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DUNMORE TOWN (Harbor Island)
Dunmore is built on a hill, probably the first we’ve seen since we’ve come to the Bahamas. All of a sudden, as we walk up the hills on these few little roads of the town, in the tropic heat, we realize how out of shape we are from walking all those flat cays in the Abacos. For a small little town, there is a heck of a lot of traffic. There was a gazillion noisy little golf carts that puttering about. We still are having trouble getting used to them driving on the left side of the street. The roads are narrow and the carts and trucks take priority, well….let me take that back, the chickens and roosters take priority. They are part of the population here and are everywhere, in the restaurants, shops, on the beaches, streets and nobody even takes notice. There’s not much room for pedestrians to walk as the shuffle of golf carts, trash trucks and miniature delivery trucks rattle around the 3 or 4 short narrows streets of Dunmore but it’s still a charming place regardless. Click on any small picture to enlarge
There are some charming little colonial cottages, some wooden and others concrete, but all built to with stand the elements and all the windows and doors are protected by thick wooden shutters and storm doors, that now in the nice weather, are swung open wide and braced against the side walls with little wooden cross planks. Of course everything is painted wonderful pastel shades and all the windows and trims and shutters are white or complementing shades. The roofs are all white. Every cottage is surrounded by a picket fence, usually whimsical, or tall painted concrete walls with curious gates, sometimes with finials topped with concrete pineapples or roosters. They are just tall and interesting enough to make you wonder what’s beyond. All the houses have name plaques that seems to tell a story or some history of the place, like the “colonial termite” or the big old estate, painted blue, that has seen better times, called simply the “Blue Ruin”. We loved exploring the little streets and peeking over the fences spying onto their wonderful gardens and waving back to friendly people sitting in Adirondack chairs on their wrap around porches. Each day we’d go through the same little streets and discover a whole new set of interesting details or a new small inn or cottage or boutique.
EXPLORING IN A GOLF CART We finally decided to join the rest of the people and rented a golf cart. It just made getting around that much easier and was actually very fun. I told Larry to get a quiet fast cart as we had been holding our hands over our ears in horror as some of these rat trap golf carts would go by. The people have been numbed I think to the horrible noise after awhile. They just drove around like as if nothing was wrong. Some had horrible whines and you just had to grit your teeth in sheer pain until they were beyond range of hearing them. Ours turned out to be quiet without Larry having to say a word but it wasn’t very fast and sometimes I wondered and worried if it would really make it up a hill or two. It suited me just fine as long as Larry convinced me it did have enough power to get up the hills.
ZIGGY DROVE US NUTS So we spent the next couple days wondering around the island. Ziggy drove us nuts whining with excitement in the cart. There’s something about riding in a golf cart that makes him totally insane. It’s the same thing ona dinghy. Finally after a couple days of almost knocking him flat trying to get him to shut up, we discovered that if he was allowed to stand on the floor board precariously hanging half his body out with head and shoulders to the winds, and a few inches off the road, he became whine less. Too bad it took us two days of excruciating pain to figure that out.
THE AMAZING PINK SAND BEACH We explored all the streets on the island and even all the sandy roads. It’s impossible to get lost because the island is so small. We found some great little roads that lead down to the most wonderful beach. I say one beach because it is one beach and it goes on and on, the length of the island, uninterrupted by land. It’s a beautiful pink sand beach, one of the most amazing sites I have ever seen. It’s said to be one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. I think I believe them.
A REAL MIX Renting the cart gave us the opportunity see all the different lifestyles too beyond the areas dependent on the tourist trade without getting exhausted in the heat of the day walking up and down the little hills. It was a real mix of people living here all jumbled in close together. We road past a poor black section and would see the older blacks sitting out on the front porches and then the younger blacks, some with dred locks and funny knitted hats that made their heads look long and pointed out the back like the “alien” and then there were the blacks that were very entrepreneurial, working in the resorts, and running high class restaurants and exquisite boutiques. They were friendly, always waved and said “hello” as we went by. Then there were the tourists and loyalists, and weekend plein aire painters, and yachties, and of course the beautiful people. It was a real mix. The longer you stay here and explore the island, the more you enjoy the local people here though I must admit they are at first were not as openly friendly as we found in the Abacos. Here we find that as you pass them by they will wait for you to say “hello” and smile or wave, and once you do, they ALWAYS respond back and it opens them up for the next encounter and that to me is the secret of these people. If you take the time to talk and inquire they are more than happy to chit chat with big smiles and before you know it they are making recommendations for places to see and things to do. They love where they live and I don’t blame them.
