Goodbye Girlz

Packing sucks, but leaving the Island groove is harder! Flight wasn't too early but we got up and got it together in good time. The weather was a somewhat cloudy and it was as if the ocean was telling us to go, it was choppy and windy. After cleaning up at Spencer's and stripping the beds we did another quick check.....yep it's time to go. With a little time to burn we headed to the little gift shop in Cupid's Cay next to the docks. The tide was coming over the road in Governor's Harbour and there was even a poor guy trying to bail the water out of his rowboat, there was a storm a brewin! We went to Banks Road Deli where they had some really cute little souvenir's and fresh croissants etc...Got Mike a Kalik beer mug here - good price and was able to squeeze it into my case! After driving as slow as we could we finally arrived at the airport for our departure. We were all a bit nervous as the wind has really kicked up and knew we were in for a "bumpy" ride back to Nassau. DID NOT WANT TO LEAVE!!! Kara and I smoked as many ciggies as we could and boarded the plane with everyone else (including an old guy in a genuine Scottish Kilt! Holla!) The ride was a bit bumpy on the ole prop plane - but have experienced worse! Customs in Nassau was torture - and quite unpleasant actually. Kara ended up checking her bag as they wouldn't allow shells. I managed to make such a commotion that Hope was able to sneak her shells back in her bag. Customs in Nassau SUCKED! We had a very long 3 hour wait - no real food there to speak of - we made mental note to try and bypass or shorten our stay at this airport on the next trip. Felt like a long time to get home - and it was a long day. It's definitely worth trying to the most direct flight you can even for a few extra $$'s. Can't wait till next year's "The Girlz Do Eleuthera vAcA!!!"
Perri

TGIFFF...

We were up pretty early so we could go to Island Farm. Before showering and heading out, we had to sit on the deck to enjoy our island paradise....I think we are still in awe of beautiful Eleuthera.

Every Friday they have warm, fresh bread available for sale as well as local jams/jelly's. They have lots of plants and vegetation at the farm as well. Perri (?) inquired about a mango coconut..."what's that?" The lovely gentleman pulled out his machete...(RUN PERRI RUN!!) Just kidding...but he did pull out a machete and carved away the outer layers to poke a hole in the coconutty thing...then he put a straw in it for the three of us to share. It was a different flavor; sweet, salty, fruity, pithy...hard to describe, but tasty nonetheless.

After we left the Island Farm, we drove down the highway and found ourselves at Unique Village. It's on the Atlantic side of the island and we got our first view of actual waves. The Atlantic side is such a stark contrast to the Carribbean side - deep blue ocean, crashing waves, pink sand and a constant breeze. The untainted beauty of Eleuthera is beyond words. Standing on the hill looking down at the waves, I felt such peace and tranquility. It's as if we stepped into the enchanted garden (where's Eve?) - From there, we drove around a bit and then headed back to our beloved Lil Red.

Of course we had to indulge in the yummy breads we purchased...and OH YEAH...that danish butter was soooo goood on the fresh bread. I made a grilled cheese, 'cause...I like to eat! Next we got on our suits, grabbed our snorkel gear and headed to the beach.

Getting in the water was a little challenging - it's not very easy to navigate over coral with flippers on! We didn't go out very far but we saw a stingray, sea fans, coral and various fish, but not as many as I thought we would. Our adventurous nature kicked in when we navigated around the bend to Palmetto Point Beach. On the way back the tide must have started coming in because it felt like we were swimming in one of those endless pools (against the current), and to top it off I realized we were all SURROUNDED by jellyfish. Now either they were too little or not of the stinging nature because we made it back unscathed, but it definitely freaked me out.

After getting back to Lil Red (my legs were tired from all that swimming!!) we jumped in the shower, cranked the tunes, cracked open the ice cold Kalik and got dressed to go to the Friday Fish Fry in Anchor Bay.

We arrived to see a lovely mix of people, we even bumped into the lovely couple we met at the airport! We placed our order, had a beer and ate like we hadn't seen food in days!! We had worked up an appetite snorkeling.

The funny thing was you could get two Miller Lite's for $5.00...but the Kalik and Rum Bubbas were close to $5.00 each.

But if you are in Eleuthera you definetly need to put this on your list of things to do!!

HOLLA......2

I am so excited that we are finally getting this on a blog. We have wanted to share our adventure with everyone! If I ask one more person "have you seen my Eleuthera pics?", it'll be one too many:}
I was so excited when my life long dream to visit Eleuthera became a reality and to make it into an "annual girlz trip" has been ICING on the Cake! We couldn't have had a better "trio". Number two priority on our list was "how can we do this - cheap, cheap, cheap?" None of us are lottery winners....far from it. So we knew we were gonna have to make some compromises..... Lucky for us Hope and I are internet fReAkS! We spent countless hours looking at rentals, together, alone, together on the phone. It became an obsession that we loved. We would send Kara all of the links to what our options were - she got the good part.....veto or keeper! Next was the daily flight check! Ended with a great deal on Spirit Airlines to Nassau and Southern Air to Eleuthera. NOTE: Puddle Jumper in Hope's post! Not for those with "fear of flying" (unless of course you are armed with parachute and xanax.) Layover in Nassau needs to be as short as possible.....airport is hot, there is no locker/baggage options should you want to wander around and find "parking lot/tent" food! But if you want a beer - we highly recommend the Bahamas Beer - KALIK. You can brown bag it anywhere in the Bahamas - HOLLA!! You're on vAcA!! Nobody told us we could bring along one on de plane! Probably for the best though - no potty on puddle jumper... Lots of pics, ohs, ahs and boom you are there. What a beautiful sight flying over the outer islands and seeing all the beautiful colors - we swore we would be able to see a shark from a mile away. We landed at the tiny airport at Governor's Harbour -trekked outside where Kara and I frantically looked for that "hidden lighter" so we could have a much needed ciggie! Hope scouted out the luggage and Kara found our "car rental gal." We were off - wow. LEFT SIDE PLEASE, LEFT SIDE KARA!!

HOLLA....

This year three of us embarked on our first ever "solo" vaca; no kids, no hubbies, no internet, no cell phone...just peace & quiet for EIGHT days!

The idea for the trip started with Perri. Her dad owns a piece of property on the island and she always wanted to go there. Since all three of us love the beach and longed for a vacation...we said "let's just go!" After lots of hours on the internet we found a house and a great deal on a flight.

Our flight left DCA at 6:45 a.m and by 1 p.m. we were drinking a Kalik in sunny Nassau.


Since we were new to traveling to the outer islands, we spent 3 hours in Nassau waiting for our puddle jumper to Eleuthera...but three hours with great friends goes by quickly!!

We arrived in Eleuthera at 4:30 in the afternoon. Happy to feel the warm sun on our face and feel the tropical breeze in our hair. The next eight days will be an adventure that we will remember always.....

Coming in for a landing at Governors Harbour