One of our absolute favorite beaches on Eleuthera has always been Whiteland Beach.    We made a short visit to Whiteland at the beginning our trip but it was so windy we could not enjoy it, so we moved on in search of a calmer beach.   We knew we wanted to get back there again before we left and had been waiting patiently for the weather to cooperate.  Whiteland is not sheltered from the wind so you it is best on a dead calm day.  The cold front still had not passed us by so it was still quite cool out, mid 70's, but there was little to no breeze on the Atlantic side so we decided this would be our day to try Whiteland again.   We lounged around the house a little than longer than usual relaxing and enjoying the view while waiting for the weather to warm up a little.  I think we had fully embraced the Eleuthera feeling by this point in our vacation and were really taking things slow.  
    We finally motivated and made it to Whiteland around lunch time.  It was just as beautiful as ever, the wind was calm and the sun was shining, despite a few clouds.   It would have been a perfect day for snorkeling and frolicking in the water, except for the air and water temperature were just so darn cold (by tropical standards).  S and I decided it would be a book day for us as we were not too enthusiastic about getting back in that cold water.    J and D decided maybe if we went for a beach walk we would all warm up enough to get in the water by the time we got back.  The four of us really enjoy our beach walks so we can typically make the best of the cool or windy days as long as the weather is good enough for a long walk on the beach.   
   

    We decided to head to the northern end of the Whiteland were there was a tidal creek system where we had caught a few fish in the past.  It was a beautiful walk!  S and I looked for shells while J and D tried kept their eyes out for bonefish and barracuda.  When we finally got to the end we were sorely disappointed to find that the creek system was no longer there.  It looks as if the last hurricane deposited so much sand at the creek entrance it could no longer flow freely between the ocean and the creek system.  You could see a chain of dead mangroves where the creek had dried up.  This discovery took Whiteland down a notch on our list of favorite beaches.  One of the main things we loved so much about it is it had something for everyone.  Fishing for the guys, a fabulous beach for for walking and lounging, and places to go snorkeling.   Although the snorkeling is not great, there are a few decent spots and it made up for it with the fishing and the spectacularly beautiful beach.  I guess it is just a spectacular beautiful beach with decent snorkeling now, oh well you cant have it all.

   
    After our walk we made some lunch and re-evaluated the possibility of heading into the water to do some snorkeling.  It was a no on all four counts, it was just too darn cold.  After lunch D, S and I sat around, read and listened to the surf while J headed on another beach walk in the opposite direction just to make sure there were not any fish out there he might have missed.  He came back empty handed and we discussed our plans for the rest of the afternoon.   We decided it would be a good night to splurge on dinner out.  We unanimously chose The Beach House.  J and I had our rehearsal dinner there not long after they first opened and they did an amazing job.  We all loved the food and atmosphere so much we make a point of going there at least once every trip.   We decided to head back to Caribbean Blue, clean up and relax a bit then head to the beach house around 6ish.  We had not needed reservations in the past but since they are only open for dinner two nights a week now, we figured we better call and double check.  We called around 4pm hoping for a reservation around 6 or 7pm, but all they had left was 9pm.  We inquired if they left openings for walk in's and they said maybe you will just have to come and wait and see if they can find room for us.  Oops I guess we should have planned better, it is so hard for us to commit to anything on vacation.   We never know when we will feel like going out dinner so reservations tend to be one of the last things on our minds.  We decided we better go a little early just to make sure we got a table.  We arrived a little after 5pm and sat at the bar.  The waitress said if we wanted to eat at the bar we could, but they would stop serving at 5:30 so we needed to order right away.  We were not hungry yet but we figured we better take the opportunity while we could.   It turned out the waitress was wrong and they don't serve food at the bar at all.    That was OK with us since we were not that hungry yet anyway.  We told her we were perfectly happy waiting and taking in the view from the bar until a table came available.   

