THE HARTFORD COURANT
"REST
ASSURED"
November 21, 2004
The tiny, undeveloped island of Eleuthera offers an alternative to those who
prefer to avoid casinos, nightclubs and crowds. If you're looking for five-star
hotels, pampering, entertainment and fine dining, look elsewhere. But if having
the beach to yourself and unspoiled views of the ocean in countless shades
of blue and turquoise sound appealing, Eleuthera is the place for you.
My husband and I enjoyed a second honeymoon here for our anniversary a few
years ago and recently went back with our three kids, who loved it as much
as we did. This was before the hurricanes, but Eleuthera was south of the
main brunt of both Frances and Jeanne.
The island's water is so clear you can stand chest-deep and see your feet;
the air is so free of pollution that the night sky is black and sprinkled
with millions of stars; the flowers are so bright they inspire people to paint
their houses in a rainbow of pastel colors. The soft pink or white sand, bountiful
shells, warm water and coral reefs right off shore offer a relaxing and interesting
day at the beach. There's nobody trying to braid your hair or sell you trinkets,
and with 220 miles of coastline, it's not hard to have the place to yourself.
We awoke to a chorus of songbirds each morning. Now many of the birds are
gone, but others will return. Our children enjoyed watching the turquoise
and brown lizards, the noisy frogs with suction feet, tropical fish, starfish,
sand dollars, conch and sea crabs.
The vegetation was varied and interesting. Tropical fruits, including pineapples,
oranges, mangoes and papaya, grow on the island. We all liked drinking coconut
juice and eating the coconut fruit from a green coconut knocked from a tree
on the 62-acre private estate where we stayed. And, in Tarpum Bay, an old
roadside banyan tree was so expansive that 50 kids could have climbed on it
simultaneously.
Another interesting experience is passing over the Glass Window Bridge in
Gregory Town in northern Eleuthera. The bridge is manmade, replacing a natural
arch that was washed away in an earlier storm.
In Rock Sound, there's Ocean Hole, which appears to be a pond surrounded by
walls of rock. Called "bottomless," it contains ocean water fed from underground
streams. Bring bread, because feeding the jumping fish is a treat. The fish
are so used to being fed that they're like ducks on a public pond.
There are also ancient caves to explore. Preacher's Cave, in the north of
the island, is where the Eleutheran Adventurers, the pilgrims who fled Bermuda
and England for religious freedom, held religious services.
The tropical fish that feed in the coral reefs just off the beach are fascinating
to watch, and the plentiful shells range in color from mother-of-pearl to
pink, sunset hues to purple.
The real gift Eleuthera offers visitors isn't in any one "must-see" site.
It's the atmosphere. Eleuthera -- "freedom" in Greek -- lives up to its name.
The people are so laid-back and friendly that it's impossible for even the
most Type-A folks not to relax. The roads are narrow -- and the rental cars
are older, less-than-perfect models -- so you can't speed down the highway.
Besides, there is no highway. The main road, which runs north to south, one
lane in each direction, offers many unspoiled, breathtaking views of the ocean.
At Glenelg, the estate where we stayed, a week's rental in SeaView Cottage
is $750, in ValleyView House $880. Elsewhere, weekly home rentals go from
$600 for a one-bedroom to more than $3,100 for a three-bedroom house on the
beach.
Many rentals include linens, beach towels, snorkeling and fishing gear, sand
toys and similar essentials. Ours also included use of the sailboat, complete
with help with the rigging from our hosts. You can also borrow bikes, books,
board games, videos, CDs and toys at no charge. Our son brought watercolors
and paper but forgot the brushes, and our hosts lent us some.
Hotel rooms range from about $80 to upward of $500 a night, depending on ocean
views, meals and luxury quotient. Prince Charles and Princess Diana honeymooned
on Windermere Island off the coast of Eleuthera, so you can find pampering
if you want to.
Some places charge less in the offseason, but definitions of this vary. Cars
can be rented by the week or the day; they're $60 to $70 a day, or about $280
to $350 a week. If you want to explore the 110-mile-long island, you'll need
a car, but if you want to just relax at the place where you're staying, you
may prefer daily rentals for occasional sightseeing, dining out and grocery-store
runs.
We'd recommend renting a house or cottage with a kitchen or staying someplace
that provides meals, because Bahamian food offers little variety. Except for
the really pricey places, most restaurants offer ribs, fried chicken, grouper,
conch, peas and rice and french fries. My conch soup had a mellow kick to
it, but a steady diet of the mostly fatty offerings would get old fast. The
charming people of Eleuthera take their time, so Americans used to quick service
may get antsy.
We shopped at one of the large grocery stores in Rock Sound. Between creative
shopping, buying fresh fish off the pier and using the gas grill at our house,
we ate well. Naturally, food and liquor are more expensive than on the mainland.
There's something amazingly relaxing about being able to let your children
roam and explore without worrying about them. Our three kids, ages 5, 9 and
12, played in the still, shallow waters of the ocean while my husband and
I looked for shells or read. They were the only children in the water, so
they were easy to keep an eye on.
Because we were on a private estate without a soul around, we could let the
older two walk the beach without us. On the Atlantic side, one child could
be lying in the hammock in the shade of the cabana while another was playing
in the sand and a third was splashing around in the water. They were all content,
and I was able to read -- I finished five books in 11 days.
It's not that we ignored our kids -- each child got one-on-one time with each
parent over the course of the week, and we had lots of fun together as a family.
We sailed, looked for sea glass, explored the island and spied shooting stars
at night.
And we really played. There's something liberating about being able to be
as loud as you like without worrying about disturbing others. We could laugh,
splash and be goofy without a care. Our 12-year-old son, in particular, seemed
as sunny and carefree as he was at 5 -- no need to worry about being cool
when there's no one around but your family. With everyone so relaxed, the
sibling fighting and rivalry was minimal.
There were even magical moments when everyone was quiet while we laid on our
backs outside and looked up at the inky sky filled with stars. "They look
like diamonds," our 9-year-old daughter whispered.
And because we had no schedule, we made a point of watching the sun set over
the Caribbean. Once, we lost track of time and ended up staying at the beach
to watch the sunset. Another time, our hosts invited us to a sunset barbecue
at the beach. Somehow, the peach-colored, glowing skies never got old.
The sunrises over the Atlantic held their own magic, as did all of Glenelg.
When you awake to a chorus of birds, spend your day drinking in soothing blues,
and fall asleep to the sound of crashing waves, it's pretty easy to escape
civilization.
The Hartford Courant is a Tribune Co. newspaper.