February 27, 2024 Spanish Wells, Eleuthera

A short sail from Royal Island to Spanish Wells and a marina within the sheltered harbor which is actually a creek between Spanish Wells and Russell Island. 

Historically, Spanish Wells was used as a last stop for the Spanish treasure fleet returning to Europe and Iberian Peninsula, refilling their water supply from wells created for this reason. Later the area was settled by Eleutheran Adventurers, Puritans from Bermuda, who refused to please allegiance to King Charles. The population grew with an influx of British Loyalists after the American revolution. 

It's now a bustling community of about 2000 residents. The island is 2.5 miles long and a half-mile wide, so very walkable provided you watch out for cars and golf carts. As in much of the Bahamas we have seen so far, vehicles don't slow down for pedestrians and there are very few sidewalks. 

We've been enjoying Wrecker's, the restaurant at the marina, and other restaurants on the island. We've also been running in the mornings and exploring the beautiful beaches daily. There is an amazing sand bar on the Atlantic side of the island that is exposed at lower tide where you can walk out "onto the ocean."  We saw a Manatee, bonefish, and several sea turtles around the harbor. We explored the waterway by dinghy and I had the SUP out several times. Caramel had her first ride on the SUP with me. Spanish Wells is definitely on the favorites list for me, and I can see coming back here again.