|
The Exumas - Summary
A map of the Exumas and an
aerial shot
Exuma is a district
of the Bahamas,
consisting of over three hundred and sixty islands (or cays -
pronounced keys). The largest of the cays
is Great Exuma, which is thirty
seven miles in length and joined to another island, Little Exuma by a small
bridge. The capital and largest city in the district is George Town (permanent population
1,000), founded 1793 and located on Great Exuma. The Tropic
of Cancer runs across a beach close to the city. The entire island
chain is one hundred and thirty miles long and twenty seven square miles in
area.
Exuma was settled in or around 1783 by American
loyalists
fleeing the Revolutionary
War. The expatriates brought a cotton
plantation
economy to the islands. George Town was named in honor of George
III, to whom the settlers maintained their loyalty. Lord
John Rolle, a major Loyalist settler of the Exumas, is a major figure
in the islands' heritage. Upon his death in 1835, he bestowed all of his
significant Exuma land holdings to his slaves.
As a result, a number of towns on Great Exuma have been named after him (such as
Rolleville and Rolletown).
 
 
The islands are a popular spot for sailing,
diving
and caving.
Many of the unnamed beaches and coves of the islands, including extensive
offshore reef areas, are included in the protected Exuma
National Land and Sea Park of the Bahamas National Trust. Some of the
islands on which there are permanent residents and resorts include Staniel
Cay (home of the Staniel Cay Yacht Club, a fixture in the Exumas),
Fowl Cay, Musha
Cay and Iguana
Cay. Thunderball
Grotto, located just a few hundred yards off Staniel Cay, is
one of the locations where the James
Bond film Thunderball
was filmed. Sandy Cay, just a short boat ride from Little Exuma was the location
used for filming the Pirates of the Caribbean beach scenes and one Shell
commercial. The novel Wind
from the Carolinas was set here. We have met some wonderful, often
poor people who depend on fishing, tourism and expensive supplies that only come
in once a week. They are God fearing, kind and helpful, sharing what they have
to anyone in need. On land there are no mountains, not many hills really, few
attractions in the natural sense but Oh how the water makes up for it.
Visibility is perfect, the water generally warm - considering it is the Atlantic
Ocean and the colour.......... There is not a single slot machine, very few
fancy hotels and no nightclubs (that we saw), so tourists come to these islands
to get away from it all, they get that in spades. Sadly we leave the Exumas in
the morning en route to Nassau back in the Bahamas proper. We have seen some extraordinary sights and Bear has asked that we
return one day to spend a lot more time exploring. Can't argue with
that.
ALL IN ALL PHENOMENAL
BEAUTY
THE MOST
BEAUTIFUL COLOURED SEAS I HAVE EVER
SEEN
|
