when we lived in new york city, right in the dead of every winter club med would invariably canvass the subways with their tantalizing advertisements. there you are, having slogged your way through mushy grey slush on your way to the subway trying to avoid those huge puddle-lakes that take over every corner, bundled up within an inch of your breath and yet still cold, shoving yourself into the steamy subway car packed with aloof, darkly clothed passengers... and you finally look up. for a moment, you are transported into that advertisement that is plastered around the subway car - a secluded, sunny beach in some unidentified tropical locale. and then you snap back to reality, feeling just that much colder and wetter and depressed. damn that club med!
i know without going that i'm not a club med kind of gal, but it did always get me dreaming... if i had enough pennies saved, where would i go to escape all this shit? all the grey, all the sad?
well, there are definitely plenty of ways to go, but the idea of harbour island ("briland" to locals) in the bahamas struck my fancy... pink sand and deep blue water, check. seclusion minus boredom, check. stylish hotels, check. horseback riding on the beach, check. golf carts and bicycles instead of cars, check!
to get there, you would fly into nassau (60 miles away, and i must say i have been here and did not care for it at all) or eleuthera (2 miles away). then, travel by boat - a 10 minute, $5 ferry ride from eleuthera. the island is about 3.5 miles long and .5 miles wide, and only has one main village, dunmore town. it doesn't seem to matter, therefore, where you would stay, since the entire island is so very tiny - you will be close in proximity to everything whether you are trying to be or not. hotel rates seem decent for this type of getaway - $200 - $300, depending on the season.
here are some links for a start - but i don't need to worry about this too much anymore since i now live in l.a. - my very own paradise. 75 degrees in february? i'll take that over nor'easters and tropical fantasies, any day. gloating, check!
- harbourislandguide.com - a good overview
- myharbourisland.com - another guide to the island - written by robert arthur, owner of arthur's bakery
- the landing - a small hotel owned by india hicks, daughter of the fabulous david hicks.
- rock house hotel - built by gianni versace's former builder, j. wallace tutt III. well, then.
- coral sands beach resort - an excellent looking spot, all done in the british colonial style that seems common on the island.
- pink sands resort - morroco meets bermuda decor, 25 cottages on 20 acres
- arthur's bakery - lobster sandwich and a key lime tart, anyone?
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