COTTAGES There was a mix of houses too from the fine colonial to the little shacks but all were colorful and had a bit of a folk art feel about them. Many of the old colonial cottages that have been restored and colorfully painted have whimsical names as I’ve mentioned. All the signage is pretty much hand painted and hand made on whatever kind of scrap of wood is available. It gives them a folksy kind of charm. Some houses have been converted into expensive boutiques selling beautiful blouses and resort wear, stylish but artsy jewelry, clever shell covered purses, and wonderful beaded sandals for very hefty prices.
PLENTY TO EAT AROUND HERE We checked out all the
restaurants that “Woody”, our pilot, recommended. Those would be the “local
joints” that he likes. One is Wade’s on the water front which is nothing
more than a 10 foot by 10 foot bright yellow shack with a small take-out
window. He said you have to get there by noon or you will miss out because they
sell out by 1:00.
RESORTS We also took advantage of the golf cart to see all the resorts in case we wanted to come back sometime and stay in one and also we wanted to see and try out a few of their restaurants. This is the first time since our cruising in the Bahamas that we’ve had so many places to choose from to eat at. We first started at the most expensive and that was the Pink Sands,
located like most of them, on the famous pink sand beach. It was spread out over several acres with little individual cottages and their clientele was said to be “the beautiful people” and of course famous celebrities. They have a wild looking open air lunch/breakfast and bar café overlooking the beach and everything, and I mean everything is blue, blue, and more blue. It’s so blue you can’t believe it. The dinner restaurant is quite amazing and reminded us of Bali, all open air, ethnic fabrics and wood carvings, Indonesian antiques and reflecting pools filled with lily pads and coy, and lots and lots of atmosphere. There are two huge antique wooden sofas in the center of the dining room with a gazillion decorative beaded pillows. It was an amazing place and I’m sure a scene at night. I went up to the front desk to see the menu and inquire about making reservations. The very stuffy black receptionist handed me a menu. I had read somewhere that dinners were about $70 per person so I didn’t question it when she gave me a menu without prices. She was very snooty and unfriendly and as she looked at me from toe to head, she said they were booked for tonight completely. I said well, no problem we’re here for a week or more so we have plenty of time. I guess since that didn’t deter me, she said that dinners were $70 per person and seeing no reaction from me again, she added that a 15% gratuity was mandatory! Like as if I wouldn’t leave a gratuity? I decided that this place was not for me. I think it’s one of those places that we always say “you pay a big price to get insulted all night.” We then headed across the street to the Coral Palms.
It was older and more traditional in décor and architecture and had a lovely pool that overlooked the ocean unlike the previous snobbery joint. The staff was much friendlier too. The décor is a more British Colonial West Indies style and suited my tastes too. They had a lovely restaurant overlooking the beach also. They both had the same exact fabulous pink sand beach being separated by a small sandy golf cart path. The beach really is the draw here no matter what the hotels have to offer. Both resorts are pricey I hear, though we didn’t check the prices. The next two the Dunmore and Runaway, also on the same beach were not as big and looked a bit more worn, though had a nice traditional feel to them but didn’t much interest us to come back for dinner. Then we checked out the two inns in town, one the Landing
owned by Linda Hicks, daughter of London designer David Hicks and has lots royal connections I’ve read. It’s right down in the center of things by the wharf. It’s in an old plantation style house with big walk around porches, shutters, fans, and all that sort of ambience but a bit worn but I think that makes it feel real. The décor was lots of British colonial type antiques, old framed engravings and photos on their hot red walls, with white trims and polished dark wood floors. Very classy for dinner I thought and we enjoyed it very much. Even though it was a Wine Spectator Magazine recommendation, I wouldn’t say the food was anything to write home about. It’s pricey but everything seems pricey once we left the Abacos. The next stop was the Rock House Inn
a newly renovated boutique hotel and I must say it is fantastic! The dining room is to die for and is perfect down to every detail, truly amazing. The designer has done work for the likes of Versace so need I say more? It’s located on a hill overlooking the harbor and the evening sunset. It has a very European feel. The dining room is open air though under a protected covered roof, and some of the furniture is formal with a casual mix. Some of the formal furniture is said to have been at one time in the White House. I think the dining room, as it overlooks the quaint harbor, has a look and feel that equals the harbor of Porto Fino in Italy. It is by far my favorite dining room on the island. Now, the other option for visiting here without a boat, are the many little cottages in town, all colonial and old and very nicely updated and furnished. They have great views of all the activity going on in the harbor and still are a hop skip away from the famous pink sand beaches, and meantime they overlook the aqua waters of the harbor and Exuma Sound which changes by the hour with the tides. They all seem to have cute little names and lovely front porches with Adirondack chairs to lounge away your time as you watch the world go by and many have private back gardens and patios if you want more privacy. We were fortunate to have a peek inside a couple of the cottages and they were charming. It's something to think about doing some day in the future.
