I cant believe it is our last full day on Eleuthera.  After 3 weeks this feels like our life now.   We feel like we belong, and are destined to be here.  The thought of going back to dreary spring in Montana is utterly depressing.  I know we live in a spectacularly beautiful place, it just kind of sucks during the shoulder seasons.  I should be looking forward to planting my garden, but instead I am wishing we lived on Eleuthera and I could just plant a garden here. 
    It was a pretty grey cloudy morning so the sunrise was nothing to write home about.   We watched it anyway, and did our usual morning routine, then went about making the most of our day.  We started off with a beach walk toward Airport Beach.  J brought his pole with him, hoping to get in a little more fishing in, but had no luck.  

      After our long walk the weather cleared a little bit so we figured we better jump on the chance to get one last snorkel in.   We decided to head to the southern end of DaVilla's little beach this time.  There are remains of an old sea wall there and out from it is a nice reef that starts at the shoreline and extends out about 400 yards.   It is not the easiest spot to get in and out of but it was well worth it.  Despite the water being churned up a little, it was great snorkeling.  The farther out we went the more fish we saw and the bigger they got.   It is hard to tell from the photos but there were some really big fish out there.  The grouper is one of the biggest we have seen.  If you look at the yellowtail snapper, they were large, maybe 18" or so, so you can imagine the size of the grouper in front of them.  
      We got so caught up in our snorkeling and watching all the beautiful fish, that none of us looked up to check to see what the weather was doing till we started to hear distant rumbling and noticed it was getting darker out.   Finally when we popped our heads out of the water we realized there were ominous black clouds all around us.  It was an immediate consensus among the four of us that we need to get to shore ASAP.  We quickly worked our way back in and by the time we mad it to shore it was just starting to rain.   We quickly headed back up to the house as the rain started picking up, getting a nice freshwater shower along the way. 

      It was still raining pretty steadily after we got home and dried off so we decide we might as well head to Ronnies, rather than sit around the house.  It was really dumping by the time we got to Ronnie's and we made a mad dash from the car, but even in that short distance we were completely drenched, again.   We ordered up some 2 for $5 beers and parked ourselves for a while.  The rain never did let up while we were there but we figured we better get out of there before we got in too much trouble, so we headed back home. 

      By the time we got back the rain had finally stopped, so the guys grabbed their sopping wet gear and headed out for another snorkel.    S and I said it was a bad idea as it seemed like the storm was not quite over and we could still hear thunder and see lightning off in the distance.  They insisted it quite a ways off and we were being overly cautious so we lost that one, at first... 

      Less than 5 minutes in the thunder really started booming, so they came running back up to DaVilla and decided to continue on with cocktail hour instead.   

      We still did not want to sit around so we took our drinks "to go" and headed out for another beach walk.  This time we headed south toward the old sea wall.  On the top of the cliff above it is an old abandoned house.  It looks like it was a really nice place back in the day, but now it pretty dilapidated, with broken or boarded up windows and pieces of the roof missing.    D and J decided to climb up the rotten old stairs to the top of the bluff and check it out.   It was in compete disrepair, but the front door was open so they went in to check it out.  They saw clothes strewn about and a pile of trash as if someone had recently been squatting there.  As they were getting that uneasy feeling that maybe they should not be there since someone could possibly be living there one of them accidentally kicked a can.  The sound echoed just like a horror film and they both came running out of the house and tore back down to the beach full speed.   It was hilarious, especially watching J, who is afraid of nothing run away like a scared child.   S and I just sat on the beach laughing and watched them run back down the stairs.  Once they caught their breath we continued on our long beach walk.  On the way back the front door was closed, and it was not by D or J on their mad dash out of the house. 

      Well we stayed up as late as we could, making sure to finish off the last of our food and drink, before we finally had to call it a night.   Sometime around 2am we all woke up to a massive thunderstorm.  It must have been centered right over DaVilla.   The thunder and lighting were simultaneous and so forceful that I was afraid to get to close to the windows to watch it.   The windows would shake from the thunder and the entire house would light up from the lightning.   It was amazing, and frightening all at the same time.  You could see streaks of lighting hitting the water right in front of the house.   I have never experienced a storm quite like that.  I definitely would not have wanted to be out on a sailboat that night.  It kept up for quite some time, but eventually passed far enough away that we were able to get a few hours of sleep.  We took it as a sign that Eleuthera really did not want us to leave, or maybe it was just trying to scare us away. 

