Charming, spacious, historic cottage with ocean views, path to beach

Spanish Wells (St. George's Cay) is often described with this caveat: "it's not for everyone." We really hope that remains the case. Spanish Wells/Russell Island welcomes tourists not because the community must do so to survive, but because the community is genuinely interested in sharing a way of life that is incredibly rare these days. Things are pretty much the same as when I first set foot on the island s a kid almost 4 decades ago. That's not to infer that infrastructure is in any way primitive; no, Spanish Wells definitely has its act together as compared to the rest of The Bahamas. No amount of money spent on an upscale vacation to Harbour Island will buy you assurance that the power will remain on or the water flowing. But you can be almost certain that the lights will remain on in Spanish Wells. You can also be certain that you'll have the opportunity to connect with history. It's present in the way people speak, in the family names, in the faces. Think about the last time you visited a place where the residents' ancestry reached back nearly 400 years to the very same soil and sea. The place is compelling to anyone willing to maintain open eyes and ears. Unfortunately, there are some unflattering myths out there, for example, racial prejudice. I have seen no evidence of that. In fact, the island's Anglo-Saxon appearance is attributable to the community's rejection of slavery at a time when all the other islands capitulated. Even today, the do-it-yourself work ethic is very much alive and well. Did I mention the place is beautiful and the fishing is world class? Rent a boat through Bahama Vacation Homes and do some exploring. If you're not comfortable handling a boat or navigating, hire Capt. Smiley or Capt. Scuba (a.k.a., Brent or Brian) to give you some pointers or show you around. When in Spanish Wells, do as the locals do: catch your own dinner!

This cottage is perfect is you are looking for a laid-back, relaxing, mellow vacation. The patio in the back is perfect for breakfast, and the front porch and balcony with its marvelous view are lovely, shady spots to relax in the afternoon. The kitchen is a good size, and had everything we needed (except for something to crack open the crab claws - we improvised with a rock!) to create some very memorable meals. The bedrooms and living room are clean and serviceable. The bathrooms were acceptable, though the water pressure for the shower was weak. The house next door keeps a flock of chickens who have no respect for property boundaries and visited us on a regular basis. They didn't bother us for the most part, though were rather noisy quite early on a couple of mornings.

The location is ideal, being a few minutes walk to a wonderful beach in one direction, and an equal distance to the harbour in the other. We rented a golf cart for the week, and it served us well for touring around the island and picking up groceries. The bikes and kayak are very nice to have; it is quite easy to bike around the entire island and the kayak allowed us to get a different view of the harbour and to get some close-up views of wildlife - bonefish, rays, herons and egrets. The beach is amazing - we never ceased being intrigued with the movement of the tides, and found many conch during low tide. The water is very shallow for quite a distance out and we whiled away many hours wading, swimming and floating in the clear, turquoise waters. The twenty-somethings travelling with us spent a lot of quality time fishing.

Spanish Wells has the feel of a small town from the past; people take time to stop and chat, everyone waves as they pass by and the town is clean, safe and pretty. There aren't any bars or nightclubs, no amusement parks or laser tag, but there is excellent swimming, fishing, kayaking, and sunset-viewing. The few restaurants have limited menus and the food on offer is basic. With the exception of the conch chowder, which was excellent, we preferred to eat at home. Excellent seafood purchased from the local fish shop and great home-made buns from the grocery store made for some delicious home-made meals. The nights are very quiet in Spanish Wells, and the dark sky and lack of ambient light made for some great star watching.

The cottage was perfect for the type of vacation we wanted - quiet, relaxing, lots of sun, water and outdoor activities.

It's the kind of place we would build in the Bahamas today if money were no object. Sea Fan cottage is very close to the dock where our rental boat was waiting for us and also an easy walk to the beach. Though we visited during the warm summer solstice, Sea Fan's it's perfect hillside location allowed the summer sea breezes to circulate throughout the cottage and the air conditioners sat idle. The spearfishing was great, the resulting meals were delicious, and Lorraine, Brent and Brian were gracious as always. If you want a commercialized, tropical-anywhere kind of vacation, don't come to Spanish Wells. If you want a taste of the real Bahamas and you value kind, sincere and exemplary hosts, come to Spanish Wells/Eleuthera and stay at one of Lorraine's properties. (Before Sea Fan Cottage we stayed at Turtle Cove and had an equally grand time). Thanks again for a great vacation! See you next winter.