We went to Elbow Cay in the Bahamas to celebrate our anniversaries! Kate and Matt just hit 20, and Kris and I are about to hit 23.
We flew Detroit > Fort Lauderdale > Marsh Harbor. There was no one in the customs line, and instead of there being a crush of people outside the airport, a taxi driver casually asked if we needed a ride. She suggested we eat lunch at Colors, because her daughter worked there. The three of them had snapper with lots of bones, but Kate said the flavor was the best of the trip. My chicken quesadilla had no bones. Kris and Kate left to get groceries there, and Matt and I hung out until they got back. The same taxi driver took us to the ferry, and we boarded for Elbow Cay (pronounced key!)
We had rented a golf cart, and the rental guy Kevin met us at the dock. You need a golf cart around the island because while there are main paved roads, a lot of them are dirt trails, just wide enough for one golf cart. We went to our Airbnb, which was even better than the pictures. (Does that ever happen?) It was called Las Olas, and it was right on the ocean, with a little pool. We walked on the beach for a little bit, and it was warm and windy, with lots of waves. The sand isn't firm, like to walk on - it sinks down! It didn't matter how close you were to the water. Very different.
We explored, realized many things were closed, and walked into town. Town was very small also - like there isn't a grocery store or anything close to it. We were glad we bought our groceries on Marsh Harbor! We were trying to walk into a store, and I opened a pink and white door to a man sitting on a recliner, watching TV. He said, "Can I help you?" I told him we meant to go to the store. He said, "It's right next door." Yes, I'd walked right into his house. (The man working at the store said the man in the recliner was the store owner, so he was sure he didn't mind.)
After dark, we hopped on our golf cart and found an open restaurant - Firefly. The food was good, and there were a lot of friendly people outside. They told us each night was a different place to go to - one night was Bingo at Firefly (it had been the night before), another trivia at On Da Beach, and Friday karaoke at Captain Jack's - the same Captain Jack whose home I'd walked into on accident.
Day two
We went running and swimming. Then we went to one of the prettiest places I've ever been - Tahiti Beach. For a long time we were the only people there, the water was so incredibly clear and blue, it was shallow forever, and there was a swing! We walked to the sandbar, saw turtles, saw a starfish, listened to music, and played in the water. It was wonderful. There were conch shells with live conch in them as far as you could see. The water was warm, the view was incredible, and we stayed all day until the sunset!
We went back and got ready for dinner at On Da Beach for trivia, but we missed it by an hour - it had started at 6. It had cleared out so we went to Abaco Inn, which had the most people and the best food overall.
Day three
We ran to Tahiti Beach - it was that close, not even a mile from our place. We walked over from there to an adjoining beach and it was also amazing, since it had water crashing and running over huge rocks. Again, we were the only people there. I saw different birds and we saw huge turtles swimming each day.
We all went to Mackey's Convenience Store and ate burrito bowls, then went into town with the idea we'd see the lighthouse. It turns out you have to take the ferry to see it, so we nixed that idea and looked at it from afar. Then we walked around to see what we hadn't seen. Lots of chickens! We walked out to Town Beach, which was different again. You could walk on this sand, and it was huge and far and empty. We went back and got our suits on and went to the beach near Tahiti Beach (I can't find a name for it, but they're adjoining) and then again to Tahiti Beach. This time, there were two boats of people there, and we talked to them.
We went to Sea Spray on the water, and we met a fun group of people there. We stopped again at the Abaco Inn (motto: Tan your toes in the Abacos) and met more people. Our new friend named Josh told us there were caves near the inn, which was the first I'd heard of them.
Day four
After running to the beach and buying another container of water from the water place that's open 8-10am, we packed a picnic and headed to find the caves. We parked near St Somewhere and found a sign that said 'Beach.' We made our way down the stairs and found beautiful caves with the water rushing through them. We climbed over the rocks and into the caves. It was gorgeous and wild. When I was climbing out, I stepped on the sand, but it was like a booby trap. It was just covering a hole and I fell in to my knee, which scraped my knee on the rock like I'm a little kid! Ha! We sat in a cave in the shade and had a picnic.
This spot was truly beautiful. So blue, waves crashing, cave...so nice. I loved it here.
We went into town and saw a man cleaning a fish. He was throwing the scraps into the water and giant lemon sharks and nurse sharks were fighting over them. It was so interesting to see, and since I never think about sharks when I'm swimming, also made me think about that!
We went to Town Beach to swim, play bocce with a coconut, and again enjoy being the only people out there. To give you an example of how quiet it is, as we walked through town, Matt's crocs were squeaking so loudly that the sole local man walking ahead of us teased him about it.
We went to see the sunset at Tahiti Beach, and since it was Friday, there were a lot more people there. We saw a wedding proposal! Romantic spot for sure.
Everyone we met had told us they were going to karaoke, and Captain Jack's had really good food for dinner.
Then...it was like we were in the finale of a show, because all the cast of characters of everyone we met over the week there - both locals and vacationers - showed up. Everyone sang, and everyone was there to have a good time. Super fun.
Day five
We took the ferry to Marsh Harbor, and our taxi driver again took us to a restaurant (Island Boyz) because her daughter worked there. All good! She asked what time our flight left, and we said 1:40 p.m. She asked what airline, and we said Silver. She said, "Well, we'll see if it goes at all!" and then laughed loud and long. I was immediately nervous. It'd gotten us there fine, why not on the way home? It did leave on time, but it definitely has a different vibe than other airlines. No stress, no hurry, no one herding you like cattle or yelling at you. Both times Kris and I had row 2, and both times we had to move to the back of the plane for weight - but who cares, because it loads from the back! I also love walking out on a tarmac to get on a plane. It feels exotic.
Interesting things about the island - it was hit by Dorian five years ago, and it was huge deal, and they are still rebuilding. Kevin our cart rental guy said that since Elbow Cay has a lot of second homes, it's getting rebuilt faster that some of the other islands. He and two other people we met there said they were ninth generation Bahamians or said their family has been there since the 1700s. Another local said he loved it, but he has to leave every once in awhile because it gets very small. We got it - we saw all the same people all the time, as the whole island is only 7 miles around. The swing and the walls of places had lots of stickers of boats. So many - it's a thing. Locals and tourists both were friendly and talkative. Also - we love going places with Kate and Matt, since they're such great vacation partners. This is our third country with them.
I love going to places that is all about nature and doesn't have a lot of people, so this really hit the spot. As we flew away, you could see the amazing color of the water. It filled the entire plane window. My ancestors chose Michigan, and theirs chose the Bahamas. If mine had come here first, would they have made the same choice? Possibly...there's not one dairy farm on Elbow Cay!
