Wednesday, March 30, 2011, Day 185.  The weather for the next few days look awful with winds from the southwest and west at 15 to 30 knots.  For our own comfort and since Ray and Gail were coming, we decided to move to Cape Eleuthera Marina, and planned rent a car to visit Spanish Wells and Dunmore Town on Harbour Island.  The two-hour trip the the marina was lovely; it’s always good to be moving after a long stay.  The marina is very nice with a half-moon-shaped dock and actual slips and two lovely beaches.  There are rental units in the complex and a nice-looking but expensive restaurant with a broad porch overlooking the harbor.  After we arrived and settled down for a cocktail, Linda reluctantly informed Ken that the toilet in the day head wasn’t flushing--news that met with a few choice words.  Ken has had it with boat repair.  Though he’s incredibly successful with repairing what’s broken, this isn’t his picture of retirement.  With guests expected tomorrow, repair couldn’t wait.  We decided to get up early in the morning to attend to the problem.

Thursday, March 31, 2011, Day 186.  Ken couldn’t sleep thinking of all the possible reasons that the head didn’t flush.  We both got up at 3:00, fixed it (a bad butt connection--no pun intended!), and went back to sleep.  Ray called in the morning.  The weather in Miami was below minimums, so they couldn’t take-off, and they’re expecting another cold front tomorrow.  They’re hoping that Saturday’s weather will allow them to fly over.  We got the car that we had reserved, and headed off to Spanish Wells and Dunmore Town anyway; it was time to get off the boat.  The old Nissan rental car was left hand drive (US), driving on the left hand side of the road (British).  The 100 mile trip was a chore for Ken, more delightful for Linda. 

Spanish Wells (photo right) and Dunmore Town (photo below) are a study in similarities and contrasts.  Both a very white settlements.

Dunmore Town less so then Spanish Wells).  Folks in both spoke with an Scotch accent, which really surprised us.  We’ll have to read about this history of these settlements. Neither was really geared to boaters, but more to folks that either have a second home on the island or rented a beach house.  Spanish Wells reminded us in part of an old New England fishing village and in part of a North Carolina beach town.  Few of the shops were open, including the museum.  (We actually thought it must be some holiday so we asked.  It wasn’t.) The majority of charming houses were closed up (wouldn’t this be the season for being there?) and/or had For Sale signs on them--another sign of this poor economy.  By contrast

Dunmore Town, with some elegant homes, was lively.  Shops, bars and restaurants were open and doing a good business.  The Bahamian section of town was active with fishermen and folks in the street.  There was even a street party planned for this evening (photo right).  We wished that we could have stayed.  The “ferry” rides over and back were in high-speed boats were rocky as wind and waves were strong on this outside passage.  It’s amazing how the boat captains handle their boats, coming within inches of the concrete walls but never hitting them--the benefit of having twin engines!

On the way south, we drove back down the long, thin island through Glass Window Bridge, Gregory Town, and Hatchet Bay, but didn’t stop. 

We picked up some fellow boaters hitchhiking from a beach to their boats, which were one the few moorings in Hatchet Bay.  We stopped at Governors Harbour, drove around the west side again and got directions from another Scottish-tongued local to the Beach House, a tapas restaurant on the Atlantic side (photo left) someone had mentioned. The drive there was lined with very expensive homes.  We stopped to check it out but didn’t stay.

In summary, we are glad that we visited the towns, and might consider going back (especially to Dunmore Town), except for the difficulty reaching them by boat.  They all have poor holding.  The harbor at Spanish Wells is small and difficult; the guide books recommend hiring a pilot to get in and out (in fact, we saw a small fishing boat aground!).  Both Spanish Wells and Dunmore Town require a long trip off the normal routes and require navigation through narrow reefs.  Governors Harbour’s bottom has a few inches of sand over rock.  A road trip was the most comfortable way for us to see them.