Eleuthera Adventure

I have been to a lot of beautiful places over the years and have enjoyed the scenery, fishing and the local hospitality but my latest adventure was, without question, the best.

Several months ago while at a small get together some close friends of ours mentioned that they wanted to return to the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas. I listened with curiosity while Angie and Alan explained the area and what it had to offer in the way of fishing. They also mentioned that it had some of the most remote and beautiful beaches they had ever visited.

I few weeks later, at another party, they brought photographs of Eleuthera with them and ran a slide show. One word came to mind while I watched... Paradise. My wife JoNell and I made the decision right then and there that we weren’t going to miss out on this trip. Neither one of us had had a real non-working vacation in over 11 years and now was the time.

Plans were eventually made to include my brother, his sons and my mother on the trip but a series of events nixed that and the traveling party turned out to be just the four of us. Angie and Alan did their best to prepare us with the proper traveling paraphernalia. They advised us on fly fishing gear, flies, lines and leaders as well as all the other extras to be packed for the trip. We even invested in a small hand held GPS to help us find our way around the island. It looked like we were going on safari instead of an island vacation.

My first look at Eleuthera was out of the chartered Beech 1900 airplane window at about 3000 feet above the island. What a view. A combination of pastel blue and green greeted my eyes along with strips of pink sand beaches. The remoteness of the scene below was breathtaking.

Eleuthera is located on the most eastern edge of the Bahama Islands. It is over 100 miles long and in most places, only a few miles wide. There is one main road that runs the entire length of the island called Queen’s Highway. Off the highway there are hundreds of small roads (more like rutted paths) that lead to some of the most remote and beautiful beaches you will ever have the pleasure of leaving a footprint on.

After arriving at the airport and checking through Customs we loaded our bags in our rental jeep. The paperwork for the vehicle was simply a signature. No check of a drivers license, insurance, first born son or credit history. You signed a slip of paper that told you the daily rate and drove off. No worries mon!

A short time later we checked into the Duck Inn at Governor’s Harbour. The small town is located almost in the center of Eleuthera and has some of the oldest architecture on the island. The Duck Inn is owned by John and Kay Duckworth and is a private compound with four buildings connected by winding walkways bordered by orchid and fruit gardens. It’s a paradise within paradise.

During our first couple of days Angie and Alan acted as our tour guides and then turned us lose to explore. We soon learned why Eleuthera is sometimes referred to as the “Adventurer’s Island”. JoNell almost drowned at the Friday night Fish Fry. It’s a long story. We almost drowned our rental jeep. It’s a longer story. We almost drowned our rental jeep again! It’s another long story. Let me put it this way. If you want to have the most fun and find the most beautiful beaches and the best fishing, you have to work for it. There are very few signs to point the way.

There are scenes on Eleuthera I will never forget. My first look at Ten Bay. Savannah Sound at low tide with elusive bonefish everywhere. The coral reefs and the beach at Lighthouse Point. The Queen’s Baths. The caves at Twin Beach and the spectacular view at the top of the cliffs. I could go on and on.

One thing is clear. JoNell and I are already planning our next trip to Eleuthera. We learned a lot the first time around and we want to continue exploring the island. There are many more photos to be taken, fish to be caught and beaches to walk.