POTCAKES, PUSS IN BOOTS AND
ROOSTERS
When we first arrived in the Bahamas we were a little concerned when we walked the streets because all the dogs, cats, and chickens and hens, just run loose. We were especially worried about the big dogs. Ziggy has a built-in small dog defense system and that is to take on any big dog that comes around no matter what the consequences might be. So we were breaking our backs picking Ziggy up and swinging him up on our shoulders every time a big dog came by for the typical sniff. The dogs here, called “potcakes”, look a bit like tramps; their life is not as plush as the world traveler Ziggy who gets a bath or at least a rinse off every time we come back from the beach or walking on the dirt roads. He’s white and fluffy and next to these mongrels he looks like a prince.
Eventually though and to our amazement, we realized that these dogs are about the most laid back, peaceful dogs you’d ever want to meet no matter how ferocious they might look. They just like to hang out on their special corners, or porches and watch the world go by. Occasionally one would come up curious about Ziggy and Ziggy must have sensed this peaceful attitude about them and soon he was comfortable with peacefully exchanging sniffs. It was so much better on my back, not having to worry about them. I think the dogs in the states could learn a lot from these dogs. They don’t bark obnoxiously, or chaise things, they are just easy going friendly dudes. Another amazing thing to me was that not one cat or dog is the least bit interested in all the hundreds of chickens, baby chicks, and roosters that wander freely all over town. They hunt and peck in the most unlikely places. They were even running around in the restaurants, stores, beaches, and even the fine dining places. Nobody even notices or pays any attention, especially the dogs and cats. I think they kind of think of them as a small annoyance but not worth their trouble. Even Ziggy must have picked up on this. When we first arrived he chased one chicken and that he didn’t even do whole heartedly and that was the last of that. It was like they became invisible to him.
Even though he lost his interest or fear of other dogs, he never lots interest in those cats which we everywhere. We couldn’t get that out of his system as they seemed to be everywhere, peeking out of a store door or taking a nap on a porch.
HORSES FREE TOO Horses run free too. Here we are on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world and here comes these scraggily looking horses. They weren’t the fattest or fastest horses I’ve ever seen. They were almost skin and bones and dragged their lay legs around without a bother in the world. They stayed together though as a group as they eventually headed up through a small opening in the trees and brush which lead to the million dollar beach properties. I’m not sure who they belonged too, if anyone or if they left overs of the wild horses from the Spanish times. The Abacos has a hand full left. These guys just wandered down the never ending beach, their manes gently blowing in the air. I just couldn’t believe it really. Ziggy surprisingly wasn’t interested in them as he headed off full blast into the water looking for seals, though he doesn’t know there aren’t any seals down here. They nibbled at everything as they went. What a mystery they were.
HAMBURGER IN PARADISE? Well, there are plenty of really good places to eat on the island but one of the places we had to try was Ma Ruby’s for a hamburger. Why? Because Jimmy Buffet has made it famous by declaring it one of the 10 best hamburgers in paradise. We dropped by to check it out one day as we were driving by in the golf cart. Ma Ruby was there, an old black lady who could be 70-80 years old? I’m just guessing. Larry asked her what time she opened for dinner and she said 6:30 or something like that. Larry said we’ll be back then. She said “you come back and I’ll fix you a good dinner, you come back now”. He chuckled as he described her. So that night we headed over in the dark in the golf cart. We parked in a weed patch next door and headed in. The place is simple. It looks like it’s been converted from a house, but mostly it’s just a patio. There are simple rustic chairs and tables, mostly plastic with plastic table clothes. Ma Ruby sat at a table in the “bar area” which is nothing more than a bar counter and a TV hanging on the wall. The walls are decorated with people’s baseball caps from all over the states. I guess after a few too many Goombay Smashes they are so drunk they don’t care about leaving their $25 hat on the wall of this place. There weren’t too many people there yet, just one big table of about 10 people, another couple like us at a small table and then the two of us. Ma Ruby greets everyone as they come in and just sits at that table the whole evening watching TV. I guess she doesn’t cook in the kitchen any more or least the night that we were there. We had heard a rumor that if she cooks your meal you’re guaranteed to have a good meal. We we’re wondering what that meant for dinner that night as she didn’t go near the kitchen. The menu is rustic and hand made. You have a wild range of choices but I’m here for the best hamburger in paradis tonight. There were specials for the evening, which included, soup & salad, dinner, and dessert. Larry had the grouper dinner special for $28 which included all the above. The only thing on the menu that could possibly deter me from having the hamburger was lobster. It was $35 with all the sides mentioned above, or $25 with rice and veggies, no salad, soup or dessert. I still held out for the cheeseburger for $8 and a small salad for $5. Well, the hype for this place is great, so I’m anticipating a great juicy hamburger. The day before we met two couples that drove all the way from south Eleuthera and that’s where they were going for dinner. They said they heard the lobster dinner was good but still were going to have the cheeseburger. It seems everyone makes a stop here. The atmosphere is not great, the lighting is not great, just over head lights, and the group of ten were loud and boisterous and up and out of their chairs the whole evening kind of making it impossible for the rest of us to do anything but watch and listen to them. By now another couple had come in for dinner too, and then four guys that had been out sports fishing all day. The place was filling up.
