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Pink homes trimmed in azure.
Tin roofs tinkling in the rain. Kids — black, white
and tan — lounging on a wharf. Bright Junkanoo
masks. Beaches stretching to infinity.
Grand Bahama: a
grab-bag of flavors, sounds and scents surrounded by
water so exquisite that 19th-century poet Bliss
Carman wrote:
Look from your
door, and tell me now
The colour of
the sea.
Where can I buy
that wondrous dye
And take it
home with me?
Grand Bahama
rests close (65 miles/106 km) to the Florida coast,
both in style and spirit. This most northerly island
of the Bahama chain is the fourth largest of the
nation’s 700-plus islands. It is 70 miles/115 km
long and 9 miles/15 km across at its widest. Formed
by the remnants of ancient coral reefs, its maximum
elevation reaches only 50 feet/15 meters. Though
Grand Bahama lacks other islands’ volcanic majesty,
it makes up for this with acres of pine woods,
stretches of glistening beaches, and mysterious
caves and mangrove swamps that chirp, growl and sigh
with life.
I found Grand
Bahama wonderfully convenient to visit. I doubt I
would have in olden times, when Grand Bahama’s Little
Bahama Bank, a huge expanse of shallows reaching
depths of only 10 to 30 feet/3 to 10 meters, posed a
constant threat to ships. Grand bajamar literally
means “vast underwater” or “great shallows.”
HISTORY
Christopher
Columbus — the Bahamas’ first non-Indian visitor —
sailed along the Grand bajamar and noted, “There
came from the land the scent of flowers or trees, so
delicious and sweet, that it was the most delightful
thing in the world.”
For the local
Lucayan Indians, the Spanish discovery was the
beginning of the end. Twenty-five years after
Columbus made his log entry, the Lucayans were no
more. Death came to them swiftly as disposable pawns
in Spain’s quest for gold. The Bahamas has no gold,
at least of the metallic kind.
A sad footnote:
Ponce de Leon, ever-seeking his “fountain of youth,”
stopped by Grand Bahama in 1513 and discovered one
old Lucayan woman, “la vieja,” the sole remnant of
her people.
Like many
islands surrounded by treacherous reefs, the Bahamas
lent itself to “wrecking” and pirating, highly
lucrative pastimes. Seventeenth-century Spaniards
called the chain of islands the “receptacle for all
rogues.” While Nassau boogied as the home of
reprobates and grifters, Grand Bahama dozed on, a
secret haven to many a notorious freebooter and
buccaneer. Though these pirates have long since
faded into history, their legacy is a cemetery of
ships scattered off the Bahamas’ deceptively calm
shores.
Grand Bahama
was only permanently inhabited in the early 19th
century. It then began its roller coaster ride of
economic privation and abundance, its
oft-impoverished state giving rise to the quip, “a
shilling in Grand Bahama is worth
a pound of money.”
Boom times
arrived with the American Civil War, then crashed
when the war ended. In the 1920s, the Bahamas roared
back to life with the passage in the U.S. of
Prohibition, when Bahamians transported waterfalls
of booze onto U.S. shores. Naturally, the money
dried up when the U.S. repealed Prohibition in 1933.
The Bahamas
teeter-tottered economically until the ’50s, when
tourism skyrocketed and Sir Stafford Sands hatched
the idea of the Bahamas as a tax haven — with no
real estate tax, no inheritance tax, no income tax
and no sales tax. Stability had finally arrived.
In 1973,
Bahamians of all colors and creeds cheered when,
after 250 years as a British colony, the Bahamas
raised its new flag of independence.
DIVING
Back in the
mid-1800s, “submarine and treasure diver” John B.
Green hunted the Bahamas for a treasure ship. He
couldn’t recover the wreck’s riches, but instead
rhapsodized about the real gems scattered in
Bahamian waters. “On this bank of coral is presented
to the diver one of the most beautiful and sublime
scenes the eye ever beheld.”
Grand Bahama
offers a wealth of clear visibility (50-100
feet/15-30 meters) and a
bounty of corals, fishes, blue holes and wrecks.
Water temperatures are usually quite warm during the
summer and fall (around 82˚F/28˚C), and cool to
around 68˚F/19˚C during the winter and spring. The
reefs around Grand Bahama are designated as a
marine preserve
— no spearfishing or shell collecting is allowed.
An abundance of
shallow dive sites makes Grand Bahama ideal for
novice divers and snorkelers, but there are plenty
of areas for more advanced divers too.
