By Kay Trotman
I had a conference to attend in Orlando Florida which I had been preparing for the last few days. This time I wanted to make the best use of my time so I decided that Orlando was not going to be my only stop. Fortunately I was accompanied by a friend of mine so the trip wouldn’t be so boring.
On a clear day, shortly before the conference in Orlando, my girlfriend and I were ready for the side trip to the Bahamas I had previously planned. It was a short jaunt for a few days, prior to the Orlando conference. I had several friends in the Bahamas that I hoped to see on our island excursion.
My life as a travel agent allows me a unique opportunity to expand my travels, not only to Orlando and other stateside cities but also to unknown lands. So off we went for a few days, this time to the Bahamas hoping to make good use of the few days wait before my Orlando conference.
Eleuthera, Bahamas is not the ordinary destination for tourists who generally travel to the Bahamas. True to form, we are always traveling off the beaten path. It’s a lot more fun and interesting visiting the places that tourists don’t usually go. That way you get to see the ordinary people and get a better glimpse of how they live. You also have a better chance of meeting some interesting people. Sometimes lifelong friends are made by that chance meeting.
Eleuthera, which means “Freedom” in Greek, seems to live up to its name. Upon arrival, we decided we needed a car. After all, how could we explore this wonderful Bahamas Island without a car? Lo and behold though, there was unfortunately, no rental car agency on the island.
We found this out by jumping in a taxi and asking him to take us to the closest car rental agency. He said, ‘take mine’. Not sure whether he was serious or not, I asked him ‘was he kidding’? In his typical West Indian accent, he said ‘no mon’. He asked us where we were staying. We told him the Cotton Bay Club and he told us how to get there. Then he quickly jumped out of the taxi and waived us on.
Off we went in our new ‘rental’ car. Well this was a real surprise to us and certainly was no Orlando or any place in the States. It would be a cold day in he.. before anyone in the U.S. that we didn’t know would jump out of their car and offer it to us gratis.
He obviously knew we couldn’t go anywhere, after all, Eleuthera on Harbour Island is an island which takes all of a couple of hours to see. No way to leave the island in a car, no way to get lost. Everyone knows everyone, he had nothing to lose. As we waved at the friendly residents we noted that Harbour Island is surrounded by pink, sugar-sand beaches. We finally arrived at our destination.
Impressed by the beauty of our accommodations, the gentleness of the water and the pink sand beach right outside our room, we settled down in our room with our ‘banana daiquiris’ and coconut pastries. Did I really want to go to Orlando? This little side trip to the Bahamas was life in the slow lane and I was enjoying every minute of it.
We had a great time the next day in this beautiful paradise. Later in the day, as we walked to the club and TV room we noticed several guests intensely watching something on the news. As we walked closer, we noticed that everyone was intently watching the path of the then infamous, Hurricane Andrew. Quite far from where we were, we weren’t really concerned and went about enjoying the rest of the day. As long as it didn’t hit Orlando or near there we weren’t worried.
The next morning, as we were eating breakfast, we first heard a tap tap tap, looked up and noticed someone was boarding up the windows of the club room. It didn’t dawn upon us that, just the night before, the hurricane was so far from us, that we could be in any danger. We just thought the hotel was preparing, ‘just in case’. Curiosity getting the best of me, I got up from the table, leaving my friend to finish alone, to go inquire from the manager just what was going on.
I was told that the hurricane was slated to hit the island about 1:00 p.m. on that day, I gulped. How could that be? The manager promptly said…..do you want to stay or do you want to leave. If you want to leave you have five minutes to gather your belongings and get to the airport. We have acquired twenty seats on the first Navy transport off the island. Everyone is evacuating.
Copyright © 2007 Kay L Trotman
Kay is an avid safari photographer. She writes many articles for herself and magazine articles. One of her favorite interests is traveling, especially on safaris. Another is creating greeting cards from her safari photos. Kay also likes gardening in her Southern California backyard garden. Kay can be reached from the Contact form at her travel website.