   
    S and I had a few generously poured glasses of red wine while J and D sampled the limited Bahamian beer variety still debating in which was better Sands or Kalik.  The Rum Runners were playing and we thoroughly enjoyed the music and the atmosphere while we waited.  They eventually managed to find us a table around 7pm.  That worked out perfect for us since that was when we wanted to eat anyway.  We were in no hurry so the wait did not bother us and we were very grateful that they even managed to squeeze us in at all.  I think the only reason they did have room is that the Fish Fry was being held that same night (Thursday) instead of Friday since it was Good Friday.   We definitely now know that you HAVE to make a dinner reservation ahead of time (not a few hours) if you want to eat dinner at The Beach House.  We ordered our favorite, the jumbo shrimp stuffed with goat cheese and wrapped in prosciutto along with some Conch fritters, calamari, grouper fingers and some salads.  W definitely got our fried seafood fill but it was all delicious!!!  
    After a great night and a great meal we headed back to our vehicle and found a little surprise.   When J opened the door there were two giant cockroaches (Palmetto bugs) on the front seat.  He tried to scoop them out but they dashed in the car somewhere.  It was dark and we could not find them again to try and get them out so we did our best to pretend they were not in the car on the way home.  We were very grateful that Caribbean Blue is so close to The Beach House.   We left the car windows open so they could escape and then denied the whole experience happened every time we got back in the car.  Thankfully we never saw them again!!

Well after a full day of R&R at Caribbean Blue we were ready to hit to the road and find another great new beach to explore.  We were starting to run out of unexplored territory so we got out "The Book" and picked a beach we had not been to yet.  Nope I am not going to tell which one, that would spoil all the fun, you will just have to try them all yourselves.  The book mileage and our vehicle mileage definitely did not match up but we still found it with minimal trouble.  

We figured since this beach was in The Elusive Beaches of Eleuthera it would be a busy place.  Lucky for us that was not the case, it was just another fabulous deserted beach.   I think part of our luck with deserted beaches, besides the fact that Eleuthera is known for them, is that we arrive early.  We are usually on the beach by 10am at the latest, before most of the other beach goers have left their homes.  We are early risers and like to have a full day on the beach and still make it home in time for cocktail hour. 

We did not know what to expect when we got there but we were very pleasantly surprised.  You could tell the water was shallower here then many of the Atlantic Beaches, around 15-20ft deep all the way to the outer reef.  The shallower water made for a spectacular view from the top of the dune where we parked.  The water was that spectacular bright Caribbean blue that is so hard to believe is real in photographs till you actually experience it for yourself.

We did our usual routine of finding a shady spot then unloading all the stuff, cooler, chairs, kayak, snorkel gear, etc.  After we set up our camp for the day and applied a thorough layer of sunblock we hit the water.   The temperature was still cooler than normal so we stuck by the closer reefs knowing we would get cold and have to go in before too long.   Luckily the water was clear and this area had some really great reefs close to shore.  We saw so many fish, parrotfish, grouper, schoolmaster and mangrove snapper plus tons of fun colorful little wrasse's.  There were some great coral formations too, so many different types of corals and sea fans.  There was not a huge area to explore close to shore as there was only one really good coral-head that close in but it was a fantastic one.  S and I stuck it out for much longer than we had anticipated, despite the cooler water but as usual the boys stayed it a good hour after we had gone in.  Once we got out of the water we were absolutely freezing, the breeze had kicked up and the clouds rolled in.  I was curled up with a sweater on and a towel covering my legs and still shivering.  When D finally came out of the water the sun was starting to peek out but he was still shivering so bad he was chattering his teeth.   It took us all at least 15 minutes of chasing pockets of sun to finally start to warm up. 

We figured eating lunch would help us warm up so we made the usual sandwiches and polished off the rest of the leftover ceviche for lunch.  After lunch the wind died down and they sky cleared up so we all decided to go for a beach walk to get ourselves nice and warmed up before hitting the water again.  J and I headed North and D & S headed south.  I filled my pockets with sea glass and sea shells as we walked.  Eventually we hit a rocky are that was impassable with bare feet and had to turn around.  On the way back I spotted a small school of bonefish.  J rigged up his rod and after a couple of casts had a bonefish on the line.  As he was reeling it in the others kept following it, almost all the way up to shore.  These bonefish obviously have not seen too many fishermen.  It was the first and only bonefish of the trip, but it was a beautiful fish nonetheless. 

