Walking On Sunsine

Governor's Harbour 

Our group met on the shore at 8:30 to get an early start on our day. The tide was low, but rising so we drug the dinghies as far in as we could. The shallows here are broad and the dinghy drag covered about 200 yards. Don can be seen in the background bringing his boat in. We traded flip flops for sneakers before getting underway as the walk to the Leon Levy Nature Preserve was 2.25 miles, one way. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful morning. The 30-acre Preserve is operated by the Bahamas National Trust and has miles of trails winding through the native habitat. We checked in at the welcome center and got or trail map. Barry took the role of navigator and led us to the well manicured trails by way of the central waterfall feature and the mangrove boardwalk. The animals emerged front and center, like the banana spider hanging down at head height.

It seemed like most of the identifying signs had a creature attached to it. I will call it a "lizard" here, but make no claims about being an expert. We spotted an unoccupied bird nest and studied its construction. A section was devoted to succulents which are not typically thought of as island plants. Large agaves and aloes were represented along with several species of cactus. Plantains were low hanging fruit in the edible history section

The yellow elder caught my eye as did the red berries of a palm. Airplants clung to the trunks of other trees along the way. One of my favorite new facts learned today was about the red soil found in Eleuthera, although the islands are formed of limestone. The red soil comes from the Sahara Desert. During sand storms in the Sahara, the red sand dust is blown high into the atmosphere. Atmospheric winds take the fine dust particles thousands of miles, where they return to earth through raindrops. Eleuthera is in the path of those winds. The red soil has built up over thousands of years and is highly prized for agriculture in the islands. 

My favorite new flower was that of the yellow floatingheart, a water lily in the freshwater wetlands. Dozens of turtles darted out from their hiding places to greet us as we walked over the freshwater lake. Later we learned that turtle food is sold at the welcome center. None of us had purchased food and we left all the turtles disappointed. The path led us back to the waterfall and we wrapped up our tour by chatting with the friendly staff. It was 11:30 and we were all thinking of lunch,

Just over a quarter mile down the street is Tippy's. A quick internet check confirmed it would open at noon so we made our way there. With a few minutes to spare before opening, Joanne and I went down to walk along the powdery-soft, pink sand beach. The menu board was brought to our table and we all ordered lunch and enjoyed the spectacular view.  

Our final order of business was to recreate our photo from our first visit here in 2019. After lunch we retraced the 2.5 miles back to the dinghy, passing the Welcome sign along the way. The day kept us out later than we anticipated. In yet another change of plans, we said goodbye to our new Chesapeake Bay sailing friends as they headed north. Safe travels, No Limits, Shooting Star, Dragonfly, and Ana Cristina. I hope our paths cross again. I put my feet up and finished another book before the golden glow of the sunset blanketed the sky. We will double back to Rock Sound in the morning for a few more days.