Have you ever seen a visual representation of something that’s so perfect no words are necessary to explain it? If you haven’t, you’re about to.

I saw a tweet from @VisitTheBahamas a couple days ago and it was a link to a video about Eleuthera. The video began playing and it instantly sucked me in. The music is perfect, the video shots are creative and attractive and it captures the vibe of the Bahamian out island better than anything I’ve seen.

It was made by a girl called Ragoon Girl. I don’t know much about her, but her skills and shooting and editing video are amazing. I think I’m going to ask for lessons! Here’s what her bio on tumblr read says…

All I want to do is float around in beautiful turquoise waters and melt into warm pink sand. And when I can’t, it drives me to eat and drink. Food and wine are wonderful things. But life at the beach is better. This blog is about my favourite things: travel, food & wine. I wish I was made of money so I could have more of my favourite things.

Sounds like a Castaway to me. Enough talk, here are a couple of her videos that will no doubt grab at your island heart.

Eleuthera, Bahamas

What do you think? An Eleuthera vacation just jumped on your radar didn’t it? Yeah, me too.

Have you been to Eleuthera, what is your take on the island?

Cheers,
RumShopRyan

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I, like many of you, are in love with the Bahamas. Water so blue you’d swear it was fake, beaches so white they could be snow and people so nice you’d mistake them for family, the Bahamian islands are hard to stay away from. And right now they are even easier to get to.

My favorite part of the Bahamas are the Out Islands. With names like Abaco, Exuma and Rum Cay, it’s easy to be seduced. If you want to see the real Bahamas, the Out Islands are where you need to explore. Explore you want, explore you can. The Bahamas are currently running a “Two Fly Free From Nassau” special. Get to Nassau, then pick the Out Island you want to lime on and it’s done. Promotion details below.

The Offer: Book a 4 night air-inclusive package from Nassau at any participating Out Islands Resort and receive 2 free plane tickets; Book a 3 night air-inclusive package from Nassau and receive 1 free plane ticket. Double occupancy required.

Booking window: Now through June 30th, 2012.
Travel period: Now through October 31st, 2012.

Offer includes all applicable government and airline taxes and fees.

How To Book
To book your vacation online, click here Two Fly Free from Nassau or call
The Bahamas Out Islands Reservation Service at 1.866.689.5505, or any one of the participating Hotels accepting direct bookings listed below

Participating Hotels

Abaco

Bahama Beach Club

Green Turtle Club Resort and Marina
1.866.528.0539

Pelican Beach Villas
1.877.326.3180

Treasure Cay Hotel Resort & Marina

ACKLINS & CROOKED ISLAND

Chester’s Highway Inn Bonefish Lodge

Tranquility On The Bay Resort

ANDROS

Small Hope Bay Lodge
1.800.223.6961

Swain’s Cay Resort

BIMINI

Bimini Bay Resort and Marina

Bimini Big Game Club
1.800.867.4764

Fine Print

Based on single or double occupancy bookings. Not applicable for group bookings. Free round-trip airfare only for flights originating/ending in Nassau. Offer valid for new air-inclusive bookings only. Passengers must be booked on the same flight and itinerary. Not to be combined with any other air credit promotion. Cancellation of hotel booking will result in cancellation of associated airline tickets. This offer is subject to availability and may be changed or cancelled at any time. Other restrictions and limitations may apply.

I don’t know about you but I’ve got the urge to do some Abaco island hoppin’. What is your favorite Out Island of the Bahamas?

Cheers!
RumShopRyan

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Well, if one or two of you are interested in seeing the show and spending the weekend in the Bahamas, here is the information straight from the Atlantis Resort’s website. Also, our travel agent buddy Mark Brown, with Island Breeze Travel has a bunch of ticketing information as well. Click on the previous link and he can help you with tickets and booking.

Who’s going?!

