The Bahamas are made up of hundreds of islands and cays over 5359 square miles, with many grouped into chains. Names such as the Exumas or Abacos refer to island chains, or regions, much like one refers to the Midwest, or Maritimes in North America. We’ve been in the Bahamas nearly a month and so far we have visited Grand Bahama Island, home to the large industrial city of Freeport and where we checked into Bahamas Customs & Immigration, then sailed to the Berry Islands, sparsely populated and so tiny that when anchored on one side, you can hear the ocean waves crashing on the other side of the island. Next was Andros, the largest Bahamian island by land mass, yet a not a popular tourist destination. As I write today, we are on New Providence Island, by far the most populous Bahamian island and home to the capital city of Nassau, and yet again, we’re in a marina waiting out a windstorm (beginning to see a theme?).
If you’ve ever taken a Caribbean cruise, you will know that cruise companies often offer a day on their private island as part of a cruise itinerary. You may wonder where these private islands are located, and I can tell you that the Norwegian Cruise line’s private island is the northern most island in the Berry chain. It was quite strange to see 3 or 4 gargantuan ships anchored next to a tiny spit of land, barely above sea level, with rows and rows of beach chairs and a giant water slide and roller coaster as a backdrop. We sailed by as quickly as we could – not what we came here to see.
We continued sailing south through the Berries to Bullocks Harbour, where we stayed in a marina to wait out a dangerous windstorm. Many cruising boats sought shelter there and we passed the time with friends old and new, worked on boat projects, washed laundry and walked around the island, visiting beaches and a village to pick-up a few provisions. Provisioning in the villages is hit or miss – one day the only fresh products available were potatoes and onions, but a day later, after the mail boat arrived, we were able to buy tomatoes, bananas, cassava, broccoli and even coffee cream.
After 4 days the wind and waves subsided and we continued sailing south to explore the unpopulated cays of the Berries. A cay, pronounced “key”, is a low bank or reef of coral, rock or sand and is often a sand island on top of a coral reef. They are beautiful and the Bahamas are full of cays!
Our two favorite spots in the Berries are Hoffman’s and Bond Cays. Finding the cays is not difficult, but accessing them can be tricky as they often lie on the other side of the island and the inlet leading to the cay is narrow and shallow, requiring extreme caution. To safely navigate the inlets, we aim for high tide, then Allen keeps his eyes on the chart plotter to monitor depth and forward-looking radar, while I stand on the bow, with my polarized Maui Jims, scanning the water for obstacles such as rocks or coral. It’s stressful, but it is so worth it when I see the anchor land with a poof of white sand in crystal clear turquoise water just a few yards from a pristine, white beach.
Hoffman’s Cay is amid several small islands, some with inaccessible rock walls and others with lovely beaches that provide a nice spot to land the dingy and go ashore. It’s a large, popular anchorage and we were there with about 20 boats. Unfortunately, there was also a victim of the recent windstorm, a ketch (a 2-masted sailboat) whose anchor slipped in the winds and the boat wound up on the rocks. We heard from other boaters that all aboard were safe, but the boat sank. It’s always hard to see wrecked boats, a stark reminder that we can never, ever underestimate the power of wind and water.
On a happier note, Hoffman’s has a Blue Hole, just a short hike along a jungle path to the center of the island. As a bonus, we had the place all to ourselves and enjoyed a cool dip in the salty inland lake. Hoffman’s was a lovely stop, but the forecast showed winds shifting switching from east to south-east, and would send wind and waves down the channel right into our anchorage, so we needed to find a new cay.
Bond Cay, on the west side of a Berry Island, provided perfect shelter from south-east wind and waves. We navigated an especially narrow inlet, but were amazed as it opened up to deeper water (a whole 8 feet deep!) and a spectacular beach surrounded by every shade of turquoise water. Bond Cay is big enough to hold 100 boats, but it was just us and our buddy-boat, One Day, for 3 whole days. The water was so calm on the west side of the island we almost felt like we were on land, but we could hear the surf crashing on the east side of the island. This was the perfect opportunity to finally inflate the paddle board and get some exercise while exploring the cay. I soon discovered this cay was home to several Nurse Sharks, docile, shy animals that pose no threat to humans, barracudas (also no threat), and a couple dolphins. Our few days in Bond Cay were magical, but soon the winds would shift again, this time to the west , so we had to move and find better protection.
When it was time to move on from the Berries, we chose the road less travelled – Andros Island. Typically cruisers head east to New Providence or the Eleuthera chain after exiting the Berries, but we like to visit places a bit off the beaten track. Andros is 104 miles long by 40 miles wide, and is the largest Bahamian island and the 5th largest island in the Caribbean; however, most cruisers don’t visit Andros. Without resorts and large-scale attractions, tourists do not flock to this island…perfect!
Andros’s native inhabitants are called Androsians, and there are about 8000 living on the island. They are decedents of freed slaves and Seminole Indians and their lifestyle is tied to both land and sea. In addition to the fishing industry, Andros has a thriving farming industry thanks to its fresh water aquifers. The fresh, potable water is so abundant that not only does it make farming possible on the island, Andros exports its fresh water to other islands and supplies about half of the fresh water used on New Providence Island, home of Nassau.
We spent several days in the northern town of Morgan’s Bluff, where for $6.25 per day, we could tie-up to the wharf inside a well-protected harbour, and although they don’t have electricity at the docks, we did have access to unlimited fresh water to fill our tanks, shower and wash the boat. An Esso gas station, a lovely restaurant and white sand beach were all just a few minutes’ walk away, so we enjoyed some down time. We also indulged in a half-day trip to do a little sight-seeing and hired a car and driver (they drive on the left side here – yikes!) to take us to Androsia, a family-run batik fabric factory and store, about an hour from the docks. There we took a self-guided tour, chatted with employees as they applied wax dies to the fabric, then submerged it into bathtubs of dye, and eventually cut and sewed it into garments and home textiles that are exported throughout the world. Of course, I needed to buy a few items and love that our purchase supports a local Bahamian business that produces beautiful merchandise and contributes to its community.
The Androsia factory wasn’t the only highlight of the day…we also made a stop at a Mennonite farm to stock up on fresh produce. I’ve mentioned before that we can almost always get basics, but fresh produce is rare and expensive, so I was like a kid in a candy store picking-up fresh, locally grown romaine lettuce, green beans, tomatoes, broccoli, papaya…a huge haul for a very modest price. It was a good day indeed!
Our last Andros adventure was watching the “mail boat” arrive in the harbour, unload passengers, vehicles, hundreds of pallets containing anything from house plants to beer to cleaning products, and then watching the boat be reloaded with more passengers and pallets of outgoing goods. We had the unique vantage point of being docked right next to the boat and essentially being blocked in; however, we were in no hurry. These twice a week boats are a lifeline to all the islands’ residents, and we loved having front row seats to the Bahamian supply chain at work.
Soon it was time to move again, this time to the busiest Bahamian island and Nassau, but someday I would love to return to the laid-back charm of Andros.
It looks so beautiful! Hope those windstorms die down and you get some sunny calm weather.