Well, the salad was disappointing, the conch soup had a strong strange flavor (and we’ve both decided that we don’t like conch chowder). I’ve tried it four different times throughout the Abacos and now here and it has some strong flavor that I can only describe as a taste like a wet cat smells.
JIMMY BUFFET MUST HAVE BEEN STARVING My cheeseburger came, with all the fixing’s and French fries on the side. I took one big bite into that hamburger and even though it was sandwiched between two slices of the typically delicious Bahamian bread, it was such a disappointment. It was dry and tasteless and I didn’t even finish the thing. I’m thinking ole Jimmy Buffet must have been starving when he reported on this thing. Anything tastes great when you’re starving. It was a great disappointment. Larry’s dinner was the same. The grouper was baked with a thick batter around it, the vegetables were those frozen mini carrots mixed with something else even less memorable. It was the first time in the Bahamas that we had a bad dinner. Dessert was included with Larry’s dinner so we were really looking forward to that hoping it would make up for the previous disappointing course. It was key lime pie and they could take a lesson from Vernon’s Grocery in Hope Town, Abacos. We didn’t enjoy the meal and didn’t enjoy the loud rude people at the big table and just wanted to get the heck out of there but it took forever, and ever to get the bill so we could just pay and leave. The problem was Mama Ruby. She tallys all the dinner tabs. I could see her at the table working on them and the waiters would have to prod her to get the bills for their diners. Our waiter apologized to us several times and said that he was trying to get it from her. I could see he was getting very impatient with her. Finally he came to the table and seemed very embarrassed as he apologetically said he had to ask us if we only had two glasses of wine. It was almost like Mama Ruby didn’t believe that we only had two glasses and made him come over and ask even though I he wrote down the correct quantity. We confirmed to him that we only had two glasses. She was still futzing around with the bill but eventually we finally got it. Larry decided to take the money up to her directly because we didn’t want to wait another 20 minutes for her to argue about the change.
Whew, that place was ridiculous and that hamburger was disappointing. Sorry folks. No reason to go there.
DUNMORE DELI
Our local little joint was the Dunmore Deli. We could actually get our first cappuccino in two months and delicious salads and breakfasts. They served very light delicious food and beautifully presented by the friendly black girls that worked there. We began to enjoy the little chit chat we’d have with them everyday and it became like a second home. The Chef does a lot of catering on the island and we saw him bring loads or gourmet lunches down to the docks for the big yachts heading back to Nassau.