Cheers,
RumShopRyan

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Your mind is about ready to go on a little adventure. Smuggling, a daring low altitude flight across Cuba and some of Jamaica’s finest home grown; a story that you have to read. This is a guest post by JC Perez, author of Heisting the Beard

The Seven Ton Calamity

It was a hot day in Bimini, the year was 1984. Jamaica was waiting, they had the plane, but a few things were missing, vital of course, or this trip wouldn’t happen at all. What a shame, all that Ganja would go to waste, that sweet Jamaican “Lambs Bread”, and the boys sure wanted a taste.

Crazy Eddie was ready, but like I said before, the plane wasn’t. They had a C-130 on the strip on South side, an old army cargo plane with a rear hatch big enough to drive a pickup in, and more than enough room to accommodate the 14,000 lbs of herb, but they needed a right engine propeller and aviation fuel, and they had neither. The weed was stacked up and ready to go just out of sight off the strip in Cay Manus, down in the Yard, Jamaica for those who don’t know. They needed to be there in two days or the weed would have to be moved and preparations made a new. That was bad ju ju, if they couldn’t make it now there was a good chance the weed would begin to mildew and they could lose hundreds of pounds, none of them wanted to lose that kind of money or sweet herb.

With time running out, the decision was made to get together at Pony tails house on South Bimini. Everybody involved on this endeavor was there, Speedy, Lickum Dead, Sneeze, Bugaloo, Shine, Sarge, Dreamer, White Boy, and fly boy Eddie, island people all go by nick names. They
had a few cases of St. Paulie beer and were hoping that they didn’t get too ripped before coming up with a plan on how to get the weed to Bimini. They also had a couple of ounces of great Jamaican herb to remind them of what they would miss out on if a solution didn’t come
up soon. One beer led to another and one joint was never enough for a group like this.

The Cuban boys from Miami were already in port on the North side, ready to move the weed to the Magic City, and a lot of money had been invested to pull this job off. There was no going back now. It looked like they were shit out of luck and no one had come up with an answer yet. Suddenly in the middle of a toke from the weed and a swig of a Paulie girl that engulfed half the bottle, Eddie had an epiphany. All that was needed was a prop and fuel right, he was the pilot, and a good one at that, maybe the best in the smuggling game.

Bimini being the plane graveyard that it is had many crashed planes all around and near the airstrip and he knew of an old DC 3 that had crashed on the east end. He figured he could use the prop from that, and as far as the fuel went, well, they’d just have to use regular boat fuel that could be bought at the government dock on North Bimini. If the prop was in good shape, or if it could be gotten into good shape it would work, and the fuel, well it wasn’t AV fuel but the engines would run on it. The only problem was he wouldn’t be able to get real good altitude because of it, but he thought he could at least get the plane up to 200 hundred feet or so. It was a dangerous proposition, but that’s all they had, and he was the pilot and everyone believed in what he was doing. They trusted his judgment, and it was his ass up there anyway, Eddie was crazy but not stupid. They finished off the last of the beer and smoked a few more joints of the sweet Jamaican herb, then decided to go get the prop off the crashed DC 3 and begin hauling fuel back to the airstrip on South Bimini. The game was on.

Shine was the mechanical one in the group, he and a few of the boys headed to the mangroves on the east end of the strip and began working on getting the prop off the old DC 3. They were soon done and returned with it where Eddie waited for them by the C-130 at the airport and promptly began fitting it on the old army cargo plane, taking out all the nicks and bends it had on it so it could be used. A bent and nicked up prop won’t grip air good enough to be of any use and was quite dangerous to try and fly with, but Eddie was the right man for the job. The rest of the boys began hauling fuel back from the government dock, it was an easier task, but time consuming considering they were doing it with 10 gallon containers and it took the better part of the next two days to fill up the plane with the necessary fuel.

Everything was finally ready for takeoff, they gathered at the strip and waited for Eddie to power up the trusty cargo plane and leave for the Yard where a small fortune waited to be picked up and delivered back to the waiting boats. Shine, Bugaloo and Lickum Dead would be making the trip with Eddie, and there their two Jamaican buddies Squeechy and Niya would come back with them to help kick out the load to the waiting boats on the water. They’d be stationed between South Bimini and Cat Key that evening at around 5:00 pm when Eddie would have C-130 back and on schedule for delivery.