    Finally, after 3 full days of steady breeze at DaVilla, we got a nice calm day and it was perfect.  I had my typical zen morning sipping coffee and watching the sunrise.  If you have not figured it out yet, this is my favorite pastime.   

    As soon as it started to warm up the boys headed out to the outer reef with the kayak and their spears.  S went on her daily trek to the far end of Airport beach and back and I lounged on the beach reading my book. 

    J and D returned a few hours later with a strawberry grouper and right about the same time S returned from her lengthy beach walk.    We all lounged around for a while, then J and I decided to head out for another snorkel.  
    Earlier D had been going on about these huge parrotfish he had been seeing.  We were all thinking they were probably the same size as the parrotfish we had been seeing at parrotfish beach, maybe around 2-3 ft tops.   After about an hour or so of snorkeling around I spotted a nice sized lobster.  We were seeing them quite frequently now that lobster season had ended.  They seemed like they somehow knew that they could safely roam once again, without the constant fear of spear-fishermen.  I pointed it out to J, chuckling at him how he could not shoot it.  Suddenly I saw these giant blue lips poke out of the reef going straight for the lobster.  It was one of the parrotfish D had seen earlier, and it was HUGE.  I had grossly underestimated D's description.  This fish was definitely closer to 4 feet long.   It popped out of the reef just for a second, looking like it was going to have a nice lobster lunch, then it spotted J and I and darted back into the reef.  I managed to snap one picture, and J got a choppy little video, but neither gives you a really clear estimate of size.   For scale the lobster was a good sized one, from tail to the tip of it's antenna was surely longer than my arm.   The parrotfish is on the left, and you can see it start to come out of the reef about 6 seconds into the video.  I would estimate it's length to be at least twice that of the lobster.   J says it was big enough to eat me, ha ha, probably not THAT big.   

    We snorkeled around for a while longer, hoping to see the parrotfish again but never did.  Finally we gave up and slowly worked our way back to shore.  After enjoying a little afternoon snack D and J headed back out for the 3rd snorkel of the day and S and I chilled in the cabana with our books.  
    D sautéed up the grouper for dinner, will salad and yellow rice on the side.  After dinner we lounged on the deck, sipping vino and watching the stars, soaking in the last of another perfect day. 

    It was our first morning at DaVilla and I was super excited about watching the sunrise on the Atlantic side.  I had hoped to wake up before the sun started to rise in order to get a pot of coffee started but I woke a little later than anticipated.   Luckily D had beaten me by a few minutes and had already made coffee so I was able to grab a cup and catch the sunrise.    Nothing makes me happier than slowly sipping a cup of coffee and watching the sunrise.   It is such a magical and peaceful time for me, savoring those last few moments before the day begins. 

    It was fairly breezy on the Atlantic for Easter Sunday so snorkeling in front of DaVilla was pretty much out of the question for the day.   D and S wanted to enjoy our new accommodations so they were not into looking for a calm beach someplace else.  J and I decided to just jot across the road to Alabaster Beach to see if it was calmer and if so do a little bonefishing and check to see if there were any decent snorkeling opportunities around the rocky edges on the far end of the beach.   

     It was low tide and Alabaster beach was dead calm.  We walked up the beach checking out all the areas they had cleared for the Easter Monday celebration.  Then we walked out into the calm water for what seemed like forever.  We did not see a single fish and the water never did seem to get much deeper than out knees, but it was spectacularly beautiful.  I snapped a couple shots of the beach then we headed up the road toward the rocky area.  
    We walked out to the point looking for decent access points to get in and out of the water and any coral formations that might be worth a closer look.  We only found one potential access point that did not look very easy.  We would have given it a try anyway but all we could see was sea grass so we figured it was probably not worth the hassle.  J tried fishing off the deeper edges of the point with no success, so we decided to give up on Alabaster. 
    The night before we had celebrated our move to DaVilla a little more enthusiastically that our alcohol rations for the Easter holiday had allowed for.  We knew all the stores would be closed, especially on Easter Sunday but we thought we would head up to Cupids Cay to see if Ronnie's was open just in case. 

