Rock Sound - Around Town

What a lazy day. After three full days' sailing, we decided we needed a little rest. So we relaxed and hung out on the boat, then went into town for dinner. So far we are impressed with Eleuthera. Rock Sound is the biggest town on the island and it is the cleanest and quaintest we have seen in a while. The town was hit hard by Hurricane Floyd a few years ago and you can still see quite a few ruined homes and businesses, but for the most part the people have rebuilt and recovered. A little history lesson: Eleuthera was founded by a group called the Eleutherian Adventurers in the mid-1600's. The name is derived from the Greek word eleuthros, meaning freedom. It was the first republic in the New World with the first Constitution and the first Parliament. The Adventurers arrived in two vessels which were shipwrecked on the north side of the island in an area of reefs called the Devil's Backbone. The island itself is long and skinny (100 miles long and 2 miles wide), and the vegetation is lush which is a nice change from the drier, rocky cays of the Exumas.

We wandered through the town, listening to the singing from the Sunday evening church services (there is a church on every block). The sound was coming from several different churches but it reverberated off the buildings so that it sounded like the whole town was literally singing. We stopped to take a look at the local Blue Hole which is larger than the one we saw in the Berry Islands -- 360 feet across. It looked more like a lake than a cave. For dinner we went to a spot called Sammy's Place. Great BBQ; they sure know how to make ribs here in the Bahamas. We met some other boaters at the restaurant, a couple about our age with a young son. They were very nice and mentioned that they've met a lot of retirees out here but we were the first people they'd seen who were their own age. They have financed their trip by taking a second mortgage on their home, and they were joking that their family thinks they are crazy. I guess we are lucky to have friends and family who are so supportive of our "little adventure". You guys don't think we're crazy, do you?