That's what I love most about Eleuthera -- it's spam free. You don't see billboards and truck stops as you travel about. Most signs are simple and to the point. And there are those places that are so exquisite, you'd expect there would be signs everywhere pointing in their direction -- but they're not -- thank God!
But you can find that kind of spam on the net -- oodles of duplicity -- plenty of "me too" blather presumably in hopes of spamming the search engines for rank. I'm not saying they are all that way, there are some damn nice sites out there, but given the number that do spam gave me some of the impetus to develop my Eleuthera site. I thought it might be refreshing to try to keep it simple and try not to duplicate what's already there. Not always easy to do, I might add. The point is you don't need me to detail every last restaurant and beach nor do you need me to tell you what to see and do. You'll figure it out -- it's easy -- it's the Bahamas. Do nothing and you've done it all.
Most importantly, it's not about me -- it's about Eleuthera. I don't make any personal claims on Eleuthera. It isn't mine; it's God's. You can own property there but you can't take it with you in the end.
Most people who come to an island like Eleuthera know they're not making a trip to Six Flags. They're not looking to buy tee shirts either. And they don't go there because of a cliche. They just want to get away from it all. Spare me the details; just show me where the nearest beach is at. I don't care which beach it is, just something with sand and water will suffice. And no bus tours please. I just want to chill.
My wife is exactly that way... She doesn't care what the name of the beach is and whether it's the sexiest. One beach is as nice as the next in her eyes. I ask her if she wants to see the sunrise at Bannerman Lighthouse beach and she looks at me like I'm the Man from Mars -- especially when I tell her we'd have to get up at 4 A.M. and spend a few hours getting there. The looks I get from her are even more adorable when I tell her the last 3 miles of driving involve navigating a road that looks like moonscape -- something even a Hummer would flunk. "Hope you have a lovely day," is her response; a sarcastic yet effective phrase she picked up from her galpal Carolyn. "I'll be on the beach in front of the house." Love you too, Honey!
So maybe I'm the exception to the rule. I love adventure and I love capturing what I see, and when I get the chance, writing about it. Sure I'll show and tell you about some of the magical (note I didn't use the word "amazing", but I was tempted) places I've tripped to on Eleuthera. And then there are those others you'll have to figure out for yourself. Why spoil all the fun? And why bum out your "local" friends who prefer you don't tell everyone about their super secret spot? No worries though. You won't miss anything. Just ask my wife. She's lounging on the beach with Carolyn.
I do have some new stuff to share from our last trip to Eleuthera. The hard drive came home full. Took me weeks just to catalog it all. I also have some very cool new virtual reality shots to share. I keep expecting the idea will be copied, but nothing yet. Hard to copy / paste that kind of work.
Getting back to Bannerman Lighthouse beach, this needs to be seen if you are into venturing about Eleuthera -- arguably one of the hippest beaches on Eleuthera. This especially needs to be seen before the developers crap it up and turn it into another Florida Cay. The cruise ships are already hitting the place and leaving their footprints behind.
The photo above was taken at Bannerman. I noodled the shot in Photoshop for a while while listening to some Peter White but ran out the clock before I could get it the way I really wanted it. Still, you'll get the picture, pardon the pun. It also happens to be the anchor shot for a panoramic I shot there. And it doesn't stop there. I don't mind saying I have so many amazing (there, I used it the "a" word) shots from there, it's hard to choose which ones to post. This isn't gratuitous backslap either; it's easy to take amazing photos around Eleuthera simply because Eleuthera is one big picture postcard.
It may take me some months to thoughtfully put some of this together. I could throw it up now for the sake of tweaking the search engines, but lucky for you, I don't care about them. It's not about them; it's about Eleuthera.
pj
Eleuthera
©2007 Perry Joseph