After our walk we decided to it had warmed up enough to get back in the water and check out some of the farther out reefs.  The water never got much deeper as we headed farther out and the shallower water made for really great snorkeling.  The water was crystal clear and the sky had completely cleared up so the visibility was amazing.  We snorkeled around for hours exploring a multitude of scattered reefs.  The outer reefs were also full of fish and the boys were wuite successful in their afternoon hunt.  They wound up with two grouper, a schoolmaster, a mangrove snapper and two lobsters.  Not bad for a hard days work in paradise.  J finally let me use the go pro so I don't have any pictures to share of our second snorkel of the day, and I still have not had time to edit the videos, but someday I will share them. 

After our long hard day we packed up the car, said goodbye to our new second favorite spot (nothing tops Parrotfish beach) and headed home.  We had worked up quite an appetite so we made up a small batch of fish tacos, along with grilled lobster and yellow rice.   We enjoyed our wonderful meal on the deck of Caribbean Blue with a glass of red wine while we watched another sunset in paradise.    

We had a such fabulous trip up to this point and we were feeling pretty darn lucky that we were only a third of the way through our vacation while most people would be heading home on Day 7.   We woke up feeling like life could not get any better, but then this day happened.  It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. 

The morning started out pretty typical, we woke up just before sunrise, and sat on the deck sipping coffee & coconut rum.  D's whipped up some tasty bacon and eggs again, and we had some delicious raisin bread toast from Island Farms.  After breakfast we packed up the cooler and tried to decided on a destination for the day.   We were still recovering a little from the day before so we thought we should stay closer to home and show D & S Twin Cove.  We loaded up the kayak and headed on our way.   We arrived at the beach pretty early, but there was one other car already there.  We saw they were just taking a morning beach walk on the other end of the beach so we decided we would not be disturbing them if we stayed.  We hauled all our gear down to the beach and started getting ready to take the Kayak out and go for an early snorkel.  J had seen a huge grouper when we were there a few days before, just after he shot his not quite as huge grouper, so he was on a mission.   Just as the boys were about to get into the water the couple we had seen walking approached us to warn us about a 6' shark they saw off the point.  We talked about it's shape and movements for a little bit and then finally settled on it being a nurse shark.   

At some point during the conversation we looked out and saw two dolphins frolicking in the cove.  I instantly went for my gear and insisted I was going to swim with the dolphins, the shark long since forgotten.  J had that grouper on his mind and couldn't fathom that the dolphins would stick around so he refused to come with me.  After a just few minutes of pulling out the whiny wife card he realized they were still there so maybe we would be able to swim with them after all.   The four of us grabbed our gear and headed toward them.  J was the first in the water and the dolphin swam right up to him.  We were all amazed that they were so friendly and quickly followed suit. 

We swam out toward the center of the cove and the dolphins spent about 2 hours frolicking around us, taking turns swimming up to us and showing their belly's or weaving around us, and even over and under us.   We just treaded water, letting them play all around us until we were so exhausted we had to finally come in.   It is indescribable what an amazing experience this was and how at peace we felt with the world that day. 

I did my best to make a little video.  This was my first attempt at editing any of our GoPro footage so please forgive any flaws you may notice.  

This was D & S’s first full day back in 2 years and Eleuthera welcomed them "home" with open arms.  D was the first to wake, and as soon as he stepped out on the deck to enjoy his first cup of coffee he was bid good morning by two dolphins just passing by.  When I wandered into the kitchen a few minutes later he had a look of absolute joy on his face.  It was if Eleuthera was saying welcome home D, we love you.   We really could not have asked for a more amazing morning, the weather was absolutely perfect and it was also J and I’s 3rd anniversary.  We considered the entire trip as our anniversary so we did not focus too much on just the one day and instead celebrated it throughout our 3 weeks in paradise.