VALENTINE’S Valentine’s is our marina of choice. They are building condos and a swimming pool that should be done soon. They’ve done a fabulous job so far as the restaurant and bar is fabulous for a marina. The docks are in great shape too but are a bit exposed in bad weather and the wakes from the little water taxis keep the boats at dock in constant motion but nothing to complain about. The fees are a little strange, $120 a day, plus $20 for water each day whether you use it or not and about $15 a day for power depending on how much you use. The water and power left a little to be desired. You were charged $20 a day for water whether you used it or not, and sometimes the pump was broken and there was none, but still, nevertheless, you were charged for it. The water flow was minimal and it was hard as a rock and left spots on the boat, so you didn’t really want it anyway. We therefore didn’t want to put any in the tank and spent one day making water like all the other boats. The power would go off here and there uannounced for a few hours because of the construction going on at the new marina resort. None of this inconvenience or extra charging seemed to be anything that the marina was concerned about with their customers. We just went with the flow but we think they’d be better off just charging $140 a day and say water was included. They operated a little like the local gorcery store, called Pigly Wigly. One day they would take the credit card and the next day they charged 5% fee for using it. Nothing makes sense but you can’t complain as it will do you no good. Also, you don't know how much anything is in the grocery store unless it has a price tag right on it and usually that wasn’t the case. So whatever the bill is, it is. I guess that’s life in paradise of the third world. When we first arrived at Valentine’s there practically were no other boats there. We arrived at the first weather opening for quite awhile so maybe that had something to do with it. Soon, though, the mega yachts began to arrive. We very quickly became the peanut sized boat and ours isn’t that small (60 feet overall). It was interesting to see them come in, all shapes and sizes. There were some big sports fishing boats too, filled with unchaparoned husbands on the loose. They’d go out each day, no matter what the weather was and come back loaded with tuna, El Dorado, Grouper, and others I didn’t recognize. It was fun to watch them proudly take pictures on the docks of their daily catch and then filet them at a special platform for cleaning fish. Two nights we had trouble
sleeping. One was when the Super Bowl was on and there was a loud bunch of
drunks at the bar celebrating to all hours of the night. It was to be expected
for the Super Bowl. The next day though we figured out it really was people
from one of the big yachts that had been making the ruckus as they began all
over again the next night. They were inconsiderate to all the other boats on
the docks. Finally about 2:00 AM I went up to see what the heck was going on.
Larry was awake to by now and came up to see too. Larry spotted them right
away. They were on the top of this huge yacht in a hot tub naked. The girls
were dancing around and yelling and screaming. Larry yelled out “Why don’t you
shut up and go to bed?” and his answer was “F___K you, A__ Hole!” That just
stirred them up all the more and brought out unmentionable displays naked
dancing. They just continued drinking, yelling and screaming for many more
hours. That was the only experience that I could complain about during out stay
and Larry after he realized it was naked girls didn’t think it was so bad after
all.
We checked out the other marina and decided we liked Valentines better with the new restaurant and bar and its central location to town. All the yachts use the pilots to come and go from Dunmore. Devil’s Backbone has a reputation for being dangerous and I guess none of the boats want to risk it.. We could tell when someone was getting ready to leave, because the pilot’s would start to arrive and walk the docks.
BY THE WAY… COMING THIS WAY….BRING CASH The Abacos seemed to take credit cards everywhere we went but once we arrived on Harbor Island and Eleuthera, cash was the deal. So, coming this way, bring the cash.
One day when the weather was a little over cast we decided to take one of the little ferries over to Eleuthera and then rent a car. We found out from Woody that we could rent a car from the local gas station there so we called them on the radio and made arrangements for a car to be delivered to the ferry dock at 9:30 the next morning.
WATER TAXIS That morning we called one of the little water taxis by radio to come pick us up. They look like little rat boats. Just a 20 foot fishing skiff type boat with a bimini top that extends all the way to the back with plastic sides. They’ve got fender balls hanging on the outside. The plastic is so old, patched and scratched that you can’t see out and you can’t see in from the dock to see the driver. They’re all banged up and raggedy looking but they go fast with their two engine outboards. The water taxi arrived right on time to pick us up and the three of us hopped aboard. There were just two side benches to sit on and pretty dirty. This is how the Bahamians commute back and forth to work and also how some of the tourists get back and forth to Eleuthera to get to the airport. These little taxis are a bit annoying when we are in our boat at the dock as they create annoying wakes.
It was a short quick trip across the bay as it was very speedy. The Bahamian driver was all business, no chit chat. We watched as Harbor Island disappeared into what looked like little patches of colors behind the foamy white stirred up waters from his wake. Soon we arrived at the concrete dock on the Eleuthera side. It was only a five minute ride. There were several water taxis there already unloading and loading people to transport them back and forth. That’s all they do is race back and forth from Eleuthera to Harbor Island, non stop all day long. The docks were crowded with cars, and Bahamians, and boxes filled with goods. People were waiting to get on the water taxis and some were unloading things and picking up things. We paid the water taxi driver 5 bucks each going over (and 6 bucks coming back, the difference, we have no idea why).
