Eleuthera Islands Attractions
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Eleuthera has an area of 200sq.mi/518sq.km and is located on the eastern side of the Bahamas. The long island encompasses Windermere Island, St George's Cay and Cupid's Cay. The island is a main agricultural center in the Bahamas, producing fruits and vegetables along with poultry and cattle. There are miles of unspoiled beaches, green forests and hills, and red soil in the north which yields pineapples.Attractions include diving and snorkeling, boating and kayaking, cave exploring, blue holes, golfing, biking and swimming along pink beaches. There is also good surfing at Gregory Town, as well as the Pineapple Festival and straw markets that are also attractive to visitors.Lucayan Indians were the first to occupy the island, however the entire Indian nation was enslaved by the Spanish in the 15th C, who sent them off to mine gold and silver in South America. British and Bermudian Puritan pioneers called the Eleutherian Adventurers (from the Greek word meaning "free") were ship-wrecked off the island in 1647, and named it Eleuthera. Infighting broke up the colony, which eventually reformed into three separate settlements along Eleuthera.There are three airports on Eleuthera: ELH (Gregory Town, Alice Town, Spanish Wells, The Bluff) GHB (Governor's Harbour, North Palmetto Point, Savannah Sound) and RSD (Tarpum Bay, Rock Sound, Deep Creek, Waterford).
Harbour Island
Harbour Island (area,1.5sq.mi/4sq.km) is located just off the east coast of Eleuthera Island in the eastern region of the Bahamas Islands. Harbour Island can be reached as a quiet day trip out of Nassau on the Bahamas Fast Ferries Catamaran.Harbour Island is the oldest settlement in the Bahamas, as well as the site of the first Bahamian parliament. There are many nice pink beaches with opportunities for boating, and the settlements feature very colorful houses. There are no cars on the island, and most people move around using golf carts. Attractions include the Wesley Methodist church (1843) featuring a Celtic cross, the Barracks Hill, the Loyalist Cottage, Sir George Roberts Memorial Library and other churches.Founded by William Sayles in 1648, Harbour Island was founded in the name of religious freedom. Sayles and his Eleutheran Adventurers settled on the island, as did Loyalists in the 18th C. Queen Victoria of England awarded the Loyalists large plots of farming land after thwarting Spanish enemies in 1783. Prosperity followed, as Dunmore Town became the second largest city of Bahamas for a short period. Harbour Island was a major center for rum-running during the prohibition era, which boosted the local economy to a large degree.
Glass Window
The Glass Window, a natural feature, is the remains of a natural arch that once spanned all of Eleuthera. Today, the Glass Window is the site of the narrowest point of the arch, and the contrast between the turquoise waters of the shallow ground to the west and the deep blue of the Atlantic Ocean is very noticeable.
