Eleuthera and Harbour Island, aka Briland

A narrow, ancient coral outcropping, flanked by the Caribbean Sea on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other, dotted with pineapple fields and pink sand beaches-that is Eleuthera. Earlier this year, Delta began non-stop service to Eleuthera from Atlanta two days a week, making it much easier to visit, by eliminating the stop in Grand Bahama. The airport’s size hasn’t caught up to the new service yet and landing in a big jet there feels a bit like landing at a highway truck stop. Since the airport is so small and doesn’t have a gate, you wait across the street at the restaurant/gift shop before boarding, which by the way, is a gold mine waiting for someone to put a decent bar and restaurant there for travelers to wait for their flight. Once through security, you wait outside until its time to board, because there is simply no room in the airport for passengers.

Eleuthera was the world’s largest pineapple exporter until the industry collapsed in the early 1900s. Prior to that, Eleuthera shipped pineapples to both the US and England, and the island was the first to produce pineapples on a commercial scale. While researching for the trip before we left, I found this quote from Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, 1874 about the locals on Harbour Island discovering…

“a livelihood cultivating pineapples on Eleuthera. A fleet of 200 boats is owned in the settlement. Every morning at sunrise this little fleet spreads its wings to the tradewind, and wafts 800 men and boys, black and white, to the lovely beach and cocoa-nut groves on Eleuthera, two miles away. Every night they return. The pineapples begin to ripen in April, and only grow to advantage on a peculiar red soil that is always thin, and is found in but few districts. The plantations are on undulating ground, the highest in the Bahamas, and are skirted by mahogany, logwood, and cocoa-nut groves, overgrown with the brown love vine, and abounding in scarlet-flowered hop, clitoria or wild pea, and various other flowers, while the song of the brown thrush resounds in every thicket. A pine field when the pines are ripe looks as if it were on fire, the scarlet of the spiked leaves forming a flame-colour with the vivid orange-yellow of the fruit. There are two principal varieties of the pineapples, the scarlet and the sugarloaf, the latter of which is the best.”

One of Eleuthera’s most well-known sites is Glass Window Bridge. When Winslow Homer visited the island and painted the natural bridge, he named the painting Glass Window. The name stuck and as the natural bridge eroded away, the man-made bridge was built. The one lane bridge at the tiny isthmus connects North Eleuthera with the rest of the island. The bridge is often in need of repair from crashing waves, and during a bad storm, known as a rage by the locals, waves have been known to wash up and sweep cars and people off the bridge. For that reason, during a rage, the bridge is closed.

The Cove Resort

Not too far south of the bridge lies The Cove resort. This stunning, all white, luxury resort is the perfect getaway. Everything from the suite, to the food and service, and the design, were top-notch. It’s secluded, quiet, situated on two private beaches and well-appointed in every way. The sushi was excellent and the staff did everything for us, even down to putting our towels on the beach chairs for us. Gregory Town is down the road, as are a couple local places, so if you are looking to get out, I would recommend taking a cab. If you are looking to be worlds away from everything, which was my mission for this trip, then this is the perfect spot. Although we did see a couple of kids and they do have a game room, I think the Cove is geared more towards quiet couples. After coming off a very busy time at work, this was just what the doctor ordered. Peace and quiet. We stayed in a beach front suite and I practiced yoga every morning on the front porch overlooking the ocean. I even had a local resident join me on the mat one day. Achoooo! 😉

Harbour Island, aka Briland

While there are pink sand beaches on Eleuthera, Harbour Island is known for its pink sand beaches. The colorful, vernacular, candy colored, island architecture lines the streets and golf carts are the mode of travel around the island. A water taxi takes you from Eleuthera to Harbour Island and you can rent a golf cart once there to venture out on a self-guided tour around the island. Maps are available from the golf cart rental vendors, and the entire island can be driven around in a day.

There are so many cute places on Harbour Island to shop, eat, and explore. Here are a few of my favorites from this trip.

Sip Sip

Legendary on the island are Sip Sip’s lobster quesadillas. For some reason, this really hopping place is not located on the map and the signage is difficult to see from the street. After getting lost twice and asking everyone we passed, “where is Sip Sip” or “how do we get to Sip Sip from here” laughing at ourselves, we almost gave up.  The passion fruit sangria was so refreshing after that hot drive around the island and the lobster quesadillas totally lived up to the hype. The portion is large enough to share and rich enough to make you thankful you didn’t order a single one for yourself. The place is tight but not uncomfortably so. The view is to die for and the shop is adorable too. After overhearing ladies complaining about cost of things, it’s worth noting, most things cost more on an island because of the process it takes to get it there. Buyers pay an import tax for items to be shipped to the US and then must pay for the them to be brought into the Bahamas (or wherever the island may be). Some places in Asia can ship directly to the Bahamas, but most must go through the US first, then they are shipped to the smaller islands, like Harbour Island. All this shipping overseas via container, local shipping and transporting, import taxes, etc drives prices up. There are things I know I can find stateside cheaper if I look, but I buy local anyway just to support these small island businesses.

Ocean View Club

Directly adjacent to Sip Sip is Ocean View Club.  It was like walking into an Anthropologie store with dogs lying on the floor, stacks of books, an old gramophone, and furniture that looked mixed and matched but somehow worked perfectly together. Art was certainly a main feature of this place and all the objects made you just want to linger longer. Next time we visit, we will definitely plan to stay here a couple of nights, because the tub alone makes me want to book a room. During an interview for an article I read, the owner was quoted as saying, if you don’t like dogs, this is not the place for you, which makes me love it even more. You have to peruse the images on their site.

Blue Rooster

The hospitality in this traditional Bahamian style, gingerbread house couldn’t have been better. I bought the most beautiful white linen dress from the shopkeeper, who was just as friendly as could be. Blue Rooster has relaxed, casually elegant, resort wear and jewelry. Easy, breezy dresses in solids and colorful patterns made of lightweight breathable fabrics in a darling little setting. I must have said, “oh my gosh, this is so cute” at least 50 times in this quaint little shop. I had such a great time chatting with the girl inside I forgot to take pictures of the shop, but I did capture this one as I was leaving. You can also check them out on instagram.

Shine

First, can I just say, I love the name! It just sounds like a happy place run by a happy person, because of course we all want to sell and buy things that make us shine, so I just knew I was going to love this spot. Shine has two locations situated across the street from one another. One shop has more decorative interior pieces, and the one across the street has jewelry and other small items that the owner makes herself. Notice the heart on the outside of the building? Such a cheerful island store that shines! Check them out here.

Ocean Tally

This Mediterranean inspired jewel is probably one of the most special places I have been in a long time. Down a long, winding dirt road, secretly perched high on a cliff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean at Whale Point, this small, intimate hotel and restuarant captures the imagination and senses. The Atlantic Dining room upstairs has an extrodinary view and the bar downstairs, as well as the exterior courtyard, has some beautiful tile details. The ocean front cottages overlook the Atlantic Ocean, and the fire pit area serves as a front row seat to watch the waves crash up into the tidal pool below. Nothing short of spectacular and something that needs to be experienced in person. Until then, visit their website and be mesmerized.

While I love the beautiful colors of the islands, texture is always my favorite. Below is a collage of my favorite textures I captured at The Cove. Be sure to click the small thumbnail below to see the full collage.

And two more illustrations I did while there.

Thanks for reading. Hope you loved it!

xo

Cassandra