This week’s dream: Exploring the wildest island in the Bahamas
They call it “the Sleeping Giant,” said Pamela Wright and Diane Bair in The Boston Globe. Andros, often referred to as the largest island in the Bahamas, is certainly one of the nation’s least populated land masses. “Vast and green and largely undiscovered,” it’s actually an archipelago itself, one that stretches for 100 miles and is home to thick mangrove forests and just 8,000 permanent residents. A 190milelong barrier reef runs alongside Andros, whose land and surrounding waters also boast the world’s largest concentration of what are known as blue holes. While snorkeling, we swam toward one of these sinkholes where, when they occur offshore, freshwater from below the sea floor merges with the saltwater and produces a darker shade of blue. As we drew closer, the water “grew cloudy and cold.” The hole itself was a surreal sight, “a yawning shaft filled with marine life.”
Andros has recently been featured on
HGTV’s multiseason reality series Renovation Island, which follows a couple who rejuvenate a rundown hotel in South Andros. The “nowluxe” oceanfront resort, Caerula Mar, is a beauty, with a nearly deserted stretch of beach and a beach bar that serves fresh fish and conch fritters. The resort’s concierge happily helped arrange activities for us. On a guided fishing trip, we snorkeled in pockets of Andros’ enormous barrier reef. Another excursion brought us inland, where local guide Barbara Moore pointed out medicinal plants and led us to blue holes deep in the forest.
Andros is split by channels and estuaries that make many overland crossings impossible. To explore the archipelago’s large northern island, we chartered a boat for a choppy ride into West Side National Park, where we had “acres of watery wilderness” to ourselves. Later, we checked into Small Hope Bay Lodge, “the kind of place where everyone knows your name on the first day.” Before departing, we went bonefishing with Mary Johnson, the Bahamas’ only female flyfishing guide, and “caught nothing but fly bites.” But no matter: “Mary entertained us with stories and songs, and as they say, a day on the water, under sunny skies, beats a day just about anywhere else.”
At Caerula Mar (caerulamar.com), clubhouse suites start at $485.