We started off with a great breakfast provided by D, the master of scrambled eggs and bacon.  After our belly's were full we decided it was just too beautiful a day not to go find a sandy Atlantic beach.    We decided to head back to Parrotfish Beach (nickname) since it had been so spectacular a few days earlier and D & S had been waiting to go back there for two years.  We initially discovered Parrotfish Beach on our first trip to Eleuthera but we never had a calm enough day to snorkel there.   We made it on our second trip but S and I were still a little skiddish in the water so we only checked out some of the closer reefs.  D and J had snorkeled out to the farther reefs and had been talking them up for the last two years so D & S's anticipation was high, just as mine had been a few days earlier when I saw them for the first time myself.   We packed up the cooler and were in the car and ready to roll by 9am.  On the way we made a quick stop at Island Farms since it was fresh bread day and stocked up on all sorts of delicious breads, dressings, sauces, salsa and fresh veggies.

We were at the beach by 10 am and after unloading the car we headed out for a “family snorkel”.   We saw eagle rays, tons of huge parrotfish, trunkfish, filefish, an eel, spectacular coral formations, and so much more.   It was really one of the most amazing snorkels of my life.  It was just a few amazing hours of peaceful tranquility exploring a beautiful undersea world.  The water was chilly but S and I stayed out longer than ever before and had an incredible time.  This was a new beginning of snorkeling for both of us, be had both had some some skittish moments in the past but after experiencing the tranquility of Parrotfish Beach we were new women. 

Eventually we had to come back, not from lack of excitement but because we were just getting too cold and physically could not take much more.  We enjoyed a tasty lunch of turkey and salami sandwiches with Island Farms olive and herb bread, tomatoes and lettuce and a few cerveza’s.  D, S and I were in blissed out relaxation mode at this point but I think J was so excited to have his dive buddy back that turned into a human hummingbird.  As soon as his sandwich was done he was ready to go back out.  D needed a little more sand and Kalik time so J took the kayak out by himself to do a little reef fishing.

He fished from the kayak for about 45 minutes then came back in and grabbed D for another epic snorkel.  S and I decided that books and beer sounded better to us so we stayed put.  I was equally glad to have S around so I could get in some lounge time with my tanning buddy while D kept the human hummingbird company.  The boys paddled the kayak out to a different area to check out some new reefs and wound up staying out there for HOURS! 

They eventually came back in with their catch, another schoolmaster and 2 large lobsters.   They then discovered that when sunblock says water resistant for 90 minutes they mean it and that they needed to come to shore and re-apply more than every couple hours.  They both completely scorched the back of their legs.  They were both confined to wearing pants in the water for a few days and wound up with dive knife tans that lasted the rest of the trip.   After immediately covering their legs we set to cleaning up the giant explosion of gear we had sprawled out on the beach, searched for the lost ring a little more, and then headed home to get cleaned up for the fish fry.

We were all pretty pooped after our big day so we really had to drag ourselves to the fish fry, but we made it just in time for the sunset.   It was the Eleuthera Jazz Festival so it was not the traditional fish fry that we were used to, but we really enjoyed the more casual atmosphere.  We all ordered chicken and coleslaw which was delicious as usual but I really miss the conch fritters from the pre-pavilion days.  D bought a round of rum bubbas, but thankfully spared me when I resisted, S's resistance on the other hand was ignored.  I ordered a vodka tonic instead, thinking it would be less toxic but that was not the case and one was all it took to do me in. 

Our first fish fry ever was in 2010 and the high school Junkanoo band had showed up.  We had such a fabulous time that every other fish fry has just not been the same.  They have all been fun but our first fish fry was such and amazing experience that it is hard to top.   We still had a great time and it was a prefect end to a really great day on Eleuthera. 