He needed to leave early to be able to make the trip in one day, the longest part of this adventure would be loading the weed onto the plane down in Cay Manus. That would be a manual job one bale at a time and it would take some doing and balancing the load correctly.

It was 4:00 am when Eddie powered up the two engines on the C-130 and readied for taxiing. When the engines turned over the noise was deafening, but everything seemed to be running smoothly as the big plane took off heading east on the runway then veering south towards Jamaica. Everyone headed back to Pony tails house and got things ready for Eddie’s return trip which was expected at around 5:00 pm. If he made it back on time they would have about 2 and a half to three hours of daylight to do the air drop and have the boats pick up all the bales before dark. Not a lot of time considering it was 14,000 pounds of weed, that was 280 bales, and for those uninitiated that’s a lot of bales. The average 30 foot speed boat was only going to carry 1000 pounds, which was 20 bales; a 50 lb bale takes up a lot of room on a 30 foot boat. There were 6 boats, which meant each boat had to make 2 1/2 runs to and from the stash house on South Bimini, all this work was going to take some time and coordination to pull the job off correctly and on time. All this is good and well, but they also had to be very lucky, meaning, the plans were considering that the D.E.A., Coast Guard, Navy, and the Bahamian Defense force didn’t get involved; luck was a big player in this game of cat and mouse.

Once the prep work and planning was done they headed back to North Bimini where the talk of the island was that noisy plane that took off early in the morning and woke up every Biminite up from Alice town to Porgy Bay. They all played dumb, the islanders knew what was going on and pretty much who was involved, but the boys weren’t admitting anything and just went about their business avoiding the questions.

This deal was just beginning, Eddie had to make it there first, that meant hopefully avoiding all the authorities, and getting the big plane down to the Yard wasn’t going to be easy. He had to stay as far away from the normal flight routes as possible, and in between him and Jamaica stood Cuba, and Castro wasn’t exactly the friendliest guy in the Caribbean. There was only two ways around Cuba, and there wasn’t enough fuel to go the western route. The other way was through the Windward Passage, in between western Haiti and Cuba, but that meant flying right in front of the noses of the American Naval base in eastern Cuba at Guantanamo Bay, and that was suicide. There was only one other way, straight over Cuba, it wasn’t that farfetched, many smugglers did it, the route was the Mayaguez corridor. All plane routes over Cuba had to fly through this corridor or risk getting shot down. The difference was that commercial flights did it at 35,000 feet altitude, Eddie was about to do it at 200 feet altitude, balsy, but it was the only choice he had, or lose the whole load right now.

As it turns out he had no problem in crossing Cuba and had a personal escort by Castro’s Migs almost to the shores of Jamaica. When he reached the north coast of the Yard it was still early, the sun was barely breaking the horizon. The noise of the C-130 caused a raucous on Jamaica as it had in Bimini, and lights from all the homes on the island began to turn on as people rushed out to see what the commotion was. Eddie crossed the coastline and headed for the airstrip at Cay Manus where he landed safely and the work of loading the cargo began under a hot sun with high humidity atop a hill in the lush surroundings of the resort.

A few hours later the work was done, Eddie cranked up the plane and took off on the same route back to Bimini, straight over Cuba. When he crossed the north coastline of Jamaica the people were out in force once again wondering what all the noise was. Only this time they waved at the low flying fortress as it headed into Cuban territory where it caused the same commotion from all the people below. The air force Migs showed up once again and escorted Eddie to Cuba’s north coast while the boys in the cargo area held up bales of Ganja in the windows letting the pilots know it was a pure humanitarian effort; the pilots saluted as the plane continued on into Bahamian waters. Luckily they never ran into any authority that could have caused delays on this adventure, but Eddie knew the odds were on his side. Getting stopped on the water would have spelled instant disaster, but in the air the odds were with him. In those days before the onslaught of the Cocaine Cowboy days, when Ganja was king, and before all the techies turned reefer into an indoor product, the US authorities weren’t allowed to land on Bahamian territory, so all he had to do was make it to Bimini without crashing, so far so good, and the view was exquisite at two hundred above the pristine gin clear waters of the Caribbean and the Bahama bank.