Of the deep
reef sites (60 feet/18 meters or more) surrounding
Grand Bahama, many
count Theo’s Wreck, a 230-foot/70-meter steel cargo
ship sunk in 1982 as an artificial reef, as number
one. Found at 110 feet/33 meters near the Grand
Bahama Ledge, Theo’s can be penetrated through the
engine room and the cargo hold.
Movie legend
Orson Welles anchored his sailboat on the dive site
now bearing his moniker. Here, a 40-foot/12-meter
tugboat rests upright in the coral. And at Moray
Manor I, II and III there are large rays, colorful
reef fish and, in the spring, loggerhead turtles.
Among Grand
Bahama’s medium-depth dive sites (40-60 feet/12-18
meters) is Hippie’s Wreck, home to a friendly
spotted snake eel. “SPID City” is home to the
Self-contained, Portable, Inflatable Dwelling once
used for habitation
experiments. Here, a single-engine Cessna used in
the Sea Hunt series crouches on the bottom.
Other
medium-depth sites offer striking corals and blue
holes, as well as sting rays, hogfish, Bermuda chubs
and more. Wrecks like the Ugly Duckling and
Etheridge Wreck, once a car ferry featured in the
movie Halloween, are among the more popular
medium-depth dive sites.
Plenty of
shallow dives (15-40 feet/5-12 meters)
make ideal conditions for snorkeling, novice divers,
general fish watching and first-time underwater
photographers. You can swim completely around the
Roundabout wreck or gawk at the mountainous star
coral of Rainbow Reef. In the mid-’60s, nearly a
million dollars in silver was found on Treasure
Reef, now a popular snorkeling trip destination.
 Several
fine dive operators are found on Grand Bahama
Island. The oldest is UNEXSO which has hosted
astronauts, film crews and oceanographers for over
25 years. Along with their recreational and wreck
dives, UNEXSO serves up three of the most unique
aquatic experiences around — Shark Junction, the
Dolphin Dive and the Dolphin Experience.
If you take a
20-minute boat ride to Sanctuary Bay, you can have
an
up-close-and-personal experience with trained
bottlenose dolphins during the Dolphin Experience. I
watched dozens of people listen and learn, and then
step into the shallow wading pool to interact with
these marvelous mammals.
Ever dive with
a dolphin? On Dolphin Dive, a trained bottlenose
dolphin, surfed in the boat’s wake as we zoomed out
to the open Atlantic. After our group kneeled in a
circle on the ocean floor, Rebella, directed by her
trainer, spun me around by pressing her nose to my
palm. She kissed me too, right on the lips, and
stole my heart as well as my breath.
Speaking of
stolen breath, Shark Junction did that as I watched
reef sharks feast a few feet away. No touching here,
just observing as a chain-mailed Perry, an
instructor and practiced “shark feeder,” fed fish to
dozens of swarming sharks. My apprehension turned to
awe and I marveled at the sharks’ power and beauty.
All of Grand
Bahama’s dive operators offer resort courses and
competitive rates, with air/hotel/dive packages
available. Everything from cameras to regulators can
be rented on-island. Usually tanks, weights and air
fills are included in the price of dives. Training
is available in everything from basic diving courses
to advanced nitrox diving.
TOPSIDE ATTRACTIONS
Topside, Grand
Bahama is a two-faced island. The Freeport/Port
Lucaya area jumps with casinos, dazzling shops,
bustling beaches and every water activity
imaginable. But don’t be deceived: From the Port
Lucaya/Freeport center, just point your car east or
west and discover the “other” Grand Bahama, with its
“Out Island” atmosphere.
If you’re into
wildlife, 13 miles/21 km East of Freeport lies
Lucayan
National Park.
The park’s figure-eight shaped pathway led me though
hammocks and pine forests and around huge trees
draped with vines, bromeliads and flowers. Ben’s
Cave, part of the island’s limestone underwater cave
system, hides behind a curtain of ropy vines. Walk
down wooden steps and enter a primeval world of
shadow and magic, where Navajo turquoise-colored
waters lap the mouth of the cave.
Grand Bahama’s
balmy climate lends itself to a variety of sports,
from catamaran cruises to bone fishing to golf. But
one sport reigns supreme — shopping!
With no sales
or value-added taxes, Freeport/Port Lucaya hums with
a “shop ’til you drop” atmosphere. Glitz and kitsch
fight for dollars in two prime spots — Freeport’s
International Bazaar and Port Lucaya Marketplace.
