Woke up to the 7 o’clock wake-up call ready for our first island tour. The cruise ship is anchored off shore from the island as the water is very shallow around the island. The swell is a meter or so high so it will be a very interesting ride in the Tender to the island.

 A lot of the passengers will be spending their time at Princess Cays which is an exclusive port of call and private beach on the southern portion of the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas. The island is 100 miles long and only 2 miles wide and offers unspoiled beaches with Princess Cays on more than 30 acres of beach with over a mile and half of white sand shoreline.

After breakfast we went to the information desk and still no email from Bicton Travel we then took the shuttle to the island. Upon arriving at the island we went through the security section to the outside market area of the local people to negotiate with a local guide from Pineapple Plantation Tours.

The island is mostly covered in dense lush foliage (bush to the height of small trees), one step off the road and you are lost. Queens Highway is the main road that runs through the middle of the island and our first stop with Lyle is Wemyss Bight tiny village with four Catholic churches very small homes and quite a lot are derelict and a lot of unemployment. Saltwater mangroves before we drive through Greencastle where there are larger homes some owned from people overseas and used as holiday homes. We stop at the government agricultural packing house where all vegetables grown in the area are packed and sent by sea to Nassau. Lyle shows us where the onions are dried for packed.

The island is mainly limestone and Lyle shows us the old cemetery by the sea as this is where everyone is buried because the soil is very sandy and the turquoise water is beautiful and clear. We stopped at the little town of Rock Sound which is the capital of the southern part of the island and took the photo there on the shoreline. We passed the Rock Sound Healing Hole where local people seek the healing powers of what is locally called boiling hole and there is a little cave where the water goes out to the sea. The town is very small Lyle took us through the very small pink government administration building which consisted of the tiny courthouse and the police department.

I don’t know why but Lyle showed us one of their Domestic International Airports which was tiny but it apparently can land jumbo planes not interesting to us. Next we went to Ocean Hole when local people claim that this beautiful inland blue hole is bottomless. It is filled with tropical fish and turtles and when Richard threw bread into the water the fish came up to feed. Took a movie and photo here of Richard. At the little souvenir stall there Richard paid $25 for two Cuban cigars (he later felt ripped). Lastly we drove through the overgrown Cotton Bay Beach Golf Course and Resort (think they went bankrupt no Japanese tourist came) down in overgrown track the beautiful beach. All the beaches around the island have beautiful white sand and turquoise water small reefs where you can dive for fish.

Back at Princess Cays I bought two little dolls took a video and we joined the long queue to get back on to a tender to go back to the cruise ship.

Time for a late lunch, still no email from Bicton Travel, had a wander around the ship and a rest before dinner. Enjoyed a song and dance routine in the Atrium area before retiring.