Secrets

Eleuthera, 2015

One of the things I love most about this island is how you have to do a lot of digging (turning down unmarked roads, asking around, finding dead ends, serendipitously finding your way home) to figure out how everything works.

For instance: the best rum cake in the island comes from the hardware store in Rock Sound. You have to happen to be there at the right time, when Yvonne is at the counter. Ask nicely and she may just make you one.

Finding fresh bread is another feat....you wake up early on Tuesdays or Fridays and head to the Island Farm, or meander through the back roads of Governor's Harbour and happen upon the bakery. Then there's the fellow at the Front Porch in Hatchet Bay, who will dive for conch in the morning and serve it up for you, alongside freshly caught crab, that afternoon (if you call in advance.)

It's very much an "I know a guy" kind of place. The island definitely rewards those who come back time and again.

Of course, you could find all that hunting and gathering kind of maddening, but it's my idea of the perfect holiday (accompanied by a pristine, deserted beach.)