Separated only
by about a mile, each shopping zone offers jewelry,
clothing, cameras, liquor, perfume and china. Both
boast “straw markets” selling woven hats, Bahama-mama
dolls and other “crafty” stuff. Don’t try bargaining
at Gucci, but it’s more than accepted at the straw
markets.
Sustenance is
essential for all this activity. If
you’ve brought the kids, you may end up at Domino’s
Pizza or Burger King. Far more interesting fare
exists, from Caribbean “jerk” cuisine to fine French
dining to local conch specialties.
If you’ve
dived, shopped, explored and eaten, and still need
more stimulation, Grand Bahama’s casinos should do
the trick. The casinos are even equipped with an
army of ATMs (or “ABMs,” as they call them) in the
unlikely event that you run low on cash.
Finally, a
place to rest your head. From Freeport’s towering
Xanadu hotel to Sweeting Cay’s charming cottages,
you can easily find fine island lodging.
Plenty of hotels come complete with sandy beaches
and swimming pools. Most of the larger hotels
feature everything from casinos to nightly
entertainment.
Perhaps
spontaneity and joy best describe this
pleasure-filled island. Overlooking the marina at
Port Lucaya, I sat on the veranda of the “veddy
British” Pusser’s Pub drinking a Painkiller and
listening to a Caribe band. Suddenly, a young man
set up his stick and started to limbo. Then a
middle-aged couple walked onto the cobbled square
and began a romantic dance. The sun shone. Waves
lapped the shore. A breeze kissed my cheek. Sheer
bliss.
JUNKANOO
This
African-influenced festival, also called Bahamian
Carnival, took its name from either a corruption of
John Canoe (an African King) or Gensinconnu, which
translates as “individual
with masks.” Originally celebrated during the
Christmas season, with official parades on
Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, this costumed
festival now spills over into a sort of year-round
elebration of life. During the festivities, Junkanoo
groups compete for best costume prizes, with
celebrants playing Junkanoo music on goatskin
drums, cowbells, bugles, horns, whistles and conch
shells.
 FACTS
& FIGURES
LOCATION: Grand Bahama is
located in the North Atlantic, 65 miles/106 km east
of Florida. The Bahamian chain bends its way down to
Haiti and the Dominican
Republic.
 CLIMATE:
Back in the 1700s, George Washington called the
Bahamas “Isles of Perpetual June.” Winter (mid-December
to mid-April) is dry and sunny, with air
temperatures ranging from 70-80˚F/20-26˚C. Summer
(mid-April to mid-December) temperatures average
between 85-90˚F/29-32˚C. Humidity shoots up in
summer but is tempered by tropical breezes and
showers.
WATER
TEMPERATURE: In winter, the water temperature hovers
around 68˚F/19˚C, and in summer around 85˚F/29˚C. A
full-length wet suit is recommended for winter and
spring. In summer, a 2mm shorty or skin will do.
TIME: Eastern
Standard
Time.
Daylight-saving time is observed.
MONEY: The
Bahamian Dollar is the official currency and is tied
to the U.S. dollar in value. U.S currency,
traveler’s checks and credit cards are welcome just
about everywhere.
TRANSPORTATION:
Taxi cabs are readily available. Cars, scooters and
bikes can be rented with a U.S. driver’s license.
Remember, whether the steering wheel of the car you
rent is on the right or the left, you drive on the
left-hand side of the road.
LANGUAGE:
English is the official language. Bahamians often
speak at the speed of light, so listen carefully.
GETTING THERE:
Most divers arrive by air. For reservations, contact
your travel agent.
Dive Operators:
Caribbean Divers
Grand Bahama Scuba
Located at Ocean Reef Yacht Club. Instruction to all levels,
beginner through instructor. Nitrox Available. Shark
Feeding ...
Sunn Odyssey Divers Ltd.
Sunn Odyssey Divers has an outstanding safety record, with zero
accidents in over 20 years of operation on Grand
Bahama Is...
Underwater Explorers Society (UNEXSO)
Dolphin Interactions Situated in the pristine
waters of the south shore of Grand Bahama Island,
UNEXSO operates and maintain...
Viva Wyndham Fortuna Beach -- Diving
We are the only dive shop on the island where the dive boat
leaves directly from the beach. The staff at our
act...
Xanadu Undersea Adventures
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