Beaching Out in the Bahamas

Beaching Out in the Bahamas

“The beach is not a place to work; to read, write or to think.” 

Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Gift from the Sea 

It is, however, a perfect place to sit and stare at the waves and muster up enough energy to go for a long leisurely walk, disrupted only by a refreshing dip in the sea. I loved to dive into the waves and then float on my back for, er, rather long periods of time, according to my Uncle Ted 🙂

Like a fish out of water, when I find conditions as conducive to swimming (okay, floating) as I did on Eleuthera, I barely want to return to shore. I am a Pisces to the core.

I loved my trip to The Bahamas and although it ended on a very sad note with me hearing the news that John’s Mom had gone into a coma back in my hometown of Calgary, the week I spent on the island of Eleuthera was absolutely delightful. I can’t wait to go back!

Despite my grand intentions for the trip, I got absolutely no work done…not a stitch of writing. Instead, I listened to my body and rested. I slept vast amounts, swam, snorkeled, walked on the beach and did an awful lot of either sitting on the beach and staring at the waves or sitting on my balcony and staring at the pool. Oh, and I did a bit of reading.

In the evenings, I would walk over to my Uncle Ted (my Dad’s youngest bro) and Aunt Sylvie’s condo and have drinks, good conversation and Sylvie would always feed me a delicious dinner.

Eleuthera, one of the ‘out islands,’ is not a highly developed tourist destination. Rather it is quiet and laid back. Some days, I would be the only person on the beach. Ted & Sylvie live there in their condo complex, “Pineapple Fields,” 6 months of the year – so I thought a visit was in order. I’m awfully glad I went – and had the wisdom to relax.

Here are a few photos from my trip:

 George Clooney and Hugh Laurie stayed at Pineapple Fields when filming Tomorrowland 🙂

The funny look on my face may be a leftover from the local fish fry the night before when I tried the Bahamian speciality, Conch Salad. Once the conch critters in my salad STOPPED wriggling (thanks to the orange juice, lime & hot sauce), it was tasty! The deep-fried conch fritters were my favourite…they were definitely not wriggling.

Maryanne Pope is the CEO of Pink Gazelle Productions and Chair of theJohn Petropoulos Memorial Fund. She is the author of A Widow’s Awakening and the executive producer of the documentary, Whatever Floats Your Boat…Perspectives on Motherhood. If you would like to receive her weekly blog, please sign up here.