Mélange Travel & Lifestyle Magazine January 2020 | Page 24

North West Bahamas
while most other items are
imported and very expensive.
A low quality half gallon of
orange juice was a prohibitive
$8.00 but in the rum shop next
door we found good local rum
for $3.00.
Ten Bay Beach is a gorgeous
stretch of white sand ringed by
Casuarina trees and pines. The
water is gin clear and shallow
out for over a hundred yards so
you can stroll in knee to waist
deep water far from shore and
splash with the friendly island
dogs that frequent the area.
Our “villa” sat on a small cliff’s
edge with steps down to a little
thatched palapa
where we could
step into the
water and have
near complete
privacy in our
own cove.
For $650
we had two
bedrooms and
two bathrooms,
a full kitchen
and dining area,
a comfortable
living area and
French doors
opening to a
concrete deck
North West Bahamas
which ran the length of the
house and had a stunning
vista of the Caribbean. Below
the house was a cistern where
rainwater collected for our use.
We rented a rubber dinghy
with an outboard motor for
the week so that we could
zoom around to other beaches
and drop anchor for a snorkel
wherever we liked.
From our palapa we watched
barracuda and bonefish, small
sharks and colorful parrotfish
go by. We took a picnic lunch
and beach blankets to Ten Bay
Beach and set up for the day in
the welcome shade of the pines
and luxuriated in reading books
and finding sand dollars in the
shallows.
Some days we drove to the
little settlements along the
coast: Tarpon Bay, Palmetto
Point or Rock Sound to try
out the various luncheonettes
for cracked Conch served
with coleslaw and homemade
breads by gregarious Bahamian
women. We visited tiny
bakeries housed in the front
rooms of private homes to buy
fresh loaves and sweet breads
and stopped into the cool
shade of little galley like rum
shops for frosty Kaliks or rum
punches. Everyone we
met was welcoming
and kind.
Our week in Eleuthera
ended with a flight to
Abaco aboard a little
prop plane with five
seats. The Captain
arranged us by weight
to keep us aloft and
I had the honor of
sitting in the co-pilot’s
seat where I watched
the pilot lazily glide us
away from the mermaid
shaped island and back
to civilization.
Harbour Island
The “Nantucket of the Caribbean,” as it is often called, Harbour Island, with its pink sand,
New-England architecture, sailing and boating lifestyle - well, it does paint a pretty picture!
A mere 10 minute water taxi ride away from its neighbour, Eleuthera, Harbour Island is a
splendid location for fun! Snorkeling, diving, horseback riding, sailing - days of fun spent on
this colourful island, where everything, even the landscape, seems to be skillfully and carefully
designed. Couples will certainly love it here as it is the picture-perfect place for a dreamy
wedding, blissful honeymoon or just a romantic getaway.