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The
Bahamas.It truly is “Better in the Bahamas.” That’s what the natives will tell you... and they’re right! The Bahamas offer everything you could want in a tropical paradise: palm-fringed beaches, aqua-blue waters, calypso music and an exotic history of adventurous swashbucklers and perilous battles.
Nassau, the capital, exudes a special charm created by the blend of Old World elegance and up-to-the-minute vitality. Cosmopolitan Nassau, once ruled by pirates, seems a world away from the desert-like wildlife sanctuary of Inagua. On many of the islands, tiny villages seem lifted from the Massachusetts coast and set down amongst palms and pines and iridescent sands. These beautiful islands lie only 50 miles off the Florida coast - far closer than any destination in the Caribbean. Offshore, deep-sea fishing, sailing and SCUBA/snorkeling trips are always available.
Bahamas
- Port City - New Providence - Nassau
The logical
place to begin a stroll or horse-and-carriage tour is
just off the pier at Rawson Square, once the site of
the busy Straw Market. The market has moved two blocks
away, and Rawson Square is now a pedestrian mall. Across
Bay Street, you’ll see a statue of Queen Victoria as
a young woman. The statue adorns the forecourt of the
compound at Parliament Square in downtown Nassau. The
pink-and-white structures house the Court House, the
Parliament and other government offices.
West of downtown Nassau are other interesting sights. At the Botanical Gardens, you’ll find 18 acres of tropical flowers, plants and shrubs, many of them indigenous to the islands. Lily ponds, grottoes, waterfalls and the seasonal color explosions of poinciana add the finishing touches to these exotic gardens. There is also a re-created Lucayan village, complete with thatched-roof dwellings called bohios, where the now-extinct indigenous Bahamians would have lived.
Bahamas
- Port City - Grand Bahama - Freeport
Tourists
won't find any charming, colonial villages on Grand
Bahama: The island was largely deserted until about
40 years ago, when tourism suddenly brought a great
deal of development. Grand Bahama's cities are modern
and the island revolves around providing fun, sun and
sports for its tourists. The International
Bazaar is a sprawling, 8-acre shopping complex built
in 1967. Along narrow, cobbled lanes visitors will find
more than 100 shops and restaurants representing wares
and cuisine from 25 countries.
Colombian Emeralds International, a renowned Caribbean jeweler, offers a free tour of its jewelry factory, where craftsmen transform gems, silver and gold into sparkling pieces of fine jewelry. The Port Lucaya Marketplace, located just across Sea Horse Road from The Lucayan, is an enormous indoor/outdoor market offering easy access to duty-free shopping, including some legendary jewelry values.
Grand Bahama Island has made significant contributions to Bahamian cooking. Roast conch, which can now be found all over the islands, was developed by Grand Bahamian chef Joe Billy (Billy Joe), then later achieved great exposure through Tony Macaroni, another local chef and character. "Crawfish," as it is called in the islands, or Spiny Lobster, is another major tradition. This clawless lobster is considered a delicacy, and is relatively plentiful in the surrounding waters. You'll find it on almost every menu.
Long Island - Virtually untapped by tourism, Long Island is the most scenic in the Bahamas. Atlantic rollers crash against the cliffs on the windward coast. Shallow bays indent the western shore. Banana trees and rows of corn stretch along the narrow interior. At the northern tip of the island is Cape Santa Maria, where the western shore is one long white-sand beach shelving into turquoise shallows. Snorkeling is especially good at the reef gardens on the cape's southern end.
The island's main base is Stella Maris, the setting for acclaimed scuba diving and sport fishing. The town is essentially an upscale residential community on the northeastern coast, though there are good beaches and tidepools. There's a spectacular beach at McKann's Bay on the western coast, where tall dunes back a wide crescent of sand indented with bird-filled lagoons.
Cat Island - Long, spindly Cat Island is one of the Bahamas least touched by tourism, where islanders still practice Obeah and bush medicine and make their living from basketry. Pink-sand beaches stretch for miles along the Atlantic coast; the western shore is laced with bonefish-clogged creeks. Swamps, mangroves, scrub and mahogany carpet the interior.