    Good ole Ronnie's they're always open.  We hung around for a hour or so drinking beer and chatting with the locals.  They had a great time trying to teach J about their numbers game.  It is kind of like a Bahamian lottery where you guess a city (3 options?) then three numbers.   You come back the next day to see if your numbers are right.  J played a few numbers and got a ticket for the next day.   We stocked up on goodies on our way out, including a Ronnie's T-shirt, a Monte Cristo cigar (just for the fun of it) and a case of short neck Heinekens, which cost about $5 less than anywhere else.   We got lots of invites to the Easter Monday celebrations and said we would be back the next day to check our numbers.  

    After gawking and fantasizing about a few of the sailboats in the harbor we headed home to DaVilla with our treasures from Ronnie's.   We spent the rest of the day just lounging around DaVilla and going for little beach walks.  Just how a leisurely Easter Sunday should be spent.  We had a nice supper of salad, yellow rice and leftover fish from our exploits at CB.   After dinner J and I lounged in the hammock watching the stars and smoking our cigar.  We decided it was good as far as cigars go, but we are just not cigar smoking folks so a few puffs was all we had in us.  I brushed my teeth about 6 times before bed trying to get the taste out of my mouth, but it was still worth the experience.  

    Today was our big move from Caribbean Blue to DaVilla.   We were sad to leave Caribbean Blue because it had been such a great place and the weather on the Caribbean side had been so perfect the last few days.  But we were also super excited to be moving to the Atlantic side to our splurge house, where we could go for long beach walks and snorkel lively reefs without stepping in a vehicle.  The move was a little bittersweet because it meant we we down to only a week left in our vacation and none of us were thrilled about that realization. 
    Our farewell morning started out spectacularly beautiful, it was calm, clear and perfect.  We even had another pair of dolphins swim by while we were out on the deck enjoying our coffee and watching the tail end of the sunrise.  It was an incredibly serine morning as we just took it easy, soaking in the last of our time at CB.   Luckily we were able to take our time leaving since there was a break between bookings.  The owners graciously allowed us to stay past the typical check out time so we did not have spend 4 hours waiting to check into DaVilla with a car load of stuff.   

     The boys could only take so much down time so not long after breakfast they hopped in the kayak to check Levi Island for any lionfish that dared to return after the previous days hunt (only one was foolish enough).   S and I packed up the last of our things then grabbed our books and lounged around in the sunshine.   As lunch time approached the boys were still nowhere to be seen and we knew if they were out playing that long they would be starving when they finally showed back up.  We were trying to figure out what to make that did not involve messing up the kitchen, since we had already run the dishwasher and packed up all of our dry goods, when we remembered Stubbs BBQ.  We had tried to go every trip but we could never get the timing right.  S and I hopped in the car and made it to Stubbs just before noon so they still had lots of items to choose from.  We got two orders of ribs and two orders of chicken all with conch and rice and coleslaw.   Despite the temptation we managed to pass on all the other sweets and delicious items they had available. 

    When we got back to the house it was around 12:30pm and we could see the kayak way off in the distance making it's way back from Levi Island.  We set our lunch on the counter and got back into our lounge positions while we waited for the boys to finish their long paddle home.  The were ecstatic to find a giant plate of BBQ ribs waiting for them when they got back.  The food from Stubbs was absolutely delicious and we all thoroughly enjoyed our take out lunches.  It was a really nice treat especially after almost two full weeks of sandwiches for lunch. 

    After lunch we had another hour till our 2pm check in at DaVilla so we figured we better get in one last snorkel.  I was still a little sheepish about the jellyfish so S and I put our gear in the kayak and kayaked back out to where we saw the jellyfish-free bait ball the day before.  The boys swam behind us, on the never-ending hunt for more lionfish.  The bait ball was still hanging around the same spot so S jumped in for one last swim with all the baby fish and I decided to just hang out in the kayak.   Before we knew it it was time to start heading back, but the boys managed to bag another lionfish on the way back to the house.  

    By the time we got back to the house it was almost 2pm.  We took one last quick rinse in the outdoor shower, unloaded the fridge and headed to the airport to meet up with Art Nixon (DaVilla's caretaker).  Farewell Caribbean Blue, we thoroughly enjoyed every moment we spent with you!!

