Dunmore Town, Harbor Island by Ferry

3/2 – We had planned on staying in Spanish Wells for a couple of days and then going to Dunmore Town for a couple of days. At the excellent recommendation of our friends, Michel and Carole on Emotion 3 (the French Canadian couple we traveled with during the Great Loop), we had secured the services of Jock (The Bandit). He is a local Pilot who leads boats through the Devils Backbone – the passage between Spanish Wells and Dunmore Town. It is rife with coral reefs and is considered to be quite dangerous for the “first timer”. Well, to make a long story short, the weather starting deteriorating and Jock stopped by to let us know he highly recommended staying put and not taking the boat to Harbor Island. Enough said – we’ll keep the boat in Spanish Wells. We did, however, want to see Dunmore Town. The next best option was to take the ferry that comes from Nassau to Spanish Wells to Dunmore Town.

Dunmore Town is a picturesque little town filled with pastel-painted cottages, restaurants, art galleries, boutiques and, recently, lots of high-end resorts. It is known as the place the “rich and famous” come to relax and maintain their anonymity. We caught the ferry around 10:00 and made the trip in about 30 minutes with the large ferry running quickly through the narrow channel between the reefs. It was amazing how close it came to the reefs.

When we arrived at the dock we set out on foot to explore the town. However, we soon decided the best way to spend our limited time would be to rent one of the many golf carts that lined the streets, especially by the harbor. Michael became the designated driver and soon had the pedal, brakes and “driving on the left side of the street” mastered. We managed to cram in quite a bit in one day. It would be nice to be able to spend some leisurely time in the area, but with the current weather, we don’t think that’s in the cards. Once the weather settles down, we’ll probably head out to the Abacos.

Departing Spanish Wells. In this and the next 2 pictures
notice the darker areas of the water. These are the
reefs known as The Devil's Backbone.

More of the passage

A little farther out - but there are reefs the entire way

Gerry on the ferry

Arriving at Dunmore Town, Harbor Island

The dock and Immigration/Customs House

The harbor at very low tide

A huge pile of conch shells

The guys with our "hot wheels"

This building was named The Doll House

Another attractive building

A small street-side cafe

This is where we had lunch -- Angelas Star Fish
Absolutely wonderful conch chowder and very
reasonable prices

The Dilly Dally - lots of local island wares -- quite expensive, but nice

Heading off to find the beach -- very undeveloped roads

At one point, we had to get out and push. This was, however,
not the way to the beach. This was in an area of huge
homes hidden behind walls -- guess this is where the
rich and famous hang out. Finally we solicited the
help of a local and he led us to a road that
had beach access

To the beach - to the beach - finally

Michael and Jana walking along the beach

Another shot of the beach. Because of all the coral reefs,
the beach has a pinkish color. It is rated as one
of the top ten beaches in the world

A shot of the waves hitting the shore

Back in town at the dock we found a heated game
of dominoes going on. The woman ended up winning.

We found a fishing boat with lobster, here being cleaned
by a lady

Back in the buggy, we headed out to the other part of
town to find the marinas. Here we're passing
by John Bull -- a very high-end department
store in the Bahamas

This house was called "Up Yonder"

A shot of the Harbor Island Club and Marina

The Romora Club Marina - also very nice

After turning in the rental golf cart, we still had 1/2 hour
or so before the ferry left, so we stopped for a quick
drink at the Harbor House Bar. This is some
artwork hanging over the bar.