July
The overlooked jewel of the Bahamas
The one place seldom mentioned by visitors to the Bahamas is Andros Island. It is surprising since it is the largest island in the Bahamas and the closest land to Bimini without leaving the protected waters of the Great Bahama Bank. With several ports of entry close to the direct routes between Florida and The Exumas, Andros is inexplicably overlooked.
Unlike other parts of the Bahamas, Andros possesses a unique ecosystem both above and below the water. Whereas other islands are mostly arid rock, Andros holds the largest freshwater reserves in the entire country. For years, much of the freshwater in Nassau was supplied by giant water barges that were filled in Morgan’s Bluff, at the northern tip, and towed 30 nautical miles across the Tongue of the Ocean. The water docks are unused today, but they lie steps from where the famous English privateer for which the community was named supposedly stashed his treasure.
Underwater, the island is fringed by the third-longest barrier reef in the world behind only The Great Barrier Reef in Australia and The Great Mayan Reef off Central America. The fortunate who have explored this area are rewarded with sights of abundant stands of Staghorn and other stoney and soft corals that are not found in other parts of the country. Adjacent to the reef is The Tongue of the Ocean, 6,600-foot-deep underwater canyon that is home to pods of whales and schools of migrating game fish. High Cay in the south is also home to one of the largest spawning areas of Nassau grouper in the world.
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Given the diversity of the biosphere around Andros, several areas have been designated as National Parks and are managed under the auspices of the Bahamas National Trust. The largest of which, The West Side National Park, covers more than 1.5 million acres and is one of the largest protected marine areas in the western Atlantic basin.
Perhaps the most unusual aspect of Andros is the absence of large-scale development projects and the proliferation of internationally branded resorts that are found in other parts of the Bahamas. Although tourism is the largest private sector employer in Andros, the character of the industry here is very different. Instead of all-inclusive, mass-market resorts, Androsian tourism is characterized by small boutique establishments that cater to the distinct tastes of a diverse clientele. With only about 400 rooms distributed between 35-40 establishments, there are bare-bones facilities that cater to bone fishermen looking for record-breaking catches in the bights of the south island to private island luxury where guests arrive by helicopter and are treated to barefoot candlelight gourmet dining on the beach in the north.
Androsians are hardy and resilient but are somewhat resentful of being overlooked by the national government. As recently as the late 1990s, there were parts of Andros that were not connected to the electric grid, and as recently as 2024, when the sole ATM on the north part of the island broke, locals had to fly to Nassau to cash checks and obtain cash for months until it was repaired.
The remoteness of the island will not last forever, and recently, the storm-damaged Lighthouse Marina has reopened in Fresh Creek providing boaters with a facility to dock and clear customs. Previously, the number of rentable slips on the island could be counted on your fingers. If one is looking for a glimpse into the Bahamas of our parents’ day, Andros fills the bill, but you have to come before the developers arrive.
-by Addison Chan