CAR RENTAL FROM THE GAS STATION There were several car taxis waiting to take people to the airport and other destinations. We looked at them and they looked at us and we had no idea who was the car rental guy. After they figured out we didn’t need a taxi but a rental car, they were uninterested in us. Larry said we were a few minutes early so that’s probably why the car rental isn’t here. I said, we are in the Bahamas so don’t think it will be here, better call them on the radio to remind them. Yes, we brought the hand held radio. It’s better than having a cell phone here on the islands. Larry hailed the gas station where ever was because there’s nothing that we can see for miles around us, just scrub brush. After several relays on the radio to different people they finally say they’re coming to get us. It was a good idea to bring the radio or they may never have showed up. So, we waited along the road for about 15 minutes, and got eaten alive by “no see ums”. These were the first bites we’ve had since the West End of Grand Bahamas Island. It’s funny how they are over here and not on Harbor Island. Finally down the hill comes this black guy driving an early nineties sedan of some kind. He picks up us and drives us a few miles down a lonely road to a gas station in the middle of no where. He does a little chit chat with us and tells us a little about the island and things we can see and how to get there. He’s a nice old guy. When we get to the fairly new and modern looking gas station, Larry goes in as I wait outside with Ziggy and other blacks sitting on the stoop with piles of branched bananas, and other produce and bulk items. I feel like I’m some where in the Mohave Desert at a gas station for some reason. No cars going by, it’s dry and hot, and just scrub brush as far as the eye can see. Larry comes out and we’re ready to go. No credit cards taken here. All cash. It was going to be $70 for the car rental and $100 deposit. We were told that if we are going to get back after 6:00 PM we’d have to call them to let them know so they’d make sure someone would be available to drive us back down to the water taxi dock. They close at 9:00 PM. When Larry told them we didn’t have a cell phone and might be out of range for the radio she said no problem, just stop anywhere and the people will let you use their phone. So, no problem, we’re on our way and the old black guy said you can’t get lost on the island because he said “there’s only one road, but make sure you take the first three lefts, and then at the dead end go right”. With that in mind we headed out. Not very pretty scenery as I mentioned, just flat scrub brush. We soon traveled through a couple villages, little Bahamian villages. We made our three lefts and one right and hoped we were going the right way. Soon we knew we were on the right track as we saw a faded out hand painted sign that said “Glass Wall” with an arrow.
GLASS WALL Its an amazing sight. It a small bridge, which is the only thing dividing the Atlantic from Exuma Sound. You might think that doesn’t sound like much but the visual difference between the two is breathtaking in that the Atlantic is deep and dark and restless and just a few patches of earth away, is the light turquoise flat calm of the Exuma Sound. We got out of the car and walked across the little bridge to actually stand above the divide. It’s a wonder of nature that’s for sure and we were the only ones there at that moment to see it. That’s the most surprising thing about the Bahamas, there is so much here that is just breathtaking and instead of trying to fight crowds of tourists, behind guard rails, and paying money for tickets, and under the watchful eye of some well meaning forest ranger that is there to keep you from getting too close to danger…you can, here, amazingly enjoy these wonders by yourself and get as close as you want. You are on your own to protect your own safety, in other words you use you own common sense. The beauty was beyond description, it was amazingly surreal.
ON A MISSION IN GREGORY TOWN We were on a couple missions today. One of them was too look up Dr. Groth’s brother-in-law who owns a small bed and breakfast in Gregory Town called Surfer’s Haven. He’s our family doctor from California and at our last physical, once hearing we were headed this way, he wrote down “Surfer’s Haven, Gregory Town, Eleuthera” on a prescription form, handed it to us and said “if you get down that way drop by and say hi”. Well, when we got to the village of Gregory Town we began our search. Gregory Town is just a little village that’s developed off a little cut in the land off Exuma Sound. It has several cottages and buildings, some very old, and others more recent, but all a little worn. The town is on the outskirts of a large but now defunct plantation which was probably the town’s earlier reason for being. Now it does some pineapple farming, and is said to produce some good pineapple liquor which we couldn’t find, and survives off a small bit of income coming in from surfer tourism. There are said to be some incredible surfing areas here drawing surfers from as far as Australia to come test their skills and nerves. The large plantation now is mostly just open land outside of town with several large empty concrete silos that scatter across the landscape looking quite ghostlike echoing times long past. They are now all that’s left of any landmarks in this stretch of scrub brush waste land. Its hard to imagine growing anything in this dry rocky turf. We drove the few streets of this little village that is propped up on one of the only hills overlooking the beautiful Exuma Sound. We did not see any sign that said “Surfer’s Haven”. We finally stopped at a small gas station that looked like something from the 40’s, dusty and warn and old antique gas pumps. We asked the attendant, who was propped on a chair that was balancing on it’s hind legs precariously against the gas station wall, if he knew where Surfer’s Haven was. He did, and gave Larry a long dissertation of directions but basically it was short cropped to this: “Grrh utter tun (go out of town), lung weys (long ways), wen ya seer der (when you see the ) Apple Café (or something that sounded like that), grrh pest (go past), dun tek dat rud (don’t take the road), bet tek da net un (but take the next one), cuz dat rud es bed (because that one is bad), tek da next un en (take the next one and) grr alda wey ta bech (go all the way to the beach) en dats wer tiz (and that’s where it is)”.
