…is thought to be one of the oldest “towns” in the Bahamas, an offshoot to the very early establishment over on Spanish Wells. Yep, those same shipwrecked British puritans that bailed from Bermuda in 1648. Well, after their leader returned from Massachusetts with supplies, he found that some of the survivors had moved over to Briland, hiding from the Spanish. Remember, the Spanish had stripped the Bahamas of people for slaves. So, these guys had the run of the place, and everything was “fine” until 1787.
Oh boy, some history, but wait, you’ll see why!
Enter Lord Dunmore, born John Murray, who happened to be the last Royal Governor of Virginia. Dunmore was a bit of a paradox of the time, with a major historical connection to Susie’s part of Virginia. On one hand, he’s the guy that “freed slaves” to fight for the British, which briefly worked. On the other hand, he got cocky – and subsequently smacked down – at the famous Battle of Great Bridge (Susie’s dad lives very near there) in 1776. Notice the year.
Well, Dunmore slinks back to England and is still paid as Governor of Virgina until 1783, when England finally acknowledged they lost America. He then gets sent to be the new Govenor of the British West Indies (Bahamas). The first thing he does is bring in a bunch of slaves and starts giving land to British loyalists from America, and thus the Bahamas gets populated and driven by slave labor.
All this to explain why the main town is called Dunmore Town and was, at one point, the capitol of the Bahamas…
Returning to the present day, our exploration of Harbour Island and Dunmore Town began with a move south in the harbor, to Cistern Bay.
Dragging the “family truckster” behind us
Along the way, we passed why Harbour Island is a tourist destination! Beautiful houses, right on the water, a couple on their own island!
We were headed to the opposite side of the large bay, and once we got settled, we first spent a day or so doing what we enjoy most, exploring the more natural side of things.
There were lots of turtles swimming around us in Cistern Bay. Fun! Let’s get a picture for the folks back home!
Terry had a very long stick he found on shore. We think he liked the look, kinda Moses like. Ha! Amazingly, the turtles swam right over to “Terry the Turtle Whisperer.” Of course, upon approach by anyone with a camera, the spell was broken, and the rascals scattered!
You want me to part the water, sonny!
Found a couple of chitons – prehistoric-looking critters that stick to the rocks and move along eating algae.
We’ve read that some people eat chitons, but since there were only two of them, we settled for taking a group shot and returning to the boats for a more fitting meal.
Time to visit Harbour Island proper and Dunmore Town: a short dinghy ride across the “bay.”
After tooling about the island in our very expensive rental cart, we headed for the famous Pink Sand Beach, which has a resort and restaurant and, of course, rentable chairs and umbrellas. Hmm. I guess, we’ll get one after lunch so the guys can stay out of the sun while the ladies set out for some beach combing…? On a resort beach? Oh well, it’s a beach and thus needs combing.
But about those shells? Alas, only two tiny ones.
Okay, so hey, you might have noticed a tone to this post. Given our desire for nature and as unspoiled as we can get it, a resort town ended up just not being our cup of tea. They have their place, and we have friends that would most likely love a place like this. For this group of vagabonds, we’ll keep moving on.
To wrap this post up on a positive note though, those who know Susie know she loves trees. So, that’ll be our exit. Trees!
The Pink Sands Resort won favor by its kindness to the trees. They cut room in the fence for the palms to lean through. Fabulous! 
Per Fodor’s Travel – “If you stroll to the end of Bay Street and follow the curve to the western edge of the island, you’ll find the Lone Tree, one of the most photographed icons of Harbour Island. This enormous piece of driftwood is said to have washed up on shore after a bad storm and anchored itself on the shallow sandbar in a picturesque upright position, providing the perfect photo op for countless tourists.”
Our Travels 