Glorious Glass Window

Looking down at the Atlantic Side of Glass Window Bridge. (All photos © Ellen Bulger)

We have our favorite spots on Eleuthera, and for the most part these are places we are likely to find one or more particular species of shell-bearing mollusk. Millar’s for helmets, Winding Bay for cones. We stop at a spot between Governor’s Harbor and Hatchet Bay for lace murex. At Islandica Beach, on the sandy bottom behind and between the patch reefs, sunrise tellin valves splay like butterflies. Some finds are guaranteed: Volvarina jimcordii at Sweetings Pond, Dunni murex in the pond across from the hardware store. At other sites we know the odds are pretty good: for carrier shells in Tarpum Bay, sometimes giant tellins at Half Sound Bay. And always there are surprises.

As there are countless gorgeous beaches on Eleuthera, we try to hit at least one new site every trip. If the spot proves fruitful, it goes into the rotation. Otherwise we might not come back. Jaw-dropping beauty is not enough, usually, usually.

Tom Ball Standing on Glass Window Bridge, Camera Pointed South. (All photos © Ellen Bulger)

Me, Ellen, on Glass Window Bridge, Camera Pointed North. (All photos © Ellen Bulger)

One exception to this is Glass Window. We’ll almost always drive up there, the northernmost point we hit. Everyone should see it at least once. We can’t get to the Atlantic side to snorkel, the cliffs are high and the water is deep and often rough. But the back side, the west side, the gorgeous shallow sea, is easily accessible. Finding shells there is hit or miss. High water waves drive organisms through the gap, so this is a spot where you might find various species of tritons. You might find ANYTHING. Once I found the pristine skull of a juvenile frigate bird in the weedy wrack line of the beach. But you are just as likely to not find anything at all in the way of memorable shells. 

If the Little Prince had lived on a Cay instead of an Asteroid, this'd be the one! (All photos © Ellen Bulger)

Even so, it is one of my favorite spots and always provides a memorable snorkel. There are beautiful little islands here, tiny cays no bigger than a two-car garage that loom up out of the water like a Roger Dean illustration on an old Yes album cover. And even in the heat, the water here is refreshing and feels almost effervescent.

Tom scans for shells. (All photos © Ellen Bulger)

Close to Glass Window is a field of boulders and rubble on the sandy bottom. And here and in the weeds are fish and other creatures. Even if the species are things we have seen elsewhere, at Glass Window many of the organisms seem to have brighter colors, as if they have to live up to the splendor of the setting. 

The color of this giant anemone, Condylactis gigantea, is so bright that it verges on lurid!  (All photos © Ellen Bulger)

There are rocks to flip and I am sure I could find good shells if I had the patience to look for them, but Glass Window always feels like such a splendid adventure that I can't settle down and apply myself methodically. Distractions abound. The sandy patches, for example, are a good place to watch courting reef squid changing their appearance. They are light colored one minute, dark the next, setting into a handsome arrangement of stripes or maybe some spots, putting those chromatophores to work.

Sepioteuthis sepioidea 

Anytime I see any kind of cephalopod, I always have to stop whatever else I might be doing. 

Squid, in particular, are spectacular. (All photos © Ellen Bulger)

Close to the shore are weed beds and in these I found Aplysia dactylomela. I hadn't seen one in years, not since I was last on Exuma. I guess I just wasn't looking in the right place. Probably I have been swimming right over them. They do look like a weedy mussel bed on the move.

                                                    Aplysia dactylomela  (All photos © Ellen Bulger)

Spotted sea hares bring to mind the best line that I have ever read in a field guide:

“Some of us feel that you haven’t lived until you have performed the ritual of picking up a 450-g (1-lb.) specimen to feel its Jello-like consistency and watch its harmless purple defense secretion run down your hands.” 

-       Eugene H. Kaplan

Peterson Field Guides

Southeastern and Caribbean Seashores

Thus motivated:

This sea hare wasn't very big and I didn't lift it out of the water,
 just gently held it for a second so I was rewarded with the kool-aid colored dye display.
Just a tourist being a pest. (All photos © Ellen Bulger)

We will be heading back to Eleuthera in September. If you think you might like to join us, drop me or Jim Cordy an email.