Governor’s Harbor part 2- Some History and the Leon Levy Native Plant Preserve

Governor’s Harbor was the first permanent European settlement in the Bahamas. Technically, the main settlement was on Cupid’s Cay, connected to Governor’s Harbor by a causeway, with a minor settlement in Governor’s Harbor, then called Colebrook Town. The settlement was created by a British group from Bermuda, seeking religious freedom, that wrecked on the Devil’s Backbone reef and sought refuge for several months in Preacher’s Cave (see my prior post that includes this). It’s the center of Eleuthera, both physically (pretty close, anyway) and governmentally. It’s less touristy than Spanish Wells, but it was a bustling little town with all the essentials, including two good-sized grocery stores, two liquor stores, a hardware store, automotive services, banks, an historic library (that I unfortunately did not get inside), a new laundromat (score!), and even a movie theater. As I mentioned in my last post, we enjoyed the Friday night Fish Fry when we were there, and we explored the Club Med/French Leave ruins. I had a delicious, fresh made lemonade at The Tea Kettle on Cupid’s Cay during our first walk about. We had lunch twice at The Buccaneer Club, itself formerly a resort and now simply a restaurant. Just outside of town is the Leon Levy Native Plant Preserve.

We visited the Leon Levy Native Plant Preserve on our second full day in town. There’s a sign near where we parked our dingy stating that it is 2 miles to the preserve. That was a bit optimistic; they rounded down from the actual 2.6 miles. We were prepared for this, however, because we cheated and used Google Maps before setting out on the trek. We like to be mentally prepared for long, hot walks.

Leon Levy was an American investor and mutual fund manager. He and his wife, Shelby White, had a house in Eleuthera and became very attached to the island, its culture and its people. After his death in the early 2000s, his wife wanted to do something in his name that would also benefit Eleuthera. The Preserve was born of her working with the Bahamas National Trust. The preserve serves as an educational center, a place for propagation of indigenous plants and trees, and a research center for traditional bush medicine. We walked their well groomed 1.5 miles of trails and even climbed the wooden tower that grants panoramic views of the island. It was post spring bloom, so I didn’t take pictures of all the green shrubs, just stuff that particularly caught my eye. We enjoyed ourselves thoroughly, almost as much as the mosquitoes enjoyed us. 

After hiking the 2.6 miles back to town under the hot noon sun, we opted for another lunch at The Buccaneer Club. We’d had lunch there the day before and had planned to eat aboard after the Preserve, but we were too hot and tired to face putting together even something as simple as a sandwich. So we sat in the breeze and shade on Buccaneer’s deck and indulged. Totally worth it!

You can learn more about the preserve by clicking the hyperlink in the second paragraph, and please do enjoy the slide show below.

We made two more stops on Eleuthera, which I’ll tell you about next time. Until then, stay safe and take care of each other.