Hatchet Bay, Surfers Beach

We had quite a week in Hatchet Bay.  We picked up a mooring ball on Sunday evening and went into town on Monday.  We rented a car to explore the island.  We got in touch with an old friend from Ed and Georgeanne’s childhood in Jupiter, Dan, who happens to live on the island.  He invited us to his home. They call their house "a surf shack", but it is a beautiful home with an awesome Atlantic Ocean view from their back deck!!

Dan and Stephanie's driveway

The view from their back yard!!

Dan drove us to Surfer’s Beach.  We were just flabbergasted over the waves and the beauty of the beach.

We moved off the mooring ball to save the $20/night fee and anchored out in the bay. It was a warm day, so I dove the anchor with Capt Ed.

The following day we took the car down south to Governor’s Harbour and explored a little.

We visited Levy’s Reserve, to learn all about the local botanicals and hike the trails. It was like a state park and had all the indigenous plants labeled with their scientific names. Ed enjoyed the walk and Georgeanne and I enjoyed learning about all the plants that are native to the Bahamas. 

Pineapples!

A beautiful palm frond, the preserve was full of them

After asking several “locals”, we discovered that the former Wykee Resort is behind the property called “Hut Point”.  We did some snooping around and were able to take some pictures for Charlotte, whose cousin once owned this beautiful piece of land.

We had a great lunch at the Bucaneer and Georgeanne enjoyed talking with the locals there. We had a beer at “Tippy’s”, a beachfront bar and headed back to Manatee.

 We had the opportunity that evening to go to “Sugar Apple”, the local bar that was having Open Mic Night. We had a great time, listening to the local surfers and residents jam.  Most of the people that played were from somewhere in the states.  The lead singer is a dock master in Beaufort, NC.  Others have lives in the states and come over here for the winter season.

Signs along Queen's Hwy, heading into Gregory Town

Entranceway to Sugar Apple Restaurant and Bar

Wednesday we drove up to the Glass Window, a very narrow piece of land, a bridge between the Atlantic Ocean and the Exuma Sound.  The ocean side looks so different than the “bay” side! Georgeous views!!

Silos along the highway, remnants of the islands farming history

The view towards the Atlantic side

The view towards the Exuma Sound side

Water churning down below!

After a nice lunch, we went back to Surfer’s Beach.   We parked the car at the end of the paved road and hiked the rest of the way to the beach. The path down to the beach took us right to the group of surfers we had met at the “Sugar Apple” the night before.  

Surfers Haven Hotel and Restaurant

The hike down to the beach

So as not to get lost!

Path down to the beach

The surfers "hut"

Surfs Up!  Ed is in heaven!! Too bad his knee is not up to surfing.  He would have been out there too.  But we can't take the chance of him blowing out his knee while surfing.  Not now.

Georgeanne and I just had to take a dip and get pounded by the surf.

We hiked back to the car and went back to Manatee for a nice relaxing evening before Georgeanne had to go home.

The following day we drove Georgeanne back to the North Eleuthera Airport to head home. On the way back from the airport, we did some more sightseeing.

"The Cow and the Bull", 2 boulders that have been literally blown and placed there by a past hurricane

So many cool signs on this island!

We sure had a good time while Georgeanne was here!! Now it's time to leave Hatchet Bay for a few days and explore more of the coast of Eleuthera.  We'll head south tomorrow.  The winds are favorable for a nice sail.