Eddie delivered the C-130 on time; it was 5:00pm when they arrived at the rendezvous spot between Cat Key and South Bimini. The 6 boats were in position when he brought the plane down to 75 feet above the clear water and opened the gigantic rear hatch to begin pushing bales of sweet Jamaican Lambs Bread out onto the water. He made his first pass to the waiting boats where the boys dropped 30 bales to the waiting crafts. The plane moved forward and began a long looping turn to come back to the spot and make another drop where the boats waited patiently. There was one problem though, it took 35 minutes to return to the spot of the drop due to the size of the plane and its slow pace, at this rate it would take a very long time to unload all the bales when only dropping thirty at a time. They made the second drop and Eddie began making the loop once again to get back to position, but this wasn’t their only problem. The noisy plane had alerted everyone on Bimini and they had come out to see what all the commotion was about. They came out in droves, and not only to look, but they came out in boats to help themselves to the feast of Manna from heaven. When the boys realized what was happening, the plans changed on the spot, they had to empty this cargo fast and it had to happen right away.

Eddie open the rear hatch all the way and asked everyone in the plane to strap themselves in with whatever they could so they wouldn’t go crashing out of the plane onto the water with all the weed. He flew over the drop sight once more then pointed the craft upward. The bales began to tumble out while the boys inside held on for dear life. All bales of weed gushed out in an instant and everybody below scattered for their lives to avoid being crushed by the flying Ganja. A melee ensued as the bales of weed hit the water like bombs from a WWII movie.

The pickup boats began to grab the weed as fast as possible, but to no avail, so did everyone else. The Biminites were out in full force, men women and children, it was incredible, and the whole island was out there grabbing bales like it was a giveaway at a soup kitchen. From inside the plane Shine screamed out in dismay at the goings on, it was a high pitched scream and no one in the plane understood a word he was saying. Everyone began to laugh considering Shine was a big man of about 6’2” tall and weighed the better part of 250 lbs, and what came out of his mouth sounded more like the high pitched screeching of a little school girl. There was nothing anyone could do, so the pickup boats grabbed as many bales as they could and watched the rest get swept away by the mass of people who had joined party, uninvitedly so. It was a complete mess; all they could do was watch as the sweet herb got toted off. The Biminites had become the beneficiaries of a bad plan. The crew was able to salvage 5800 lbs and the rest had to be kissed goodbye.

That evening on North Bimini the party was on and the burning weed from all the partiers could be smelled 47 miles away across the Gulf Stream in Miami. What else could the boys do, they couldn’t recoup their losses, so they joined in and were glad to have recovered what they did. Considering the low cost of the weed in Jamaica they made a small profit and enjoyed some good Ganja and plenty of Pauli girls with the rest of the island.

In the days to come the word had gotten out about the 7 ton Calamity in Bimini and the boats from Miami swarmed in to buy up the abundance of weed that had been dropped on the island, and at rock bottom prices, considering the islanders had gotten it free. The boys never forgot that adventure and laughed about it in the days, weeks, months, and years to come and neither did the Biminites; it became folk legend on the island.

There are many stories of modern day pirates and smuggling all throughout the Bahamas and the Caribbean when Mota and Ganja flowed out of Colombia and Jamaica, but that was before the techies went indoors and weed became a home grown product, and the Cocaine cowboys turned smuggling into a dangerous game and everything went to hell. Ahh, the good old days of adventures on the high seas, those days are gone, but the memories still flow as strongly as the rum does in every little island bar from Freeport to the tip of Colombia.

See you rummies somewhere in paradise.

Till the next story of adventure on the Bounty Main.

JC Perez

After one sip, you’ll be building sand castles on the beach with Wilson.

Show of hands, how many of you want to be in the Bahamas right now? Ok, hands down, I can’t see you remember. I’ll take a salty guess and say about 99% of you had your hands raised skywards. That other 1% must either be somewhere in the islands already or have scurvy.

