Tuesday, February 05, 2008


Grand Bahama Island, the Bahamas

My girlfriend and I caught a 6am Delta flight from La Guardia
(LGA) connecting through Atlanta to arrive in Freeport (FPO) on Thursday morning just before noon. We paid the $19 for the taxi to drop us in front of the Westin, since there was no shuttle. Our room did not face the beach, but the balcony did offer a spectacular vantage point that drew us off of the beach nightly (a hard feat) to watch the sun set.


The resort area consists of a Sheraton, a Westin and their Casino. There are a number of bars and restaurants on the grounds, but all are costly and include a 15% tip on every bill. Across the street from the resort area, there is a tourist trap market with trinkets and restaurants. If the electric slide is your idea of a good time, the bandstand there will make you happy at night.
My girl and I decided to be more frugal and bought a case of a newly established brew called Eclipse for $24, a bottle of Dark Ole Bahama rum and some Pineapple juice (double up the coffee cups, throw some ice in and mix your own drink to avoid the $8 sugary mess they serve downstairs). This served our pregame just fine. Kalik is another well established Bahamanian beer, though their cases went for $46. If you do op
t for the Kalik, get the gold, it has more body and flavor. Sands beer is another new, cheap and better-than-bud choice. The brewery opened its doors in Freeport in December of 2007, so support their local economy.
The prop club seemed to be the best bet for cheaper meals in the resort, while some cheaper options could be found across the street. Definitely forgo the Willy broadleaf $20 per person breakfast and eat across the street in one of the "local" cafes.

On Saturday, having been disappointed with the fact that the swim-up bar was closed and had lounged around the pool and on the resort's beach front enough, it was time to explore farther than our feet would carry us. We rented a car from a local agent suggested by the concierge for $77 including the insurance and headed East. Make sure to pack everything you will need on the beach, including food and drink as there is little to nothing past the resort. We had planned on pulling over somewhere to buy a sandwich and some refreshments, but could only find a small gas station shop past Gold rock beach that was poorly stocked. We were at least able to get some water and a powerbar.

Turning back from there we decided to first check out Lucayan National Park. A few cool inundated caves on the parking lot side were accessable through easy to handle short loop trails. They were a cool quick picture opportunity. The real treat comes when you cross the street and head down the boardwalk style trail to the beach about a mile hike in (the creek side trail's bridge is out, so you'll have to go swampside through the mangroves).
You'll find that tours come and go, but if you go down far enough,
you will find a delectably serene location for yourself. I suppose you should know, since we did walk all the way around to the East where the bend beyond the original line of sight goes and the sand gives way to rocks, which may be good for snorkeling, but is no longer good for wading and barefooted walks.
Leaving the park and pointing the "compact sized" Suzuki East again. We saw many inlets for off road trails, some of which we explored to find dead ends or something just as exciting, like a swamp that would not allow beach access. What we did find was a lonely beach for the two of us to watch that dusk's sun set, yet unbeknown to us was full of sand mites. We also stumbled upon Bishop's Restaurant and bar which is as authentic a Bahamanian meal we had the entire trip. My Snapper was cooked perfectly. On the topic of food, we ate at Becky's on E. Sunrise Hwy in Freeport. We were the only ones in the establishment and the door was locked behind us, which was rather shady. Food was mediocre, but the service was Bahamanian-nice. Outside of this day's excursions, we stayed at the resort.

Before I close the chapter to my 4 night adventures of Grand Bahama Island, I'll share a few more tid-bits that I found and would have liked to have known. Don't ask for a fruit drink at the hotel, as you'll get the sugary mix they give for the mixed drinks, not a real fruit smoothie. That you can find in the market across the street from the vendors with the fruit piled high. Fine, call it common sense, but that's what they call impaired judgment a few drinks in. The Westin side of the beach is an older more relaxed crowd, while the Sheraton side is more youthful and vibrant. We grabbed a bag of ice, tossed some beers into it and pulled up to a bench and played cards and were not disturbed on by the Sheraton.

We got to see very little of the enormous island. I hope to return to see more of Grand Bahama some day, as well as more of the 700-some other islands that create the archipelago of the Bahamas. It was much more, as the locals will tell you, "laid back" than New Providence and Paradise Islands by Nassau, but also much less fruitful if looking for local dives. KFC, Burger King and other franchises run the food industry around Freeport. If they served Conch fritters and Crack Conch, the locals would give up altogether with opening up their own "mom and pop" restaurants. Lastly, the trampolines off of the resort's shores don't have much spring to them. I was disappointed in that.

Overall, we enjoyed our trip. I hope your travels are just as pleasant.

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