It’s arduous to see the place the water ends and the sky begins. I’m wading on a sugar-white sandbar in the midst of the Atlantic Ocean, with nothing round however turquoise-tinted clouds. There are shades of blue right here I’ve by no means seen. Or imagined.
That is White Bay. It’s a part of a series of tiny cays to the southwest of the island of Nice Exuma in The Bahamas, a vacation spot that continues to be one of many Caribbean’s nice uncrowded sanctuaries. Nice Exuma is the gateway to the Exuma Cays, that chain of some 365 islands, each a tiny paradise with white-sand seashores, some with luxurious resorts, others with swimming pigs. You may constitution a ship and discover its pure wonders, hopping round to abandoned islands and secret sandbars, heading as much as the Staniel Cay Yacht Membership or spending the day bobbing round within the water with a Kalik in your hand.
However Nice Exuma is a vacation spot unto itself, and stays one of many best-kept secrets and techniques within the broader area. Exuma’s largest island, house to its worldwide airport (with nonstop flights from the US and Canada, and an airport enlargement venture already underway), is surrounded by sugar-white seashores at virtually each flip, each seemingly extra stunning than the subsequent — and nearly uniformly uncrowded. Which means you may decide a day, discover your seaside, and spend the remainder of the day seeing nary one other soul.
It’s a spot the place you may fall into the beautiful, fascinating rhythm of the Out Islands of The Bahamas, the place the story is the genuine, undiluted trip expertise, the place you may immerse your self in Bahamian tradition, strive the freshest conch salad you’ve ever tasted or strive The Bahamas’ good Folks-to-Folks Program and spend the night having an unforgettable meal with a Bahamian household.
You will discover a beautiful, down-to-earth resort, from locations like Hideaways at Palm Bay (Rooms from $165) or the historic Peace ’n Loads, replete wit)h its personal seaside membership on close by Stocking Island (rooms from $350) the Grand Isle residential resort; or the Exuma Level ($203).
You may enterprise to George City and get a slice of life in one in all The Bahamas’ loveliest capitals. Simply be sure you get a chilly mango daiquiri from Sonia, proper on the harbor.
But it surely all comes again to that water. You may laze on the impossibly white sand, take lengthy walks on seashores like Hooper’s Bay or Coco Plum (or take the journey all the way down to Tropic of Most cancers on Little Exuma, linked by a small bridge from the mainland). You may hire a automotive and spend your trip beach-hopping.
Or you may go bone fishing all around the island (together with close to White Bay), or take the constitution and discover your cay for the day.
Or you may simply savor the ocean right here. It’s a religious expertise. The water is mystical. I’ve been nearly in every single place within the Caribbean and the water in Exuma, it’s, effectively, it’s totally different. You may’t actually clarify Exuma. It’s important to stay it, to really feel it.
Certain, you may see the blue from pictures (astronauts even see it from area). It’s a spot the place the sweetness is otherworldly, the place the water is a blue you haven’t thought attainable. Electrical blue. Windex. Azure. Aquamarine. These are the phrases folks throw round, however they don’t actually do it justice. They will’t. It’s important to be there. So what are you ready for?