The Abacos Islands in the Bahamas are a boaters dream, gin clear water, hundreds of islands for exploring and some really great beach bars. One of those Bahamian beach bars goes by the name of Nippers. Sitting on a cliff-like sand dune on Great Guana Cay, Nippers is one of the most well known beachside watering holes in the Bahamas. Live music, a pool and a lot of fun loving beach bums; Nippers has earned its spot as a Bahamian hot spot. And as with other well known beach bars, it has a famous drink to go with it. Let me introduce you to the infamous Nipper Juice.

A combination of fruit juices, rum and sunshine; Nipper Juice will have you dancing on the decks and cannon balling into the pool in no time. Sunshine as an ingredient? You caught that huh. Yeah, I had to make it up. The actual Nipper Juice recipe is secret. I hate that! Sure I respect the original drink creation and understand the owners don’t want it copied, but as a blogger I’m all about sharing, and when I can’t share the best information with you Castaways it annoys me.

So after a little rum research, here is the closest recipe I could find that best replicates the Nipper Juice.

Nipper Juice Cocktail Recipe

• 2 parts rum
• 2 parts Pineapple Juice
• 2 parts orange juice
• 1 part cranberry juice
• Splash of Nassau Royal liquor (hint of vanilla)

Mixing Instructions: In mixing glass with ice, combine Pineapple Juice, Orange Juice, Light Rum and Cranberry Juice. Mix. Add splash of dark rum. Raise glass and toast.

You can also get the Nipper Juice frozen. Obviously just toss all the ingredients into a blender and with ice.

If you’ve been to Nippers Beach bar on Great Guana I would love to hear your stories. At least the ones you CAN tell. I know that place can get pretty wild.

Cheers to another infamous boat drink.
RumShopRyan

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Good Day Castaways, we have another excellent guest post for you today. Cuban American writer JC Perez has some amazing stories about his travel throughout the Caribbean. JC is the author of Heisting the Beard, a tale about treasure, Cuba and suspense. He sent me a copy of Heisting the Beard and I can’t wait to dig into it and review it for you guys. Enjoy his post on the beautiful Bahamian islands of Bimini.

BIMINI by JC Perez

As much as Cuba is the “Forbidden Isle”, Bimini has become the “Forgotten Isle.” Bimini was unheard of or known as just a place strictly for fisherman and their stories about the one that got away, but nothing could be further from the truth. It’s called the fishing capital of the world where countless world records have been recorded, but once again like most islands there’s a lot more than meets the eyes. Known as a place for million dollar boys with their million dollar toys (Boats), it now has become a destination for everything from day excursions to extended vacations stays.

Sitting just 47 miles east of Miami, a short boat trip across the Gulf Stream or a twenty minute flight out of Ft. Lauderdale or Miami, Bimini has begun to accommodate more than just the million dollar big game fisherman. Rich in history, gin clear water, and an abundance of other activities it can offer a great get away for a lot less, definitely more bang for the buck. Let me give you a little tour of what to do and who to do it with. First let me tell you that if you’re looking for casinos and dance clubs you need to go somewhere else. Bimini is built for fishing, relaxing on the beach, swimming with Dolphins and slinging back many Bahama Mamas. All you need is your bathing suit and a chilled attitude on Bimini.

When you arrive you’ll need a place to stay and a way to get around. There are numerous hotels on the tiny island not to mention the grand resort on the tip of the north end, Bimini Bay Resort, it’s expensive but if you can afford it it’s worth the price, or the world famous Big Game club, rich in history and where Ernest Hemingway did a lot of fishing out of when he wrote his best seller “Islands in the Stream”, now run by the famous painter and Oceanographer Guy Harvey. For those on a tighter budget I suggest you look up Hilary’s Hotel mid island on the north side, it’s a great little place and Hillary, better known to all as “Conch Man” can also lead you on a great Island excursion to Bimini’s wonders. Only Biminites have cars and there aren’t many of them, so for getting around, go mid Island on the north side and look up Little Craig or Dreamer Lockhart, and they’ll hook you up with a golf cart for getting around the island. It’s the only way to get from point A to point B if you don’t want to walk.

