Our friend Brad picked us up at the dock in Hatchet Harbour and took us on a grand tour of Eleuthera. We went north through Gregory Town to the Glass Window Bridge. This was a natural bridge to the northern part of Eleuthera but a huge storm took it out in the 90s. The storms exert an enormous pressure and have shifted the man-built bridge more than a foot from its original construction points. When the tide comes in the flow of water pours through the square “window” under the bridge. In big storms it washes in big waves right over the road and the bridge.
We walked the beach off of Preachers Cave where in 1648 two
ships were wrecked on a reef now known as the Devil’s Backbone. It was a religious group from Bermuda seeking religious freedom. All but one survived along with some of the ships’ stores and cargo. Just off the beach the group discovered a huge cave where they
established a settlement where they lived for some years. After languishing for some time the more industrious of this group set off to establish a more permanent settlement that is today Spanish Wells.
We next saw the two ferry points, one for Dunmore Town on Harbour Island which is right next to a small airport with many high end private jets — Dunmore Town is a very high end place these days. At the other ferry dock to Spanish Wells we saw the Amish family that runs a single car ferry to
Spanish Wells. The young mother has been kept busy producing and maintains quite a brood. Most do not take their cars over and some enterprising soul has built a parking lot and garages for those who leave their vehicles on the “main land”.
In Govenors Harbour, we had a lunch we ordered from Pammy’s and ate in the
church yard of St Patrick’s Anglican Church looking out over the anchorage of Laughing Bird Cay.
After lunch we went to the abandoned US Naval Station built in 1950 to track
Soviet submarines and other communications work. It was abandoned in 1980 with most of the equipment left to rust when the US could not renegotiate a favourable contract with the Bahamian gov’t. There is a beautiful beach there that is mostly known only to locals. One result of the base was a major 2 mile long runway that is still in use today. Tarja will fly in here tomorrow from Toronto/Nassau.
One often sees abandoned houses which are spirit houses. When the owner dies that house is left for the spirit and the others build a new home.
Dinner was at the Rainbow Restaurant dry near Brad’s house. It was pizza night baked on an outdoor oven. The restaurant is owned by a couple and their son from Ottawa.