April 23, 2012. What pleasant surprise is Harbour Island! We had expected much more of a touristy, commercialized island, but are glad to see that's not the case. Of course, the homes along the harbor and ocean sides are fabulous, but as soon as you pass the waterfront, the island has much more of a Bahamian feel. It's a nice mix of resorts for a bit of pampering and non-native food (caesar salad with blackened shrimp - yum!), a few little shops, good provisioning and restocking of rum, beautiful pink beaches, along side the real Bahamas and the feel of a Bahamian fishing village. The homes in the old part of town are charming, brightly painted buildings with loads of flowers...gorgeous. Lots of history too. However, the harbor waterfront north of the government dock definitely has the native feel with fishing docks, Bahamian food, etc. It's a great mix.

The best way to get around is to rent a golf cart, which we did, and just tour every street possible. We even went to both ends of the island, off the map, and onto the sand paths. At the north end, we even ran out of sand path and had to walk to the water, but the view was well worth it. At the end of the day, we found the fig tree by the beach where they were preparing for the party to benefit the regatta activities during Junkanoo. Since I (Jeri) couldn't remember trying conch salad, that was top of my list. Not only did we try it, we (the Jeri part of the we) got a lesson in cleaning conch (definitely not Ingo's thing) and making the salad. Fabulous! We also met two pilots from Texas with whom we shared the experience. Very fun!

The last two days we've spent on the boat riding out the front in sustained 20-30 knot winds. Hopefully this evening we'll be able to get off the boat since we have reservations at the Blu Bungalow, a lovely little restaurant in town.

As for the next step, we're not sure. We plan to be in Nassau by May 2 to pick up Peter and Chris for the passage back o the Chesapeake. Until then...life is good!