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SAN DIEGANS are a geographically challenged lot when it comes to resort islands off the Atlantic coast. Talk of trade winds, expansive beaches and warm, clear seas, and we mentally click to Hawaii. The chain of Bermuda islands, stretched out off the coast of Florida, doesn’t enjoy top-of-mind destination awareness for Southern California residents.
It was such unfamiliarity that sent me to the atlas to check out intriguingly named Great Exuma after an invitation arrived for a quick visit to the Bahamas. I’d read it’s roughly 300 miles southeast of Miami, only 40 miles long, but the largest of about 365 islands (most of which are uninhabited) in the 120-mile Exuma archipelago. A search of travel guides turned up such descriptions as “unspoiled” and “remarkably devoid of tourists.” Definitely not Hawaii. And definitely worth the time it takes to get there from the West Coast, which is logistically problematic for many points east.
Chat with a few residents of George Town, the capital berg of the little isle, and you’ll probably hear high praise for the recent opening of the Four Seasons Resort at Emerald Bay. Its arrival likely signals a new era of prosperity for Exuma. Although the island’s inviting aquamarine waters have long been known to yachters and sport fishers, especially those on the hunt for the feisty bonefish, many locals head for Nassau or Freeport to find employment. The luxury resort——and the attendant home development it’s spawning——forecasts big changes.
For its part, the Four Seasons Resort seems dedicated to making a quiet understatement as a new neighbor. It’s designed and operated in the laidback old colonial elegance so associated with the Bahamas and its British heritage. Its pretty, pastel low-rise buildings are splayed along Emerald Bay, a perfectly manicured ivory-sand beach. There’s a highly touted golf course designed by Greg Norman and enough water and recreation activities that there’s no real need to leave the resort. But leave you should to explore this spit of land that straddles the Tropic of Cancer.
IN A WHIRLWIND 40-HOUR VISIT, I sampled some of the best Exuma offers. During an aerobic kayaking trek in Moriah Cay, navigating among the mangroves, I heard from my guide how off-the-beaten-path Exuma has attracted the likes of Bill Gates and Michael Jordan. Even Queen Elizabeth II maintains a manse on one of the surrounding cays, supposedly her only home in the Bahamas. The guide also spoke of inlet spots where wild pigs swim up to moored boats to be fed. This and a network of natural underwater grottos——a treasure for divers and snorkelers——were sights for a return trip.
Another water adventure had me under the power of the Thunderball Express, zipping à la James Bond from cay to cay. ( Thunderball and Never Say Never Againwere filmed on Exuma.) Going ashore on one isle, a group of us were greeted by a welcoming party of large white iguanas, protected critters that seem docile enough if you keep tossing food.
A final boating trip took me aboard an elegantly appointed 63- foot catamaran to tiny Stocking Island, home to Chat ’n’ Chill, a casual dining spot popular with the international set of “yachties.” Owner and ex-pat Ken Bowe serves up outrageous conch burgers, roast pig and an intoxicating, rum-infused Goombay Smash. Above the chatter of swapping sea stories, the infectious beat of “rake-n-scrape” music resonated. When I later told a taxi driver I’d been unsuccessful in finding CDs of Phil Stubbs and Funky D, supposedly the hottest artists on the raken- scrape scene, he told me not to worry. He dropped me off at the Four Seasons and returned an hour later with two discs from his own collection.
Listening to the rhythm of the happy sounds created by saws, knives and drums, I’m wondering if Queen Elizabeth could use a little Funky D on her next trip to Exuma.
If You Go
Continental Airlines (800-523- 3273, www.continental.com) offers direct service from San Diego to Miami, where travelers overnight before proceeding to Great Exuma, which is served by several commuter airlines. A special $175-per-night rate is available at the Four Seasons Miami for guests bound for the Bahamas resort.
Rates at the Four Seasons Great Exuma begin at $600 a night and include golf, tennis, and breakfast and dinner for two, daily. Information on the Fo ur Seasons resorts is available at www.fourseasons.com, 800- 819-5053. For information on tours offered by the James Bond – inspired Thunderball Express, see www.thunderballexpress. com or contact the company in Great Exuma, 242-336-3375. Information about Chat ’n’ Chill on Stocking Island is available at www.chatnchill.com, 242- 336-2800.
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