I managed to sleep until 4:30am and headed to the kitchen to clean up Mike's cooking bonanza from the night before. Today was the day we were adding a person to our little group - Mike's sister's friend LB, was joining us and we had to pick her up at the N. Eleuthera airport at 1pm. We were excited that we were able to spend the day having adventures in the north tip of the island! Breakfast today was eggs, bacon and some delicious watermelon from Shad who had dropped an entire one off to us! We again packed up the car and were off to Current Cut! I had read all about the cut of water between the Eleuthera mainland and Current Island, that the current whipped through the deep trench and tons of marine animals hitched a ride. It was one of the best snorkeling spots on the island so even though I had read it was suggested you hire a guide, I thought it was something we could handle. Umm, so...it absolutely is not something we would be able to handle! The wind and water were going at such a strong pace Im not sure I would be able to get back to shore after the snorkel was over! The color of the water was unbelievable so I am so glad we spent some time there! From there we drove around looking for a restaurant I SWORE I read about in the area but we just couldnt find it. We ended up driving up and around the Whale Point area, which was pretty interesting. There is a giant mansion that you can see from Queens Highway near the Glass Window Bridge and we came up on it from Whale Point. We pulled over because it seemed so deserted and we really wanted to see the ocean there. We labored to walk on the limestone in flipflops and I couldn't help but to feel like we were trespassing on private property. BUT - it was totally worth it! The view from the cliffs was breathtaking!! It was getting to the time we were supposed to pick up LB from the airport. I took out my handy little notebook to check the exact plane arrival time and realized I totally remembered incorrectly and flight wasnt due to land for 4 more hours!!!!!!!!!! Oh boy. Mike was kind of annoyed with me! To save grace and get some food, we headed 30 minutes south to the Stubbs' BBQ and arrived just in time to order the last of the delicious ribs! We took our food to nearby Hidden Beach on the Atlantic coast and made a picnic table out of some rocks! After stuffing our faces we went for a snorkel. It wasnt the easiest to get in the water as the coral was everywhere but I figured it out. In the little bay I saw a turtle, peacock flounder and the usual fish. We were hoping we would see a shark as a the local who Mike talked to on the beach said a nurse shark hangs out here sometimes, but we didnt see her. I had a little panic attack getting out as I realized the water was pretty shallow and was covered with fire coral but as usual, somehow I found a clear path. We didnt stay here too long as it was mid-day and VERY HOT plus there was a small family with a dog, and it seemed unnecessary to share any beach on Eleuthera! We set off to find Gaulding Cay Beach. Based on our past beach searches, I assumed it would be a treacherous drive over bumpy pitted roads and I would incorrectly navigate us so it would take twice as long as it needed to get there. We made the turn where Gaulding Cay was across from Daddy Joe's and it turned to the left and past a house. Not too far in the distance I was surprised to see the ocean, and before I knew it, we pulled up to a little grassy area and a private house, with a beach to the right. It was so easy to get there! We walked up to the beach and I think my mouth was agape in delight! This was a picture perfect postcard beach!!!!!! It took us about 3 seconds to get in the water, although it was so shallow we had to sit down to get fully wet. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh...what an amazing beach!!! It was perfect in every way - there was a picnic table with shade, the water was warm and inviting and SOOOO clear! We were there for about an hour when it was time to leave to go back to the airport to pick up LB. We decided even though she was probably a little exhausted from a day of flying, we would come back here and baptize her with the waters of Gaulding Cay! Oh yeah, did I mention I have only met her once before?? We picked her up at the "airport", which is basically a driveway for a runway and a shack for the "terminal". Across the street is a liquor store/bar where I sat waiting, and struck up a conversation with a man traveling from Nassau waiting for his son to pick him up. He told me about how unsafe it was in Nassau, overcrowded, lots of unemployment but he had to go there to get a job. He looks forward to the times he can come back to Eleuthera and see his family. Very nice man to chat with. As we promised, we took LB back to Gaulding Cay after collecting her from the airport and a quick stop at the Glass Window Bridge. This time in the water we came across a kayak paddling toward us from further down on the beach with a man and his son. They had literally JUST arrived for their week vacation and were getting a lay of the land (and the sea). We thought how magical it was to be able to rent a house on this beach!!! We bobbed around in the water for about 30 minutes and then took off for home. We grilled some dinner and decided to take a little trip to Tippy's since it was Saturday night. We had a few rum punches and enjoyed the live music while sitting outside. A conversation was struck up with a very nice German couple we had seen the day before snorkeling on the beach at Tippy's and we made tentative plans to meetup somewhere in the following days.
The full moon graced us with its presence and we passed out in bed after a very long but exciting day!
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August 2015
Mike & SarahWe love to travel, cook, eat, own a home and make stuff. |