    Hello Davilla!!   For almost twice the price DaVilla was definitely twice the size.   Despite it's expansive size DaVilla was not nearly as well stocked as CB, but it made up for it with the amazing view.  The neighbors are very very close but they were nice people and respectful of our privacy and we tried to do the same for them.   After a quick unload and supply evaluation we came up with a little shopping list and the boys headed out to get some of the basic necessities, knowing that we would not have an opportunity for the next two days due to Easter Sunday and Easter Monday.

    As soon as they returned with the supplies the boys quickly made themselves at home.   D grabbed an ice cold Kalik and parked himself in his new favorite spot.  After a few hours of R&R we cooked up a nice meal of BBQ pork chops, baked potatoes and broccoli.   Then we spent the rest of the evening thoroughly enjoying the comfort of our new accommodations. 

    Today was Good Friday and sadly it was our last full day at Caribbean Blue.   Luckily the weather at the house was absolutely perfect so we were able to make the most of it.  We started off the same as most mornings, coffee at sunrise then breakfast of eggs, bacon and raisin toast from Island Farms and delicious pineapple jam from DaPerk.   This was the first morning where we were all able to just stay put and not have to get in the car at all.  We had stocked up on everything the day before, since we knew most businesses were closed for Good Friday.  It was a great relief to S and I that we did not  even have to make our, what seemed like daily, quick trip to the store. 
    As soon as we finished breakfast J and D hopped in the kayak and headed back out to Levi Island to try and spear some more lionfish.  S and I caught up on a little laundry, then lounged around and enjoyed the spectacularly beautiful morning.

    After a few hours the boys returned from their kayak trip with five lionfish and a lobster.  There was only a few days left in lobster season so they were glad to get one more before it was too late.   After lunch we decided to go for a "family snorkel" and check out all the rocky areas around Caribbean Blue.   You are not allowed  to spearfish that close to shore, but since the lionfish are invasive and that tends to be where they frequent we have always assumed that rule does not apply to lionfish so the boys brought their spears just in case.   Just as we were getting ready to get in the water a giant school of jacks and blue runners came tearing by.  They had come by a couple times already that morning so this time we jumped in after them to take a closer look. 

   We swam after them for a little while watching them dart this way and that, the eventually they moved on.   We poked around a bit, sometimes heading out deep and sometimes moving closer into the shoreline.  The snorkeling is not as spectacular as some of the Atlantic beaches we go to, but there was still plenty to see.   It seemed that the jellyfish population had definitely multiplied since we our last snorkel on the Caribbean side a few days earlier.   There were little jelly's and sea walnuts EVERYWHERE, they were impossible to avoid.  We stuck with the theory that the little ones did not sting and the larger, potentially stinging moon jellies were at least few enough that we could avoid running into them.   We basically just plowed through the little ones trying to keep them off our faces, but every now and again I would feel a very mild short lived sting on my legs and I did my best to just ignore it and try not to acknowledge that some of them really did sting.

    Eventually we made it to an area where there was a giant, jellyfish free, bait ball stretching about about 25' in either direction.  The bait ball was pretty amazing, all those little tiny fish seemed to form one giant organism that slowly moved among the rocks and parted when you swam through.  S and I spent at least 30 minutes just floating in the bait ball watching all the tiny fish.  I cant really describe why we though it was so amazing but it just was. 
    After we finally started getting tired of swimming around in the bait ball we decided to work our way back to Caribbean Blue.  S and I slowly started swimming back while J and D followed, keeping a close eye out for any lionfish that might need eradicated.   Not long after I spotted the largest lionfish we had seen yet and pointed it out to D.   He speared it and I dove down to make sure there was not another one hiding under the same rock.  When I surfaced a jellyfish just happened to be right near the surface exactly where the collar of my top was.  It went right down the front of my top and when I went to try and dig it out I smashed it against my chest.  I had doubled up that day with a rash guard and a shorty wetsuit so my top was really tight and there was not much room to reach in and remove the jellyfish delicately.  I was definitely getting stung and it very painful.  Eventually I got it out and yelled I've had enough of these $@#$#@ jellyfish I am out of here and swam back as fast as I could.  S saw my entire freak out and relayed it to they boys, who had been diving for lionfish, then headed out after me.  She struggled along trying to keep up with my frantic Adrenalin and pain fueled hi-speed swim and made it back not long after I did.  By the time I got close to the house the pain had dulled quite a bit, I think that my frantic swim had thoroughly flushed off the sting.  As soon as I got to shore I struggled to strip off the shorty and rash guard then ran to the house for some ammonia.  I coated the sting in ammonia (after-bite) chugged a Sands Light and went back to the water to meet S.   By then it was pretty much down to a very dull stinging sensation but there was no way I was going to get back into the water and swim back to where we left the boys.  They were still nowhere to be seen and we assumed they were probably still fishing where we had left them.   S and I figured they needed us to come back with the kayak to pick up their fish so we grabbed a couple more Sands Light's and headed off to find them.  They were in the exact same spot, as we had suspected, so we picked up the two lionfish they had speared then slowly escorted them back to Caribbean Blue.   

