View of a pineapple?

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As we moved down the west coast of Eleuthera toward the Pineapple Cays, our route was nearer to land than usual.

Since we were close, we had a good view of the houses tucked into the cliffside.

So, dream big and try to choose a favorite!

Oooh, solar panels would come in handy.
This one’s tucked down out of the prevailing easterly wind.
The blue one has castle lines. Oh, but the orange one has a metal roof.

Although attractive and remote, none of those has access to the water. This next batch took care of that with stairways cut into the rock or “added” on.

The round one would have great views.
You can’t see it, but the lower house has a small deck cantilevered out over the water!
Note the ladder at the bottom of the stairway. That’s quite a trip.

Not a beach in sight! The coast along here is just these rugged cliffs. We also passed a couple of small, interesting bays.

Little Gregory Town
The tiny entrance to Hatchet Bay

This area of Eleuthera has a long history of pineapple production. From the interwebs:

“Gregory Town is known as ‘Pineapple City’ and was named after Governor John Gregory (Governor of the Bahamas in the 1950’s) …The annual Pineapple Festival was started in 1988 here by the Ministry of Tourism. When it was learned that Jensen Beach, Florida, also celebrated a Pineapple Festival, Gregory Town and Jensen Beach became official Sister Cities in July 1989. History shows that pineapples from Eleuthera helped start the pineapple industry in Jensen Beach in 1888.”

Regarding Hatchet Bay, which today is a very protected small bay visited by intrepid sailors:

“Austin T. Levy was an American wool mill owner from Rhode Island and a winter resident of many years, in Nassau. In 1936, Austin Levy purchased some 2,000 acres to embark on a venture to bring agricultural development back to Eleuthera. That venture became Hatchet Bay Farms.”

Our original “target” was #2 to the right. We thought to anchor near Sheep Cay and maybe do some snokeling around those little cays.

Well, the wind was too strong, as was the fetch (the longer the length of water across which the wind blows, the higher the waves). So, tried #3, but got nervous about the depth and couldn’t get close enough to the shore. Next, we backtracked to #4 – nope, still too rough.

Lastly, we went back through the little cut and all the way over to tuck up in deep water close to the shore south of Runaway Bay. Trials of selecting an anchorage in the Bahamas!

Some cool caves on the coast
Sisal plants on Sheep Cay

Yep, Sisal is cousin to agave (tequila and syrup). They’re the spiky plants in the middle of the above photo. Sisal is used to make rope.

We anchored, launched the dinghies, and took a walk in the South Palmetto Point Settlement.

See the lizard? Pretty good camouflage, huh?

Best of all? On this particular afternoon, our walk ended in…..

PIZZA!

Reviews suggested it was the “best pizza in the Bahamas.” We thought it was “ah-right.” But, hey, it was pizza, thus a treat. Ha!

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