20 years later....It's Better in the Bahamas!

The last time Scott and I were in the Bahamas was May 2003.  I was studying sharks with Dr. Gruber.  Scott and his friends were traveling on Scott's boat, Gimme Shelter, and hanging out in South Bimini where I was studying. 

Oh man, those were fun days! I hung out with Scott after my field work was finished.  

Not too long after that trip, Scott proposed and we were married that year, December 12, 2003.  

20 Years later we are back in the Bahamas, and we'll be here celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary!

With kids.....

We first arrived in Nassau, staying only one night.  The flight to Eleuthera had already left.  

We explored Nassau.  It's busy, and very much a tourist area.  It's super expensive and so we were glad we were only staying for one night. 

The flight to Rock Sound Airport, on the southern tip of Eleuthera was on a small plane.  We were in row 12 at the back of the plane, with only 2 more seats behind us. Enzo absolutely loves being in an airplane (window seat of course).

Fortunately this plane was bigger than the plane from Managua to Little Corn and we all survived the heavy winds and rains that fell during our flight. 

(maybe a lemon shark)

I know what you're thinking - maybe.  Why go to the Bahamas during Hurricane Season?  Well, back in the day the weather wasn't so bad by the time November arrived.  However, as times have changed, so has the weather pattern.  So yes, scattered thunderstorms welcomed us but that didn't stop us from exploring. 

Oh, did I forget to mention that due to the storms and winds we had no electricity for a while?  And....no water!  So we decided to head out to the pier where there seemed to be a few people we could meet. 

Boy the people here are so very nice!  This family was cleaning fish and conch.

The conch is everywhere here.  It's so delicious!  Eli isn't into it though or at least not yet.

Conch sandwich $14 and it was jam packed.  I couldn't keep the sandwich together. 

Eli was in heaven with his chicken tenders and fries.  Still not into seafood.

This was our view on a cloudy day.  As you can see, we were going to do just fine even without electricity or water.  

The host of our Airbnb was super kind.  She had several of her caretakers check in on us during our first 2 days.  In addition the Kupcake Lady, Genele, who has a bakery behind our place gave us her gas stove so we could cook until the electricity came back on.  

Bert's for the Best grocery store is across the street from the bakery and where we got our groceries and water.  

We walked around our little town of Tarpum Bay.  It's super cute.  

Except for Bert's grocery store, which was open everyday (Sundays 7a - 10a), all the places closed Sunday and Monday.  We found this out the hard way... on Sunday.  

Later on I would ask different businesses what time they were open.  Best answer: "It depends, you know, I have a family.  I have things to do.  We open when we open and we close when we have to."

Closed.  Will open when they get back from vacation.  

It's nice to be walking around again instead of relying on a car.  Everything we needed was within a 5 minute walk.  

This is not the high season.  Not a soul could be found on the beach.  The locals know you're a tourist because only the tourists would go in the water now.  They think it is too cold now. 

The water was refreshing and so fun to play in!  It was clear and you could see everything!

By the 2nd afternoon we got the electricity and water back as well as blue skies.

As you can imagine, the swings are the pièce de résistance!  As you can see in the background the skies cleared up for us and we've had blue skies for days!

To make sure we could get Enzo's prescription medication, we did have to rent a car sooner than later.  We took a trip to Palmetto Point.  

Here are the directions.  Head north and once you enter the settlement of Palmetto Point, there will be a really big hill and at the bottom of the hill is the intersection where you turn right to go to the clinic. This is off of Queen's Highway.

Queen's Highway is basically the only real road so you shouldn't get lost.  Yep, we got lost.  The big hill wasn't as big as we thought it would be.   We passed it, saw the "Thank you for visiting Palmetto Point" sign and had to turn around to find the biggest hill and the intersection.  

Coincidentally while we were at the clinic, Eli got stung by a bee on his leg.  No worries, he's fine and one tough cookie!

