Why Eleuthera?

Excellent question, and how we made that decision is interesting...to me, at least.

First of all, despite my obsessive research into this trip, I'm convinced that we could have chosen a dozen different tropical places that would have been magnificent for what we want. Probably.

Our first decision, once we decided to plan a 15th anniversary trip (Krista's excellent idea, BTW)was "old world cultural," or tropical beach. Krista's a beach lover, and though she really wants to get to Paris someday, it sounds like more work than relaxation...and Krista needs relaxation more than most people who don't wear a sidearm or scrubs to work on a daily basis. For me, I've lived abroad, I've been to Paris, and I went to Jamaica on two different occasions - one to work with church when I was 15, and one to play when I was 22. In other words, I could go either way.

Beach it is, then. But where? Time to prioritize:

Priority one: A place of our own, or at least with a kitchen. We love to cook, and Krista's issues with wheat / gluten make any buffet line like Russian Roulette. It's not a vacation if you're worried about getting sick every time you eat, or, perhaps worse, having to ask the chef about every item for every meal. Gluten is an insidious bugger. That kind of cancels out all but the most exclusive resorts, or villas / condos. I mean, a place like Caneel Bay looks fabulous, but is out of our budget. Besides...

Priority two: Quiet. We're not looking to make lots of new friends and hang with a bunch of strangers. We like people (well, Krista does, at least), and we'll likely meet some delightful folks on our trip, but partying is not a priority. We're going away to be together. We don't need night clubs or casinos or neon or noise. Just give us miles of beach to walk by ourselves, and we're cool.

Priority three: Be within a one-day trip. This cancels out the South Pacific, essentially, and keeps us in the Caribbean.

Priority four: Stay ON the beach, with loooong beach walking potential. This is also a HUGE narrowing variable. Most islands will have some properties right on the beach, and most places they're really frikkin expensive. On many islands, the affordable places are up in the hills, or in town. We found some that were on the beach, but the beaches were small and / or isolated from other beaches. I was surprised how quickly the list narrowed. Because we wanted quiet, we needed to discover a secret gem or two

I spent a lot of time cruising VRBO.com, and found a number of viable candidates in our price range, such as this one in the Caymans, or this one in the Turks and Caicos , or this one in Belize . These were fairly reasonably priced, had lots of beautiful beach and water, and were mostly away from the crowds. I'm still convinced that any of those would have been fine.

I don't know how I found Eleuthera. It was early in my search. And I found myself returning to this beautiful out island that had numerous beachfront rentals in our "price range." It didn't have the Rainforest / mountainous tropical aesthetic of Belize or the Virgin Islands , and it was a pain in the butt to get to, but it fit all of our criteria beautifully. The island is 110 miles long, with beaches lining the length of the island on one side and half the other, is two miles wide, has no major resorts (since Hurricane Hugo Etch-a-Sketched Club Med Eleuthera off the face of the earth, and never rebuilt. You can still visit the ruins on arguably the best beach on the island), and, therefore, no gaggles of tourists. Go to any Eleuthera discussion of beaches, and the common denominator is, "we had this gorgeous beach to ourselves."

But as much as anything, the beauty and serenity of this place won me over:

Thanks, Doug M for your awesome photos!

That, and the almost cult-like affection that people have for this place. Read the message boards, or the reviews on VRBO or Tripadvisor. It reminds me of the reverence and sanctity that people exude when they discuss the Adirondacks, or the Outer Banks, or the Upper Peninsula, or Big Sky country, or Joshua Tree. Like the place is magical, and sacred.

One last thing. Almost everyone you read says that once you arrive on Eleuthera, before you even get to your villa, you feel the stress, anxiety, and neurosis of the real world melt, thaw, and resolve itself into a dew.

We both could really use that right about now.