Red Lion - Photo by Sportfishermen.com

For your dinning pleasure in my opinion there’s only one place to go and that’s the Red Lion on North Bimini. The grouper sandwiches, conch soup and conch fritters are to die for, and the rest of the menu is exquisite and daily fresh, they just can’t be beat. I didn’t forget the grog for all you rummies out there, the best place to enjoy your Bahama Mamas is the End of the World saloon. Its small, cozy, and the rum and Kalik beer flow all night long, with Calypso and Reggae music playing till early morning.

For your day time pleasure when you want to slow down the rum and Kalik, or if you want to take them along with you, there’s plenty of history and excitement to occupy your time. If you haven’t been under a rock all your life and you’ve heard of the “Lost City of Atlantis”, according to the great American Prophet, “Edgar Cacey” Atlantis is rising off the coast of North Bimini and has become known as the Bimini road, or the great Bimini Wall. Hilary will be glad to take you there for a small fee or he will let you know who can, it’s a must see. There’s also the Fountain of youth which every Biminite will tell it’s on their Island and not in Florida as Ponce De Leon would have you believe. Also on Bimini are the healing waters or what they call the “Healing hole” and the ancient Shark Mounds which date back to antiquity on South Bimini. All of these places will seem magical to you when you visit them. The Island is full of mystery that will enlighten your world, believe it.

If Pirates and stories of their adventures are more what you like, well then just stop and ask any Biminite to tell you stories about everyone who has used Bimini as a base for their actions. From Captain Henry Morgan, to Papa Ernest Hemingway and to Papa Joe Kennedy and his rum running days. Even Pablo Escobar the king of cocaine and the days of the Colombian Cartels saw action in Bimini. They all visited and used Bimini as a stepping stone to get their goods to the States. It really is an exciting and mysterious place you must see to believe.

For all you Parrot heads who might be visiting Miami for a week or two, or for those who want to visit a real piece of Island history, Bimini is a must visit.

Enjoy the Islands my friends, no matter which one you may be on, and don’t forget to keep the rum flowing.

One love,

JC Perez

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Here is a beautiful video featuring the Abaco Islands and Harbour Island or the Bahamas. It was produced by Cinematographer / Photographer, Ryan Lightbourn.

The images are powerful, the music is seductive and you’ll be wanting to walk on water to get to this terra firma.

The Bahamas in Technicolor from Ryan Lightbourn on Vimeo.

Have a good Sunday Castaways.
Cheers,
RumShopRyan

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No large human footprint, no grand mega-resorts, no cruise ship chaos…just you, the land and the sea. I mean just look at that water, it’s absolutely heavenly.

I thought these words from Bahamas.com described the beauty of Cat Island nicely.

Cat Island’s 150 square miles can fulfill a traveler’s every desire. There are ancient Amerindian campsites, religious ruins, rolling hills, dense woodlands, caves, high bluffs and deserted beaches. Herons feed in the rich wetlands, bonefish skim through the shallows, blue water fish leap from the sea.

Enjoy the stunning photo Castaways. This is my Caribbean photo Friday post that I didn’t get to do this past Friday due to the fact it was National Flip Flop Day. I couldn’t wait till next Friday to share this picture with you. (Photo by cmlme via Flickr)

If any of you guys have been to Cat Island I would love to hear what you thought.

Enjoy your Sunday and happy Father’s Day to all you dads out there.

Cheers!
RumShopRyan

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The Gully Wash. It’s an odd (at least to me) mixture of ingredients that had my face cringing when I first heard about it.

I was sitting at the bar of the Small Farmers Bar & Grill on Small Farmers Cay in the Exuma islands. We were just chased off a sandbar by a rain storm and were in need of shelter and a place to prepare our freshly caught conch for some delicious conch salad. Sitting there, sucking back the local SANDS beer, I got into a conversation about cocktails with our Four C’s boat captain Pat, first mate Andrew and bar owner Roosevelt Nixon. Conversation about rum and cocktails, me? I know, crazy right.

