April 5 - Harbour Island, Eleuthera

“When all the dust is settled and all the crowds are gone, the things that matter are faith, family, and friends.” – Barbara Bush 

By Friday we all decided to go our own way for part of the day...Eric and his family spent the day at Sky Beach Resort, Kyle and his family went back to our favorite little beach on the Exuma Sound and Stan and I drove north to explore Harbour Island. The island is located at the northern end of Eleuthera and is called “Briland” by the locals. A sign welcomes you that reads, “Welcome to Harbour Island, Home of Friendly People”. 

It's a small island famous for it's pink sand beach that stretches for 2.5 miles. Dunmore Town is one of the oldest and most charming of settlements in the Bahamas, complete with white picket fences. Harbour Island has been Eleuthera's tourism center since the advent of tourism on Eleuthera. 

The ferry dock in Dunmore Town

The waterfront

Part of the small straw market at Harbour Island

We enjoyed looking around and had a nice lunch at Sip Sip overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. This area has a more touristy feel to it...more of a Cape Cod, Nantucket feel almost. Lots of people who spend time here seem to be the kind who feel they're entitled to something...a little more uppity than the area we're in. We're glad we came for a visit, but we're also glad we rented a house where we did.

Rockhouse Resort and Sip Sip

Sip Sip (means talk talk..chit chat)

Pink Sand Beach on Harbour Island is considered one of the very best pink sand beaches in the world. The pale pink color of the sand comes from microscopic coral insects, known as Foraminifera, which have a bright pink or red shells. These animals live on the underside of reefs, like the nearby Devil's Backbone, on the sea floors, beneath rocks and in caves. After the insect dies, the wave action crushes the shell and washes the remains ashore and mixes it in with the sand and bits of coral. The pink stands out more in the wet sand at the water's edge. Unlike other parts of the world, the sand here is always cool, so it doesn't burn your feet, even on the hottest days.

Some of the buildings in town