I'd just like to add my two cents for anyone who is toying with the idea of
going on Bobbi and Jim's Eleuthera trip.

I've been on a couple of these trips and they are delightful. If you've been
to Nassau  and you think that is typical of the Bahamas, you couldn't be more
wrong. The Out Islands are undeveloped to the point of being rustic and
absolutely unspoiled. Imagine Florida around the turn of the century. Now
increase the ratio of beach to land a hundred fold. Miles of empty beaches
and reefs all to yourself.

The Cordy's are great folks, warm and very knowledgeable. The format of the
trip is informal. There is a daily destination, and, while nobody will be
holding your hand, the company is good. Eleuthera is a loooong island and
many of these spots would be hard to find by yourself. If you are feeling
lazy, you can stay back at the cottages, the pickings off the beach right
there are pretty good. At the end of the day, people usually put their haul
out on the porch railings so we can oogle and swap, stories if not shells.
There aren't a lot of shells out there that Jim Cordy can't ID. It is a great
way to learn about and immerse yourself in the shell hobby.

We stay in Tarpum Bay, a pretty little sleepy village on the back (west,
protected) side of the island. The school is right on the water and the
uniformed children walk there weekday mornings. Ethel's Cottages are
reminiscent of a Cape Cod Motel circa 1955. They are pleasant and clean, but
simple. There are complete kitchens and air conditioning and even TV (I
confess to a fondness for Bahamian music videos), but not everything always
works. This is not because Miss Ethel runs a slipshod operation. Things can
be a little difficult in the Out Islands. There are fearsome power surges
that fry appliances and getting replacement parts is difficult. The import
duties are horrendous.

So it is a tradeoff for sure. If you want state of the art amenities, don't
go to Eleuthera. But if you want to get away from the crowds, if you want to
see unspoiled coastline, this is for you.

Because Eleuthera is so lovely and so close to the USA, there have been
efforts to develop it.  But when a hurricane comes through, hotels don't get
rebuilt. Some of the most productive shelling spots are the sites of former
resorts.

Mostly we snorkel. The water is warm, clean and shallow. The underwater
wildlife is glorious. I've seen three species of trigger fish, numerous
species of angelfish and lots of parrotfish, wrasse and snappers. I've also
seen larger creatures; sea turtles, spotted eagle rays (a favorite of mine)
and stingrays as big as tabletops. I've seen reef sharks, but they are very
shy and if you don't look fast, you won't see them. They don't want to be
anywhere near people. I've had barracuda glom onto me and follow me around
like persistent paparazzi. The coolest fish I ever there saw was a red lipped
batfish. Its fins were configured like limbs and it had a face like Walter
Matthau in drag.

When we snorkel under glass window bridge, it is like god's own swimming pool
and the never-ending color of the water will intoxicate you. A dip in the
unearthly salt pond where the dunni murex live is like swimming through the
cover art of a golden age science fiction pulp. If you swim across to the
islands in Governor's Harbour, there are reefs covered with purple sea fans
and giant golden cushion anemones swarming with schools of blue tang,
midnight parrotfish and banded butterflyfish making a scene that looks like
it belongs in the Pacific. Walk on the sugar-white sand under the causarinas
on the islandia beach and you won't be surprised to learn that there used to
be a posh hotel here, but you'll be hard-pressed to find any sign of it.

Did I mention the shells? Tuns, tulips and tritons, helmets, bonnets and
conchs. There are so many milk conchs grazing the underwater plains behind
the airport that you'll be put in mind of the bison on the american plains
before the white settlers exterminated them. You'll find lace murex up the
wazoo and some of them a shade of orange bright enough to make a sunkist
tangerine blush. But don't come for the Xenophora. Not that they aren't
there, but I am going too and I want them all! But do come. It is a blast.

Ellen the Xeno Pig.