And here I am very happy to have found these photos to write this post, long coming and deservingly so. I am back in my Caribbean sea!!! close ok. All started there for me and the Bahamas were my first “tourist” visit ever!from the USA…back in 1986! yes I have been around ::)
Let me tell you now a bit on the Bahamas from the photos I found in my old vault! And I found more as these were on display in my house and not even notice, they are still in use today! A mug and an ash tray as souvenir gifts from my earliest trip out!
The Bahamas, in the long form the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, located north of the Caribbean Sea. The Bahamas archipelago occupies approximately 700 islands and islets of the Lucay Islands located in the Atlantic Ocean, east-southeast of Florida, northeast of Cuba, northwest of Hispaniola and islands Turks and Caicos. Its capital is Nassau, located on the island of New Providence.
Grand Bahama is one of the northernmost islands in the Bahamas, 88 km from the Florida coast. The island is 154 km long with a maximum width of 27 km. The Spaniards called the island Gran Bajamar (great shallow sea) and it is undoubtedly from this name that the Bahamian Islands take their name. Yes indeed Bahamas is Baja Mar or shallow sea.
In 1955, an American businessman named Wallace Groves entered into an agreement with the Bahamian government to build the town of Freeport under the terms of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement and manage the port with the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA). An agreement, the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, with the Bahamian government dating from 1955, stipulates that Freeport companies will not pay any taxes until 2054. The port of Freeport is accessible to larger ships, and has a container terminal. The port also has a terminal for cruise ships, a container port, a private marina, and a boat maintenance service.
The Grand Bahama International Airport (IATA code: FPO • ICAO code: MYGF) is a private international airport located in Freeport. This is how I came to Freeport! The airport is at 100 km from the coast of Florida USA. The Freeport airport: https://www.bahamas.com/how-get-here-grand-bahama-island-scheduled-air
The straw market is very pretty colorful place, with small shops, restaurants … excursions nearby; near the marina and the other side of the beach and the casino.
The Bahamas tourist authority on Freeport: https://www.bahamas.com/freeport
The city of Nassau, formerly Charles Town, is the capital of the Bahamas. Commercial and cultural center of the country, it is the largest city, whose extent is such that it occupies almost the entire island of New Providence and merges with it. The city center is rather on the northeast coast of the island, opposite Paradise Island on which is the Atlantis Paradise Island, a tourist complex that has become the main attraction of the archipelago. Nassau has a major port, Nassau Harbor, as well as Prince George Wharf, the main cruise ship terminal.
Nassau was founded by the English from Eleuthera Island in the late 17C under the name Charles Town. Destroyed by the Spaniards in 1684, it was rebuilt and renamed Nassau in honor of William III of Orange-Nassau in 1695.
The Lynden Pindling International Airport (IATA code: NAS • ICAO code: MYNN) is the main airport in the Bahamas Islands, located on the island of New Providence, west of Lake Killarney and nearly 15 km from Nassau.
The tourist office of the Bahamas on Nassau: https://www.bahamas.com/islands/nassau-paradise-island
Government House is the official residence of the Governor General of the Bahamas, located in Nassau. It was built in the colonial days and was the residence of the Governor of the Bahamas. It later continued in the role of official residence and office of the Governor General following political independence from the United Kingdom in 1973. The original Government House on this site was completed in 1737. The statue of Christopher Columbus, which stands at the harbourside entrance of the building, was reportedly designed in London by an aide to American novelist Washington Irving, a Columbus biographer. The 12-foot-tall representation was placed in front of Government House by Governor James Carmichael Smyth in 1830.
The tourist office of Bahamas on Government House: https://www.bahamas.com/vendor/government-house
The Queen’s Staircase is a walkway of 65 steps (102 feet or 31 meters) in Nassau. It was carved out of solid limestone rock by 600 slaves between 1793 and 1794 to create an escape route from the fort above and is a major landmark of Nassau. The stairs are located at Fort Fincastle Historic Complex near Bennet’s Hill in city center/downtown Nassau next to Princess Margaret Hospital and Grosvenor Campus of the University of the Bahamas. The staircase has water cascading to a pool below, along the side over series of steps. At the bottom a walkway goes between high stone walls, tropical plants and trees. In the 19C the staircase were later named in honor of Queen Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland who ended slavery in the British Empire. The number of steps is by coincidence, equal to the number of years in Victoria’s reign.
The tourist office of the Bahamas on the Queen’s staircase: https://www.bahamas.com/vendor/queens-staircase
And now I feel better to bring this nice island to the light, and my wonderful memories of my first trips abroad to the Bahamas islands. Nassau and Freeport will stay in my vault of memories forever. Hope you enjoy the post as I writing about it.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 