no strawberries) with tarragon potatoes & veg mix. It was excellent!! For dessert we had pineapple duff that made you moan for more with its creamy coconut, liqueured sauce.

This morning was omelets of various kinds with coffee & toast. We had a huge side order of local knowledge from Vaughn about eating (NOT!) barracudas, how to tell when fish have that awful disease that makes you extremely sick. He's had it 3 times and has been hospitalized every time, lost his hair, major weight loss and told he could go blind. BAD. He also shared what grows locally (as we talked desserts). They pay no attention to the macadamia trees (too hard to get at the nuts), the figs ("too icky") or the olives that grow along the roadsides on their own ("we threw them at each other when we were kids") and are left for cars to drive over & crush. They also grow guavas, some pineapple, avocadoes, tomatoes, and other things that like their kind of arid soil.

We also learned about the best beaches because the choices are many.
We're off in a few minutes to try it out.

I'll get back to you about that.........