    We all lounged around for the rest of the afternoon and sipped cocktails on the deck while enjoying our last evening at Caribbean Blue.  D cooked us up lobster and sauteed lionfish along with yellow rice and broccoli.  After the sun had set we took our chairs out by the water to do some stargazing.  I don't know if I have said this before but the night sky on Eleuthera is just as fabulous as its beaches.  There is so little light pollution on the out islands that the stars so vibrant and bright you can see things you never would at home.  We spend hours staring at the sky mapping out the constellations and waiting for the occasional shooting star.   It was a bittersweet night for us, being our last at Caribbean Blue, so we were doing our best to slow time as much as possible.  We were excited to be moving to a new place on the Atlantic side the next day, but we loved CB so much that we were sad to be leaving.  DaVilla was our next destination and it was our big splurge so we were really excited to see it, but moving also meant that we were down to a week left in our trip and we knew that week would come and go way too fast.   We were all getting sleepy but putting off going to bed so it just wouldn't end.  Right when S and I finally decided we just could not stay up any longer I saw a little green flicker in the water.  I pointed it out to the others and we all scoured the water too see if we could see it again.  Then all of a sudden there were hundreds of them, just little green flickers all around the water right by the surface.   They would start then stop then a bunch would flicker all at once.  Finally one got close enough to shore where we could get a better look at it.  It looked like a little green spiral spinning around it the water, sometimes it would be clearer and other times it would look cloudy.  J ran and grabbed a flashlight and we shined it into the water.  We could not see much but what it looked like it was the sea walnuts producing the green light.  In the daytime you could see this iridescent area in their bodies that looked like florescent rope lights weaving around up and down their sides.  We decided this was the same thing, only at night they glow green.  It was amazing, you could see little green dots everywhere.  The show lasted less than 5 minutes then it slowly faded out with a little flicker here and there, and by the time 15 minutes had passed it was all over.  It was the prefect little send off after two blissful weeks at CB.  S and I felt guiltless about calling it a night after that but D and J stayed up sipping whiskey for another hour or two still trying not to let the night end.   They never did see the sea walnuts flicker again. 

We woke up to a perfectly calm day at Caribbean Blue, finally!!!  The decision was unanimous, we were finally going to spend an entire day at  "home".  The boys immediately delved into a plan to get get some  fishing and  snorkeling in around Levi Island.  As soon as breakfast was over they were suited up on their way to Levi Island in the kayak.  Since it was still fairly early in the morning S and I figured we better get  our shopping duties out of the way.  We were getting low on just about  everything.  Our first stop was Island Farms where we stocked up with 2  more loaves of olive and herb bread, a loaf of raisin bread, salsa, salad dressing, marinade and lots of fresh veggies for salad and ceviche.  After  spending about $60 we figured we would make it till the next bread day (Friday).  On the way back through Governors Harbour we stopped at Eleuthera supply for a few necessities, then did the liquor store rounds grabbing a couple more bottles of wine, more Riccardo coconut rum, a bottle of whiskey and a case of Heineken, Kalik and Sands Light.  Yes our liquor bill was much more than our food bill, but come on we were on vacation in the Bahamas.  