I think I was talking about the origin of the Goombay Smash and Pat brought up the Gully Wash. He said it was a great Bahamian drink with gin, coconut water and condensed milk. Two of the three ingredients made the hairs on my neck stand up. I’ll stick with the SANDS and Goombays Pat.

Gully Wash Cocktail Recipe

• 2 oz. Gin
• 2 oz. Coconut Water
• 4 oz. Condensed Milk

Instructions:

Pretty simple, just mix the gin and coconut water in half the glass over ice. Then fill the rest with condensed milk. Raise glass and toast.

Gin is one of those ingredients that made me cringe. I would have to guess that if you add light rum instead of gin, the cocktail would be better. But then again, it might not be a Gully Wash then either. O’well, I’m willing to risk it.

Just about the time I got back from the Exumas, our buddies over at UncommonCaribbean.com wrote about the Gully Wash. So it was strange that I’d gone from never hearing about the drink to hearing about it twice within a week. Funny how things work.

Let me know if you’ve tried the Gully Wash and what you thought.

(Photo by mapetite via Flicker)

Cheers Castaways,
RumShopRyan

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Last week as I was logging into No Shoes Radio,the background photo jumped out at me. It was a picture of a disheveled looking beach bar, one that I’d never seen before. I was able to just barely decipher the name of the place…Pete’s Pub. A quick Google search and I was off to soak up as much info as I could find on this odd looking place.

Pete’s Pub is located in Little Harbour in the Abaco Islands of the Bahamas. It is the type of harbour (Bahamian Spelling) that you think of when you dream of a perfect paradise. Arrive by boat, if possible, or cab it on the one-lane sandy road. What ever your mode of transport, you’ll feel you’ve arrived at the edge of the world. Little Harbour has a narrow opening to the sea and filled with calm transparent blue water. It’s home to stringrays, island hopping boaters and a little eclectic place called Pete’s Pub.

Welcome to LIttle Harbour - Photo by kingscrusinglog.blogspot.com

At first glance you would think the place was just hit by a hurricane, but you would be wrong. Pete’s Pub looks to be built with what ever happened to by laying on the beach. Things like drift wood, an old boat hull, a big anchor and even a random traffic signal are used to give the beach bar its “character” I talked about earlier. All ingredients for a perfect memory.

Pete's Pub - Photo by tgrayphoto via Flickr

Do you know another ingredient besides a charming ambiance that give a beach bar its legendary status? If you’re answer is a damn good rum punch then you’re right! Pete’s Pub has a rum punch call the “Blaster” and is said to be the best in the Bahamas. Doesn’t every beach bar say that? I’m sure the famous Nippers Beach Bar in the Abacos would have something to say about that. I think a taste challenge is in order!

Dock your boat and walk up to the old bar sitting in the sand and order your Blaster. The “Inside” of the bar is covered in customized tee shirts that have been nailed up over the years. Peruse the chalkboard menu and order your island meal. I hear the fish sandwich and burgers are killer good. Don’t eat too much though, you need to save room for another Blaster.

Petes Pub Bar - Photo by Kingscrusinglog.blogspot.com

You can dine and relax on the boarded deck area that sits next to the waters of Little Harbour or sit at one of the outdoor picnic tables in the sand.

Deck Overlooking Little Harbour

I’m always searching for that perfect “one particular harbor” that feels like home and this just might be it. Little Harbour and Pete’s Pub are treasures in a sea of riches that need to be experienced. Just add a pinch of craziness, a dash of charming personality, mix it with the natural beauty of Little Harbour, then top it all off with some smooth rum. That’s how you make perfect, perfect.

Let me know if you’ve ever had the pleasure of visiting Pete’s Pub and what you thought.

Cheers Castaways,
RumShopRyan

Pete’s Pub, Great Abaco Island
242-366-3503
Fax: 242-366-3503

www.petespub.com