Some friends of mine have been celebrating the New Year on South Andros at Pat and Elliott’s Mangrove Cay Inn for a few years. I couldn’t go but I seen lots of pictures and heard lots of stories of the great time, great food and of a great couple. So finely after Christmas of 2006 some friends and I celebrated New Year’s at Pat and Elliott’s, I arrived a day after my friends. When I saw South Andros, Mangrove Cay Inn and the beaches it was like I had found something I had lost, you remember as a kid, the smell and sight of the ocean. You can’t wait to get your toes in the water. I think I had a smile on my face the whole time I was staying with Pat and Elliott. I was greeted by Pat and Elliott like family in front of the cottage I would be staying in; Pat gave me a big hug and Elliott a hearty handshake. Pat reminds me of an aunt that you would hear humming and singing as she was cooking you some of the most delicious meals. All of the meals are homemade from breakfast to dinner. You have to try the conch fritters, I had these every day I was there. And you can’t believe the taste of freshly picked fruit like a papaya or those little bananas. Pat makes a jelly made from sea grapes that is truly amazing. Elliott is always ready to tell you about life on the island, this reminds me of sitting on my grandmother’s front porch in the evening and listening to one’s family history. Also he was working on the putting on the roof of the ice cream parlor he was building across the street from the inn. Elliott showed me around on my second day when he was picking up some supplies for the inn, while my friends was exploring a local bat cave with a island friend they had meet on their past trips. I saw the most amazing colors of the ocean and the most beautiful flowers, Elliott showed me the blue hole, ferry dock, mail boat and we stopped to talk with people along the way. My friends and I would snorkel at the blue hole that is near the inn or go to down “Elliott’s Beach” to walk in the water. You can see the most amazing and colorful creatures, shells and reef in the most amazing gentle clear water. There is a bar in the inn that has a nice variety of beers, do try one of the island beers, and Elliott can make about any kind of drink. The pace of life is relaxed and friendly at Pat and Elliott’s inn, it’s where you can sit, talk, read or watch some of the most amazing night skies. Leaving Pat , Elliott, Mangrove Cay Inn and South Andros was like the last day of the family vacation, you’re going to miss everyone and everything. But for me, I know I’m coming back to a place that feels like a little piece of home.
Richard Leon Helms
Swansea, South Carolina