On Saturday, February 25th we shared a rental car with Bev and Allan from DAGNY. Allan braved the challenge of driving on the left side of the road in a car with the steering wheel on the right. Our first stop was Tarpum Bay where we saw a dog enjoying the view from a comfortable chair.
Most of the islands in the Bahamas have very little soil and limited amounts of fresh fruit and vegetables. Eleuthera is an exception, this island has great soil and a long history of agriculture. The sign for fresh produce at the Island Farm made us turn the car around to go back for a visit. After shopping at the farm stand we went for a brief tour of the fields.
Hatchet Bay Pond is an interesting harbor. The entrance is a 90 foot wide cut blasted through rock. From the land side it looks even narrower than it does from the water. On the north side of town there is an extensive cave system. We did not have enough flashlights to explore so we stayed in the first part of the cave. With flashlights, sturdy shoes, and a guide it is possible to walk a mile underground.
The Glass Window is a geological formation where the island is very narrow. There was once a natural rock bridge 85 feet above sea level. This was washed away by a hurricane in 1926 and replaced by a bridge. A rogue wave picked up the bridge and moved it 7 feet westward in 1991. The current bridge is quite substantial looking. Standing on the bridge you can see the dark blue ocean on one side and the light blue and turquoise water in the Bight of Eleuthera.
We had lunch at a small restaurant overlooking the Glass Window. It was hard to know where to look because the view was so gorgeous from all directions.
The calm tide pools next to the breaking waves at the Queens Bath were impressive. This is one of those places where it would be enjoyable to sit and look at and listen to the water all day.
A long washed out dirt road leads to an amazing beach with great surfing. We had to walk the last part of the road because it was so narrow and rough, but it was worth the walk. We had a chance to watch someone surfing.
We saw a sign for "The Cliffs" and wondered if it was a private residence, or actual cliffs, so we went for another off road expedition. After parking the car we walked to an area where someone with a huge piece of earthmoving equipment had dug a hole mostly through the cliffs. We had to climb along the side of a very deep puddle to get to the shore as the path ended in the middle of the cliff.
Late in the afternoon we were all tired and ready to head back to the boats. A few minutes after we said that we were glad we would be getting back before dark we ran out of gas. Luckily Allan has very impressive hitchhiking skills. As soon as he stood by the side of the road he was picked up by a Bahamian who drove him to the gas station. A couple of men in a pickup at the gas station delivered him back to the car with the gas. Within 20 minutes we were on our way again.
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