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Eleuthera stretches approximately 110 miles long and in places spans no more than a mile to a mile and a half wide. It's mainland is divided into north and south, where in the northern portion offers ferry docks to both Harbour Island and Spanish wells. Traveling south from northern Eleuthera one passes through the Glass Window Bridge which offers dramatic views of both the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. This bridge is one of the narrowest points of the island. The population of the island is about 11,000. Eleuthera is the site of the first successful European settlement in The Bahamas and has more than 100 miles of picturesque pink sand beaches and quaint New England-style fishing villages; and it is also a tropical Bohemia for artists.
It's settlements include (north to south) The Bluff, Upper and Lower Bogue, The Current, Gregory Town, Alice Town, James Cistern, Governor's Harbour, North and South Palmetto Point, Savannah Sound, Winding Bay, Tarpum Bay, Rock Sound, Greencastle, Deep Creek, Delancy Town, Waterford, Wemyss Bight, John Millars, Millar's and Bannerman Town. Airports with regularly scheduled flights are found in North Eleuthera, Governor's Harbour and Rock Sound. Famed for the sweetness of its Pineapples, Eleuthera holds an annual Pineapple Festival in Gregory Town each June.
Visit Preacher's Cave where it is believed that Eleutherian's took shelter after exploring North Eleuthera. Another site of interest is the Cave at Hatchet Bay which is filled with stalagmites and stalactites. Rock Sound Ocean Hole is popular for feeding fish or climbing the cliffs for a dramatic view of both the Caribbean and Atlantic oceans. Surfer's Beach is popular for the obvious reasons. The Boiling Hole and The Hot Tubs just south of Whale's Point are popular attractions as are The Cliffs north of James Cistern. Excellent Bone Fishing can be had in many of the bays with a special favorite being Ten Bay. The well to-do inhabitants of Windermere Island are often visited by the Royal Family. Windermere Island is just off the eastern coast of Eleuthera, south of Savannah Sound.
Originally the Company of Eleutherian Adventurers Puritan Pilgrims settled in the area now known as Governor's Harbour, coming ashore at Cupid's Cay in 1648. They received assistance from a fellow Puritan's of Massachusetts. They then renamed the island from Cigatoo - its aborigine name, to Eleuthera which means Freedom in Greek. Later out of gratitude they sent a gift of braziletto wood to help the folks at Harvard University; which was at that time the most valuable gift they had ever received. A replica of their Constitution hangs in the Parliament buildings in Nassau. Puritans preferred a republic and their constitution established the first republic in the New World, long before the George Washington-Thomas Jefferson proclamations came into being. Eleuthera is full of natural beauty with white and pink sand beaches stretching miles and miles along its coasts to stunning views of both the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. Along Eleuthera are majestic cliffs and massive boulders thought to have been left by catastrophic tsunamis over 100,000 years ago.
Harbour Island features 18th century New England style buildings or cottages/capes; restored in a Bahamian Brigadoon setting along a three-mile pink sand beach. The Harbour Island settlement of Dunmore Town was once the Bahamian summer capital and second only to Nassau in importance and population. Spanish Wells is the village where crawfishing has enriched many. There is a small museum where the seafaring residents' rich heritage and culture can be reviewed. Windermere Island is popular with the rich, royal and classy set -- so much so that admittance is denied without an appointment. There is the "artsy" Tarpum Bay and world-class surfing at Gregory Town's Surfer's Beach. The Rock Sound area in the south is the up and coming area of commerce with franchises and business abounding.
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History,
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