Well, sure enough we found the dirt roads he spoke of, but I think we took the wrong one anyway. We took the one that had the sign and the arrow, all hand painted, and on a weathered piece of old wood, that pointed down the first dirt road towards the beach. Somehow it didn’t seem to make sense not to. Why would we even think to take a different road beyond where the sign says to go? Sure enough the road was really bad, but we slowly made our way about a mile or more, hoping none of the sharp rocks would puncture the tires of this old heap of a car, until we reached a few houses out in the scrub brush.
Sorry Dr. Groth, we tried. It was a fun adventure anyway. We never did see the amazing surf, in case you are wondering. It was a long stretch down to the water through paths cut through scrub brush and we were on a second mission to see the rest of Eleuthera.
THE CAVES We had heard from the car rental guy that there were some caves we could explore nearby. He said they went 6 miles deep into the earth. I read about them in the book. Supposedly there is a chain or rope that you can hold on to and follow into the cave. It will lead way into the cave to an area that opens up into a large cavern with stalagmites, and bats, and all the neat stuff that cave explorers like. We had no flash lights and the thought of going into a cave with nothing but a string or rope to hang on to to keep from getting lost was not on our list of fun things to do. What was interesting about the cave was, that again, you are on your own to explore, no entrance tickets, or guard rails, or even rangers to watch, you were all on your own. These caves were supposedly used by pirates that pillaged the Spaniard’s gold. All that gold they took out of the New World and some of it made it’s way as far north as this. There was a settlement of Spaniards in nearby Spanish Wells that we will visit when we leave Dunmore. The pirates would hide their booty in the cave and supposedly there’s still a large tree that they planted in front of the entrance to hide the opening from anyone passing by. We passed the little small weathered sign along the highway that merely said “Cave” and pointed to a little overgrown dirt road.
HATCHETT BAY As we traveled further south we passed a nice protected cove where a few sailboats had found protection and anchored. It looked like a good weather protected stop for boaters. There’s a nearby Bahamian village. If you are looking for restaurants and stores, this isn’t the place, but the anchorage is nice and sheltered and gives you a peek at another slice of life on the island.
BEACH FILLED WITH SHELLS As we neared Governor’s Harbor, we drove a long narrow strip of the island with the Atlantic just barely out of reach and view off to our left and a long nice shore of Exuma Sound on our right, just a few feet from the road. We decided to stop and walk the beach and stretch our legs. I was so excited when I saw the beach was filled with the most amazing shells. There were loads of them. I could have spent a week there just sorting shells. I managed to gather up a few for mementos even though Larry grumbled about having to carry them.
GOVERNOR’S HARBOR Ahh, Governor’s Harbor is a beautiful place. It’s just barely getting geared up for the darn tourists but it’s still not too late to see it as how it must have been for hundreds of years. There is a stretch of land that juts out from Governor’s Harbor into Exuma Sound. It tries to make a protected harbor but leaves too much open to the Sound to encourage many yachts to this pleasant place. The exposure surely keeps out a lot of the yachties during those northerlies. There are three of the most lovely churches I’ve ever seen. What makes them special is their simple beauty combined with their impressive surroundings surrounded by palms bending in the ocean breezes coming off the nearby aqua waters and the charm of the backdrop of the nearby little historical village. It’s truly magnificent. There on the little stretch of land that projects into the Exuma are the remnants of the old village, some buildings sadly being lost to the ravages of time but still the shattered ruins and layers of colors peeling away on the concrete remains are lovely. There’s a wonderful three story pink building, that is the old library right near the churches and on the cross roads to the point. It has a special majesty about it. I love this place.