We woke up super excited because our very dear friends D and S were scheduled to fly in to GHB around 1pm and we could not wait to see them.  They came with us on out first trip in 2010, for our wedding and fell as in love with Eleuthera as we did.  They have been back with us every trip since.  They could not pull off an entire three week stay this time so we enjoyed a little "couple" time before they arrived but we were definitely ready for our partners in crime to come play.  Since they were arriving mid-day decided we better stay in the vicinity of Caribbean Blue and the Airport while we counted down till their arrival.  It was a pretty brisk stormy day so there was not much to do around the house since obviously we cant sit still for long.  We decided would at least try to find somewhere calm for a quick snorkel why we waited for the second half of out tribe to arrive.

We started at good ole faithful, Twin Cove but it was way too stormy for even an extreme snorkel.   After Twin we worked our way north toward the airport.  After a few wrong turns and dead ends we wound up at the old dock at the far end of Alabaster Beach.  J tossed about the spinning rod for a little while, until a torrential downpour forced him to hide in the car.  After that we decided we would try to find the cove at the tip of James Point again since we were unsuccessful a few days earlier and it was not far from the airport.   Our first attempt did not take us to the cove but it did take us to really nice spot to get view of the cliffs.  The water was raging and the waves put on a pretty spectacular show as they slammed against the rocks.  We moved on pretty quickly and after a little more wandering we finally found the cove.  It was still way too rough to snorkel but it looked like it might be a nice spot for a calm beach day.  We never did get an opportunity to come back again, maybe next year.  Just down the beach there were about 10 hard working men hauling buckets full of rocks. They were filling up the buckets with mid-size symmetrical rocks from all around the beach and then dumping them in a huge pile at the end of the road.  We guessed they were probably going to be used for home construction, and as we were leaving a big truck was coming up to collect them.

After James Point We still had about an hour to kill so we got “the book” out to see what else was close to the airport and decided on Sponge Cove.  Despite how sheltered the cove was, the wind was blowing directly into the mouth of the cove so again it was way to windy to do anything but take a beach walk.  Sponge Cove has a significant amount of beach grass so I doubt it would have been a good place to snorkel even on a calm day.  As usual J brought his spinning rod with him, he never leaves home without it as you never know what might be lurking out there.  Of course since he had it with him he spots a 4-5 ft shark really close to shore.  It went back into the shelter of the grass before I could see it so he cast toward it to draw it back out.   I don’t think he actually expected it to bite, since it looked like a nurse shark at first, but it hammered his lure.   That shark dragged his line out so fast, I thought he was going to lose it all.  Luckily it stopped just before it dragged all his line out and when he gave it a tug the shark finally bit off the lure.   He was not rigged up to land something that big so he was lucky all he lost was his lure.  It was his lucky lure he had been using on every trip since 2010, but it was getting pretty worn out and I think he had so much fun watching that shark go for it he did not care.

The shark fulfilled our excitement quota for the day so we decided to head to the airport bar and grab a beer while we waited for D & S.   Earlier in the day Stanton had seen us drive by with our wiper blade flapping around in the rain so as soon as we pulled up he tracked us down in the bar to fix our wiper blades.  We were just wondering where we would be able to find new blades so we were pretty happy that Stanton had found us and fixed them.   He really did good by us this trip and we could not have been more pleased with the Jeep. 

D & S arrived right on time and were ecstatic to be back "home" on Eleuthera.   They had a very very long series of flights.  They took the red-eye out of MT at 7pm the night before, had a few hour layover in FLL then directly on to the flight to GHB.  S thought that they be able to sleep better on the red-eye if they both had isle seats, but she accidentally picked the ones behind the exit rows not realizing they did not recline. I don’t think either of them had slept at all in about 30 hours.  To top it all off I had texted them to say they served cocktails on the flight and that it had a restroom, but it turned out that was only on the larger weekend flights, not the weekday ones, oops.   They were pretty darn happy when they walked out of the airport and we immediately took their bags and handed them ice cold Kaliks.

