Homecoming Weekend in Eleuthera

I was invited to a weekend on a family island called Eleuthera. The history of the island dates back to the Eleutheran adventurers that first came to the island in search for a new, free life. The island is larger than New Providence, 110 miles long, but the population far smaller, only 11,000 compared to 200,000 in Nassau that is 21x7 miles. Needless to say, traffic is welcomingly non-existent. I was invited by one of Nelly’s friends, Ineisy and her husband Juan for Palmetto Point’s Homecoming weekend. Juan is originally from Palmetto Point, a settlement about midway on the island. The term "homecoming" refers to an annual settlement reunion that all family islands have. It usually consists of a regatta, a lot of home-cooked food stands, bars, and live music. Bahamians party all the time, but homecoming is a special reunion celebration giving extra reason to celebrate. And the term “family islands" is a literal term: islands of the family, your family. Most people move to Nassau for work, leaving their family home on the outer/family islands. So these reunions are a time for everyone to come home and party together. So, from the moment we left the dock it was rum and coke all the time. I drank more coke this weekend that I have in five years. Seriously. I met the group at the dock at 4pm on Friday, after a mix-up of going to the wrong boat and buying the wrong ticket in typical Priti fashion. We took a boat called the Island Link (not the SeaLink which was my original ticket), which is a barge with a ½ floor of benches. People come on with coolers and booze it up for the 3.5 hour ride. So here I was rum and coke in hand, making new friends and enjoying the ocean breeze. There were 10 of us on the trip, Juan, Ineisy and the baby, Grammy, Kim, Bertram, Rhoda, Sandra, Kristen, and myself. I didn’t know everyone very well at the beginning, but with Bahamian friendliness and hospitality we were fast friends soon enough. Bertram was the number tennis pro on the island before he retired. His daughter Kim was a 30th of a second short of qualifying for the Olympics in swimming, an accomplished triathlete and swimming medalist. Sandra was married to a music producer for Paula Abdul in LA for years with her daughter Kristen. (They met when he was recording in Lenny Kravitz’s studio in Nassau back in the 80s before anyone knew who Lenny was). Rhoda is the controller for John Bull, so we were able to talk a little shop. We spent our days driving, drinking, eating, and sunning. We went to the big blue hole (literal hole in the island that extends down 1500feet to the ocean below) in Rock Sound that I explored. It was pretty cool, lots of fish. We took a day trip to Harbour Island (seperate entry to come on this) where we had lunch and putted around in a golf cart in search for fresh baked bread for Rhoda. We went to the beach every night for homecoming, where we drank, ate, danced, made new friends, and watched Juan catch up with everyone on the island. The last day when we were driving back to the boat we stopped at a day party in Hatchet Bay where I had the best Bahamian Mac n’Cheese I have ever had. I really wish I could digest cheese. After watching the local town drunk dance his butt off (video below) we made our way back to the boat where we drank even more rum and coke and fought off eating all the pineapple tarts we bought for friends at home. (Eleuthera is known for their pineapples, holding the Eleuthera Pineapple Fest every year showcasing some of the sweetest, juiciest pineapples that you will ever taste. And of course lots of partying and drinking.) We got home around 10pm and after the boat captain (my new BFF) dropped me home, I passed out and a week later am still recovering.