Grand Bahama Island: Sad & Sensational

Let’s chat about the island now and what we saw there.
During our stay at Ocean Reef we got to see much of Grand Bahama Island both on foot and by car thanks to our wonderful tour guides from Sylver Fox. The day that we rented the car we took full advantage of “having wheels” and drove from one end of the island to the other. What we saw ran the gamut from paradise to devastation. Okay, let’s start with where our tour began, Freeport – this city has the potential of being a beautiful, active, modern city and it appears that at some point it had been but now it looked to Tom and I as a quiet ghost of its former self. So many of the hotels have been abandoned and sit vacant and derelict. Stores are vacant and apartment buildings are vacant and locked up. An entire shopping village, the International Bazaar, that was once vibrant and alive with over 100 stores from all over the world and the Royal Oasis Resort are now boarded up and a refuge for the homeless. A pattern that we would see repeated throughout the island. Even the Nassau Guardian on August 1, 2017 declared that “Freeport Has Become The Detroit Of The Bahamas”. The hurricanes of the early 2000s brought economic devastation that the island had never fully recovered from. We visited the Grand Lucayan Waterway, the man-made canal that travels from the Atlantic to the Sea Of Abaco essentially cutting the island in half and branching off into arms and finger waterways providing water access for the boats that would belong to the homes in the many planned subdivisions that were never built. We stood on the “new” bridge and looked for miles over the roads and cleared lots and the very very few homes that were built and the fewer that were occupied. There is just so much potential on this island and we really hope that some day it is realized. But for now there is one place where the little progress made had taken a big step back and that is at Old Bahama Bay in West End. It wasn’t even six months since we left Florida and cleared customs at this marina and resort. Back then I posted pictures of a busy friendly resort with vacationers and boaters enjoying the marina and restaurants, swimming in the pool and filling the customs and immigration office but today everything was closed and everyone was gone with the exception of the customs and immigration officials and one man looking after the harbourmasters office. According to the local newspaper and other Bahamian publications there had been an ongoing marina and resort (they are different entities) investor dispute that the government did not involve themselves in and the result was the closure of both and the loss of over 100 Bahamian jobs. As we walked the marina we could feel sadness. The docks and slips were chained off, tables in the restuarants were still set for dinner, the signs in the shops were still lit saying “OPEN”, which was the ultimate irony. We had planned to return here in a few days to stage for our jump back to Florida. Now we could only anchor in the entrance or vie for one of the few tie-ups on the customs wall.

(since writing this Old Bahama Bay has since re-opened – thank goodness)

Now, not every sight here is one of distress, there is a great deal of beauty to be seen too and lots of fun to be had. We had a blast taking a tour of the Sands Beer Brewery, saw some breathtaking beaches, a magical blue and white castle, and the Port Lucaya Marketplace, a collection of easter egg coloured shops, restaurants and open air entertainment areas surrounding a pretty harbour full of pretty boats. We also went on what became a hilarious hunt for a really good “top-to-bottom” picture of the crazy looking Agave Americana (Century Plant). Driving inland we noticed just above the treeline these tall, thin, yellow, Dr Seuss looking flowers. They looked fake and funny and alien and cartoon-like all at once. We were so intrigued by them that we kept driving around and back and forth looking first to find out where they were coming from (what the base of them was) and then to get that perfect shot. I wouldn’t say that I ever got that shot but at least a few that shows the whole plant. Ah the fun we have when we aren’t getting a signal on our phones.

I left this for last because it really was the saddest part of the tour, the day, the Bahamas in general and that is the obscene over harvesting of the conch that we saw in West End off of Bayshore Rd. Everywhere we have travelled in the Bahamas we have heard the stories of the diminishing conch population and have seen and photographed the evidence of extensive harvesting but never before have we seen or experienced anything like we did this day. As we left Old Bahama Bay and were driving eastward along Bayshore Rd we noticed a number of roadside stands selling conch shells. Then we noticed clumps of shells in the shallow water on the roadside. The clumps soon became islands formed by discarded shells and eventually the smell of rotting conch was permeating the car. We stopped to take pictures of the unbelievable site before us but we were quickly overwhelmed by the stench and had to get back into the car and leave. The Smithsonian Magazine in 2019 reported that the conchs have undergone “serial depletion” and that if not careful the Bahamas could lose their conch fishery within 10 – 15 years. This could have a far reaching devastating effect not only to the species but also to the Bahamian economy as more than 2% of the population relies on conch fishing as a business and the food services industry of the island relies on the popularity of the conch meals. The devastation would also extend to the Bahamian culture as the conch is celebrated in the history of the people and also to the vast marine life such as the sharks and turtles that rely on the conchs as a food source. What makes this so sad is that unlike the devastation caused by natural forces such as hurricanes this one is entirely caused by people. We just hope that it is not too late to reverse the damage done. We won’t eat conch anymore and will only take the discarded shells with the flared lip having a thickness of 15mm or greater (see the National Geographic link below).
Please spread the word.