After almost 3 hours at the clinic (there was an emergency that happened on the premises that delayed our appointment), we headed further north.  

Directions: after 5 speed bumps you will see the Zion church, turn and there is the BBQ restaurant.  It was closed.  

New Directions: go past 2 settlements and you'll find Daddy Joe's on the right. 

Nailed it!  Daddy Joe's for the win!  Look who was as happy as could be!

Fish tacos and fries!

Chicken tenders and fries....still no seafood.  😆

Daddy Joe's is one for the books.  Service and food were incredible.  

Did you know Lenny Kravitz is from here?  His grandfather lived on the north side of this long island.  Maybe he played music at Daddy Joe's?  I don't know.  I don't follow him.  I like his music but this shot of a poster size of Lenny Kravitz is for Lisa and Kenny (you know I had to do this). 

We continued north towards Glass Window Bridge.  Elizabeth gave us directions.

Directions: After Glass Window Bridge turn right on the road and go to the end. 

Could this get any better?

I love it when Enzo and Eli find their happy place. No one is acting up.  Everyone is so happy and free.  The discoveries we have found on this little Out Island in the Bahamas has been so exhilarating!

We could have stayed forever. The sun sets around 5:20pm and so we needed to make it back to our settlement.  We will be back!

But before we left, we couldn't resist checking out the Atlantic side of the island.  It's deeper hue of blue/purple contrasts against the Caribbean blue of the west side of the island which is shallow - hence the name Bahamas which means shallow sea.  

You can truly see the contract when you cross Glass Window Bridge. You can see the contrasts of the deep, rich blue water of the Atlantic with the shallow turquoise waters of the Bight of Eleuthera.

But wait, did you notice something in those pictures?  Scott and Enzo were barefoot.  Enzo didn't want to wear shoes, but why was Scott barefoot?  

Oh....he accidentally left one on that road we turned off.  I laugh at this picture as Scott accidentally left a flip flop (thong/slipper - depending on who you ask).  He was kicking off sand when he entered the car.  Fortunately we got it back.  Phew!

Drive on the left!  Every time you enter a settlement you'll see signs reminding you to drive on the left!

There are also signs that say "Dangerous Curve."  I am guessing because you never know if someone is driving on the right or if you will pass a cow.

As we approached Tarpum Bay and the place we are currently calling home, it was hard to keep my eyes on the road.  This blurry picture of an attempt of Scott to capture the sunset is the best we can do to just share the beauty of this little island lost in time.  

It got quiet in the car as the sun began to set.  There are no words to describe that moment in time as you become a witness to the beauty God is displaying right in front of your eyes.  

It's almost overwhelming....

I give thanks to the Lord above for providing me and my family this opportunity to experience these special moments.  

The windows are down.  The warm salt air flows through the car.  My little family sits quietly staring out to the west as we watch the different hues of orange and red paint the sky.  The ocean breathes back and forth as it kisses the sand.  Not a word is spoken...not...a...word.  

We return back home and almost in unison we all take a breath, head back to the house and return to our routine.  

My dreams have come true.  I eat all my meals with my family (Enzo sits happily in his comfy living room chair), we laugh, we play, and we end the night with a fun game of UNO!  

Warning:  Eli is a competitive little man!  Hmmmm, I wonder who he got that A+++ personality from?  

In case you are wondering.  This was our rental.  It's not your typical rental.  It rattled and hummed the entire time we drove.  The muffler was loud and the radio that reset every time you turned the car on was louder.  Mute the radio, lower the windows and you'll find that was all we needed.  

Everything is in Japanese.  Even the controls for the radio!

The steering wheel is on the right and you drive on the left!  Fortunately it's only one road....I got the hang of it.  This gem of a car might be a diamond in the rough but it did it's job and for that I am grateful!

Time to go and make dinner.  Are we playing UNO or watching a movie tonight?  To be continued.....

Oh, one more thing.  Bahamas has a marketing logo: "It's Better in the Bahamas."  It really is!