Eleuthera Island.
Beautiful Bahamas.

 

Today we set anchor
just offshore from the Island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas and rode a tender
ship to the shore. The resort we landed
in is called Princess Cays but we had a trip booked which allowed us to experience
more of this gorgeous island than just the beach resort. A small coach took us UP south (yes UP south)
about 30 miles and we were so glad that we had decided to book the trip.

 

The Island itself is
only 110 miles long and TWO miles wide at its widest point. At its narrowest point, the island is just 30
feet wide. It was very hot today with a
nice warm breeze making it just about bearable! 
We saw several villages and stopped to see the government building and
some churches too. I was able to paddle
in the sea as I looked for shells to bring home. The water was lovely…crystal clear and
warm.

 

The highlight of the
day was trying some of the traditional food eaten on the island. We both drew the line at raw conch salad, but
enjoyed the chicken very much. They also
made some interesting cocktails for us to taste.

 

The people of the
island were much like those we met in Aruba last year, really friendly and
smiling and not at all pushy with regards to selling souvenirs. I got John a present from here! (Dad John). Because this cruise is essentially two
cruises merged into one, we are actually coming back to the island in just over
a week. We won't have a trip planned on
this day and will be able to relax in the sea and experience more of the beach
resort side of life.

 

David had a great
plan for our trip to the island today….leave his wallet on the ship so Karen
pays for everything! He felt bad about
it lol.

 

Little little of
course came ashore too and really enjoyed being a Bahama bear. It is quite surreal seeing all the Christmas
decorations up on a Caribbean Island with the sun blazing down…Church is a big
deal on the Island and on a Sunday all the children have to attend three times
a day….including Sunday school.

 

We learned some
interesting phrases….although they speak mostly English on the Island, they do
have their own dialect too. For
example….

 

How are you? Would be met with the reply:-

 

"Right here
between Oh Lord and Thank God!"

 

When someone is
confused then they would be described as :-

 

"more mix up
than a conch salad!"

 

And if you make
someone angry then you may hear them exclaim:-

 

"Don't yuck up
my vexation!!" 

 

We had a really nice
time on the island and are both looking forward to coming back. For now, we are setting sail again toward our
next stop of Curacao. Tomorrow is a day
at sea and we will enjoy just chilling out. 
I have a few photos to upload of Eleuthera Island but don't know if my
internet on the ship will allow it…..hopefully!!

 

Oh and David hurt
his toe slipping on the ship's deck after we got back on board….it was
bleeding. Ew. He seems ok now. Tonight we are going to be hitting some
strong winds apparently…should sort out the men from the boys. :-)