Beyond Princess Cay - Beautiful Lighthouse Beach

[fishin' musician]

As a person who does not find great joy in sharing a small stretch of beach with thousands, I typically wander away from the crowds and find a stretch of deserted of beach.  I've been here a few times and have explored both north and south.  To the north it is mostly sharp volcanic rock, to the south there are many sandy beaches separated by sharp volcanic rock outcroppings.  That is until you get almost to the southern tip where white sandy beach takes over and stretches for more than a mile.  I had always gotten here by heading south on the beach.  This time I headed out of the Princess compound through the straw market (google shows the roads and will even provide navigation if you put in Lighthouse Beach).  My destination was the Atlantic side of the southern tip of Eleuthera.  Trip Advisor had some amazing pictures of Lighthouse Beach, so off I trekked. 

 

Here is a picture of my destination with more to follow:

 

 

[fishin' musician]

The first thing you need to get here is desire and enough fortitude to walk 3+ miles in each direction under blazing sun and over uneven ground... There are "roads" all the way, but to say they are rough would be a huge understatement.  One of the times I zigged when I should have zagged led me to this foundation, which I've been told was an Anglican church. 

[fishin' musician]

And if you ever wondered if there are snakes in the Bahamas (and no, it was already dead):

[fishin' musician]

Take a left at the pond.

[fishin' musician]

Looks like I'm on the right track.

[fishin' musician]

Paradise?  For sheer beauty and lack of humanity it rivals any place I've been.  First, the Caribbean side:

[fishin' musician]

A little further down the road, the Atlantic side and some amazing cliffs:

[fishin' musician]

So I wandered further east down the beach:

[fishin' musician]

I followed a path to the top of the point that separates the Caribbean from the Atlantic:

[pro76]

Can you say Castaway?  Wow!

[fishin' musician]

The last two pics show the lighthouse with the Atlantic and Caribbean sides.  The Caribbean lighthouse pic shows the top of the ship in the center.

[Colo Cruiser]

Awesome photos!

There is a great thread that has been running for probably 10 plus years about the headstones down there to.

[fishin' musician]

3 minutes ago, Colo Cruiser said:

Awesome photos!

There is a great thread that has been running for probably 10 plus years about the headstones down there to.

 

I've run into headstones when going north along the beach, but have not run into them going south along the beach, or on this venture.

[GloriaF]

Thanks for the pics and posts and inspiration!  

[Steelers36]

Disney has bought up a large tract of land on that side (IDK the precise area) and they are going to build a new beach landing spot for their customers.  I imagine when that happens, cruisers will be restricted from going back and forth in terms of entering each compound and accessing the beach.  Have been aware of this area from other cruisers posting, but you have some beautiful shots on a gorgeous day.  

[CynCyn]

Thanks for sharing!

[richsea]

Beautiful photos! They remind me of the Caribbean way back prior to all of the cruise ships taking over.

[fishin' musician]

25 minutes ago, steelers36 said:

Disney has bought up a large tract of land on that side (IDK the precise area) and they are going to build a new beach landing spot for their customers.  I imagine when that happens, cruisers will be restricted from going back and forth in terms of entering each compound and accessing the beach.  Have been aware of this area from other cruisers posting, but you have some beautiful shots on a gorgeous day.  

Supposedly Disney only owns land (700 acres?) on the Caribbean side and the Atlantic side is protected.  But as impoverished as this area is, and enough dough...

[Steelers36]

4 minutes ago, fishin' musician said:

Supposedly Disney only owns land (700 acres?) on the Caribbean side and the Atlantic side is protected.  But as impoverished as this area is, and enough dough...

I could be wrong... someone told me as opposed to me reading it.  There is land to the south on west side.

[fishin' musician]

34 minutes ago, steelers36 said:

I could be wrong... someone told me as opposed to me reading it.  There is land to the south on west side.

I believe that would be what I described as the Caribbean side.  Guessing it would be the beach area and beyond that point in the very last picture.

[geocruiser]

WOW!!!! Great photos.  Thanks you for sharing them with us.

What kind of camera do you use?

Edited April 21, 2019 by geocruiser

[fishin' musician]

1 hour ago, geocruiser said:

WOW!!!! Great photos.  Thanks you for sharing them with us.

What kind of camera do you use?

Thanks for the props.  I used my phone, a Samsung Galaxy S9.  My wife has a Pixel and it seems to be a step above and I hear the new S10 is also substantially better.  These amazing  little miracle devices... sheesh!

[DJVKN]

Thanks for sharing your pictures. We have made the trek to Lighthouse Beach and it is stunning and well work the hike.

 

[JimmyVWine]

4 hours ago, fishin' musician said:

I believe that would be what I described as the Caribbean side. 

 

Neither side is really the Caribbean side. The Bahamas are not in the Caribbean. 

 

https://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/carib.htm

 

[PescadoAmarillo]

Thanks for sharing these beautiful pix. That’s one of our favorite places to walk to on Princess Cays days.