SECOND MISSION TO FIND TIPPY’S We were sent on a second mission today and that was to find Tippy’s for lunch. Gabrielle Kenedy from the Blue Rooster, on Harbor Island, said we have to go have lunch there. She has about the classiest boutique in Harbor Island so I knew Tippy’s would be the place to go. What she didn’t tell me was that it was way out of town. Larry grew impatient as we kept driving and driving past Governor’s Harbor. He was convinced that we passed it miles ago. I was insistent and thought to myself he should’ve had some cereal before he left. He always gets grouchy when hungry. Finally after we found a little store I suggested that we go in and ask directions. The store keeper said we just passed it. So we turned around and back tracked about a ¼ mile and there it was. You could see it coming from the south to north direction, but coming north to south, it was hidden by a turn in the road and a thick cluster of palm trees.
Tippy’s is nothing more than a little beach shack with a big wooden deck. The big draw though which we immediately realized was the view. Tippy’s is set on the most beautiful cove we had ever seen. The natural curvature of the shore made a protected area that captured the multi colored aqua waters like one big gigantic pool. It was so tempting to just tear off your clothes and dive into the beautiful waters but due to starvation and other people around we opted to find a nice table on the deck and order up some really delicious pizza and even more delicious coconut shrimp resting on a luscious Caesar salad. It was great! After lunch, as Larry lingered at the table, Zig and I went exploring on the beach. It was again one more fabulous pink sand beach with lots of interesting little shells. That water and beach were dreamlike. What a place. Well, today was just a taste of Eleuthera. We only drove the middle of it. We’re hoping we have time to take the boat down to the southern tip of Eleuthera in a few weeks and rent another car to explore the lower half of the island where the Royal Family used to vacation, including Princess Diana. It must be equally beautiful. After lunch we were pretty beat and headed straight back. We thought if we had time we’d try to get over to a place called Current Cut. It’s a small cut in a narrow portion of Eleuthera on the Northern end that juts out into the ocean. The cut is about 100 yards wide and some boats take a short cut through it. It has quite a current, at times up to 10 knots and is said to be one of the most exciting scuba diving experiences in the world. Divers come from all over to dive that cut and ride it through with the current. Unfortunately by the time we got north and closer to the gas station it was nearing 5:00. A few other side trips off some sandy dirt roads to see some cliffs and a little resort up at the tail end of where Harbor Island and Eleuthera are separated delayed our travels. We were bushed and ready to get back to the boat.
We found the gas station, got our $100 deposit back, filled the tank with gas at $4.35 per gallon and wondering about the rumors that the gas is going up to $7.00 per gallon at the end of the week if negotiations with the higher powers failed. The same old black man drove us down to the wharf where the water taxis’ were and we hopped on the first one. Somehow we managed to get eaten
alive again by those darn “no see ums” and this time they were on the water
taxi, as I could see one crawling up Larry’s leg. We were trapped though and
just so happened we picked out the slowest taxi on the island, as the others
whipped by us at full speed, while we merely crawled along at a snails pace.
One of his outboard motors was dead and the other sputtered along while the bugs
had plenty of time to feast on our legs. This guy charged us a buck more per
person too than the other taxi for the same trip just going backwards and
slower. I guess it was to help repair his engine.
OH, TO HAVE DONE MORE IN DUNMORE Well, we thoroughly enjoyed the little town of Dunmore and wished that we could’ve done more but it again was time to move on. You always have to leave something to see so you have a reason to come back. We will be heading to Spanish Wells in the morning and Woody would be by in the morning to take us over. It’s his home town so I’m sure he’ll have lots to tell us about it. We hate to leave and know we will be back here again.
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There was a sign “Surfer’s
Haven”, with a surfer painted on it surfing a curl. We heard some big dogs
barking so I stayed in the car with Zig as Larry walked up to the house to see
if we could find, Dr. Groth’s brother in law. Some guy answered the door but
didn’t know anything or so he said. He was just there renting the place he
said. He said he maybe heard something about somebody having some relatives in
Californ-I-AYE. Deciding to give up on the mission, we asked him about the road
going back and sure enough we did take the wrong road. He
directed us along a beach frontage road now and directions to go back on a
better road. The better road was not much better. This little side excursion
was interesting though as it showed us a whole world beyond the scrub brush from
the one main highway. There was a net work of bad dirt pot holed roads but they
lead to little cottages sprinkled sporadically in the brush. As we headed out
for the main road we passed another bed and breakfast called “Surfer’s Manor”.
We stopped there thinking maybe this was the place, but the guy
there wanted to have nothing to do with us and said he doesn’t know anybody or
anything. So we decided to get back on the road and head south to Governor’s
Harbor. 