We headed straight back to Caribbean Blue and soon we had them settled on the porch with a couple of spunky monkeys and we worked on whipping up some salad and pork chops for lunch.  The rest of the afternoon consisted of lounging around and cocktails on the deck.  We had a wonderful sunset meal of fish tacos made with the schoolmaster J got the day before.

Here is the recipe.  We pretty much wing it when it comes to cooking so I am just estimating how much of each ingredient I use.  Feel free to modify to your own tastes, we like things hot.

1-2lbs Fresh fish fillets: (grouper, snapper, lionfish, etc) seasoned with lime juice, chili powder and old bay.
Let sit and marinade while you prepare the rest of the toppings.

White Sauce:
1 cup mayo
1/2 bird or goat pepper finely chopped
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp dill
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder

Spiced Tomatoes:
Chop approx 5 large tomato's, about 4-5 cups
1/2 bird or goat pepper
Juice from 1/2 lime
1-2 Tbsp finely chopped onion
1/2 tsp Chili powder
1/8 tsp Cumin
Salt to taste.

grill or pan fry the fish until flaky and break into mid sized pieces.

Put a couple of pieced of fish in a tortilla shell and top with white sauce, spiced tomatoes, thinly sliced cabbage and avocado slices (if you can find them).

I found soft taco sized flour tortillas at Burrows in the standing freezer closest to the register.  The only place we saw avocado's was at the roadside fruit and vegetable stands. 

The power went out in the wee hours of the morning so we had a few hot restless hours without the ceiling fan.   The wind has also died down for the first time since we arrived so a few sneaky no-seeums made their way through the screens and into our bed sheets during the night.  My husband was generally spared but I made a tasty meal.  I was not in too bad of shape though, only about a half dozen bites, nothing a little salt water couldn't cure.

We were not too surprised about the power outage, there has always been at least one every trip, so it was expected.  Our main concern was NO COFFEE.  This constituted a major emergency in our household.  It is really not safe to speak to me until I have had at least one cup of coffee, and those who dare only get a one word answer.  But before we ran out in search of caffeine we needed a backup plan for all our perishables just in case the power did not come on.  The fridge and freezer were already warming up so we pulled all the ice from the freezer and put it in bowls in the fridge and placed anything important in the bowls of ice.  Then we packed what we needed for lunch in the cooler and we went in search of caffeine.  We passed the repair men fixing the source of the outage, a down power pole, on the way in to Governors. 

I convinced J to try coffee and breakfast at Da Perk this time.  He subsided after only minor mumblings about donuts.  Da Perk had great drip coffee (starbucks) and really tasty breakfast sandwiches.  I had the veggie and egg sandwich and J had the Ham and egg both on a croissant.   One bite and he completely forgot about donuts.

After we finished our breakfast and coffee we were back to our friendly human selves again and decided to hit the beach.  It was a spectacularly beautiful day, calm and in the low 80's, absolutely perfect.    We decided it was time to to hit our favorite (very secret) beach.  Sorry it is just to perfect to give the secret away.  If you want to go there you will have to find it on your own, it is more fun to discover these places by chance anyway. 

We arrived just after 10am and set up camp for the day.  We were in the water within about 30 min and had a fabulous 2 hour long snorkel.  It was our first good long snorkel of the trip and well worth the wait.  We saw two spotted eagle rays and tons of spectacular fish big and small.  If we had to name this beach I think we would call it parrotfish beach because of all of the huge parrotfish everywhere.  The reef is about 300 yards off shore and we did not feel like loading up the kayak so J made himself a little float to put fish in with a cooler strapped into the middle of an inner tube.  This is our usual beer receptacle when we float the rivers out in in Montana.  He was hoping if we had a sealed container to put fish in I would stop abandoning him as soon as he speared a fish, it worked!

J speared himself a nice sized schoolmaster snapper on the first trip out.  About an hour in we saw a small 4’ reef shark. It popped over the reef and took a peek at us then bolted the other way.  I made the “this snorkel is over” signal to J and tried to flee.  He was not going to put up with it this time so he made me stay.  I had about 15 minutes of uneasiness then I calmed down.  It was good for me to face my fear and it put me at ease the rest of the trip.