Finally we made it back to Caribbean Blue, grateful that all the responsibilities were over will and we could chill for a while.   Caribbean Blue is in a fantastic location, you have a great view of Levi Island and you can see Cupids Cay in the distance off to the right.  The closest houses are a couple hundred yards away so you feel pretty isolated, plus it is just a quick jaunt to Governors Harbour when you need supplies.  Honestly of all the places we have stayed Caribbean Blue is definitely one of our top 3, it's position in the top 3 depends on which one of the four of us you ask.  It is hands down the most well equipped house we have stayed in, they have everything you could need.  Honestly when we moved to DaVilla we were almost a little disappointed in the lack of extra amenities compared to Caribbean Blue.  It was the little things, extra sunblock and bug spray left by other renters, citronella candles and mosquito coils, lots of dishes and kitchen supplies, wine glasses, water bottles, a water filter, soap and sponges, good cookbooks, island maps, etc.  They seemed to think of all the little things that make your stay much more pleasant.  Everything was really clean and comfortable and it was a great layout for two
couples.   Plus you had an amazing view from the front deck.  The  only downfall was there was really not much of a lounging area by the water.  It looks like they had sand there at one point, but it must have blown away.  We saw some outlines in the rock so maybe they are building a larger area or putting a little cabana by the water.  That would be fabulous!!

 Well anyway I digress sorry.  So as we were pulling up the driveway from our trip to town we thought we could see the boys out snorkeling in front of the house.   We saw what looked like black fins rising up in the water, like they were diving down after something.  As we were unloading the car we kept seeing the black fins, but no sign of D's red fins.  We soon realized the kayak was still gone so it could not be them.  We watched for a while from the deck and when we looked closer we realized it was more dolphins cruising around in front of the house.  It seemed like every time the water was calm in front of Caribbean Blue the dolphins came by at least once.  It was really wonderful. 

After watching them for a little while we put away the groceries and headed out toward the water with our books and lawn chairs.  Eventually the boys came back a little after lunch time after a very successful 4 hour excursion.  They bagged themselves 4 lobsters, 1 grouper and 3 lionfish.  We love lionfish and since they are an invasive species we would ideally love to predominantly eat lionfish while we are on Eleuthera.  We mostly find them on the Caribbean side so since wind had been blowing on that side so frequently they had not had an opportunity to get into them.  

We cooked up some sausages for lunch, and had a few cerveza's.  Once the boys had re-fueled and cleaned their catch of the day and I got a batch of lionfish and grouper ceviche marinating we headed out for a "family snorkel".  The water in front of the house was still pretty cloudy and churned up from all the wind of the past week so the snorkeling was not that great.  We did see a tiny school of squid but otherwise the water was full of sea walnuts and little jellyfish, with a few moon jellies mixed in.   We ran into the same thing out last trip.  It seems like there are a lot of these tiny 4" clear jellies with little blue spots in the middle on the Caribbean side in March/April.  We had swam through clouds of them last time and never got stung so we were not too worried about it this time and we could avoid the moon jellies easy enough.   It was still a little unnerving and since the water was so cloudy anyway S and I did not have much of a desire to spend that much time in the water.  We were still experiencing a cold front so the water temp was pretty cold, even the air temp had been in the 70's and overcast.  We had been in the Bahamas long enough to acclimate to the temperature so we were freezing, where if we were still in Montana we would think it was summertime. 

 S and I bailed on the boys and headed up to the house for some spunky monkeys and took turns warming up in the outdoor shower.   That is typically one of our rental requirements.  I cant think of many things I enjoy more than a nice warm outdoor shower.  The two nicest showers we have found so far have been at Blue Palms and 2-Sisters, because they had nice little enclosures around them.  But for what CB's shower lacks in privacy it makes up for with the view. 

The boys soon returned and we settled in for cocktail hour with a grouper and lionfish ceviche appetizer.  For dinner we grilled up the lobsters on the BBQ with some magic seasonings that D doctored up then served them over fresh green salad from our visit to Island Farms and topped with fresh croutons made from the old bread heels.  It was a heavenly meal and a great relaxing day at our home away from home. 

I use the lionfish ceviche recipe out of the Lionfish Cookbook.  Modified with the produce that is available on Eleuthera.