After a couple of hours we finally exhausted ourselves and had to come in for a break and to eat some lunch.  We were enjoying our sandwiches and Sands when J spotted a couple of bonefish.   He ran up to the car to get his bonefishing gear.  While he was up at the car a local woman and her visiting family arrived.  They had lots of little tots with them that hit the water immediately so by the time J got his rod rigged up the bonefish had been scared off.  Soon another nice couple of seasonal residents arrived.  They were amazed at how many people were there that day.  They said they had never seen anyone this beach before and we said the same.  I think all 3 groups had been waiting patiently for the wind to die down and we all jumped at the opportunity to go to our favorite spot when it finally did.

It’s so funny our perspective, we had gotten so used to never seeing anyone our previous trips that seeing two other groups on the beach felt like a crowded beach day.  We had to step back and go, come on 3 groups on a long stretch of beach we are still spoiled rotten!!

After the beach got busy and we had re-fueled we hit the water for another long snorkel.  We spent another couple hours in the water and J got another schoolmaster.  We thoroughly tuckered ourselves out and decided to call it a day.  Plus we needed to get some groceries and liquor store before they closed up for the day.  Our friends were arriving the next day and we wanted to make sure we had everything we needed for their arrival.

On our way back up to the car we chatted with the couple that had arrived at lunch.  They were snorkeling not far from us and said they saw 8 spotted eagle rays.   Just amazing, they are just such amazing graceful creatures, seeing two was a thrill,  I can’t imagine seeing eight at once.

After we loaded up we headed to our favorite little liquor store in RS, they said open but the door was locked so we decided they had just stepped out for a minute.  We drove down to the beach to gawk at all the sailboats and chatted with two young boys heading out to catch bait fish for a little while.

After snapping a few photos we got back into the car to check to see if the liquor store had opened back up yet.   J decided to drive at this point, he likes to roll the window down and tap his wedding ring on the side of the car when we are driving.  He started doing this and realized there was no tapping sound and discovered there was no longer a ring on his finger.  We pulled into the liquor store lot and scoured all his snorkel stuff and dive gloves, still no ring.  I went in got him some road beers, parked him in the passenger seat and drove him all the way back to the beach.  We searched and searched but never found it.  He was sure it came off when he took his dive gloves off and knew right where that was, but the sand is so soft and it was a heavy ring so I am sure it just sank into the sandy abyss.  He was pretty bummed, but I think mostly he was worried I would get upset.  I just told him he would have to buy himself a new one.  He kept joking that he was single now and was going to go marry a Bahamian woman so he never has to go home.  Obviously that plan did not work so well for him....

We headed back to Caribbean Blue after that, stopping in Governors Harbour to stock up on food and beer on the way.  He had a nice stiff cocktail when we got home and forgot all about the lost ring. We enjoyed our last evening of just the two of us and cooked up the snapper for dinner, with salad and baked potatoes.  It was still a fabulous day, despite a small loss.  At least it was not my ring that would have been a much more expensive setback.  A lost wedding ring is a small price to pay for a fabulous day in paradise.

Just a FYI on the grocery shopping.  I the past we have brought a cooler with coffee, frozen meat and trail mix.  It is a huge pain and this time we decided not to bother.  I am so glad we did, not only is that money going into the local economy, as it should, but we were never once lacking for food options.  I found gluten free tortillas and Starbucks coffee at the Market Place in Rock Sound.  They also have a few organic meat options, soymilk, etc.  We found plenty of lunch meat options in all the grocery stores, turkey, ham, roast beef, salami.  Island farms had the best salad dressings and fresh bread anywhere (on island or off), plus they have large 2-3lb bags of ground and whole bean coffee for a pretty decent price.   You may have to modify your eating habits to fit what is available, but we ate an incredibly delicious and balanced diet while we were there and never once wished we would have brought something from the states.