BootsnAll Travel Community

Mayaguana is easternmost and the most isolated island in the the Bahamas. It is fairly large, but home to less than 250 people scattered in three settlements: Pirates Wells, Abraham Bay and Betsy Bay.

You go to Mayaguana for one of four reasons: to reprovision a sailboat, to fish flats for large bonefish that rarely see fishermen (only 150 tourists all of 2005), to dive or walk the many miles of pristine deserted beaches, or to visit one of the great sea turtle sanctuaries in the world. "Sanctuary" is a bit strong: it is only isolation that keeps the Ridleys, Loggerheads and Green turtles from wholesale slaughter (and even then I witnessed the distressing scene of a pair of local fishermen butchering a 4' turtle). That stated, on a slow day I would see 30-40 turtles from the very young less than a foot wide to adults in the 4' class. One day I saw over 75, most happening upon me while I was canoeing the giant system of Curtis Creek. I watched a 4' Lemon shark chase one for three minutes: man can those babies SCOOT when threatened! It escaped....)

Mayaguana is hot, only 40 miles from Grand Turk in the Turks and Caicos. It is similar top those islands: flat, rocky, with limited fresh water but stunning ocean flats, beaches and a living reef that crawls with lobster and fish. The people are friendly, but poor: subsistence fishing and occasional smuggling are how they make their livings.

By the way, Mayaguana and Great Inagua are legendary among smugglers, providing a good refueling or off-loading point. The airport runway's approaches are filled with crashed DC3's, Lockheed Loadstars and other ghosts of drug smuggling planes past.

Accommodation options are very limited: a guesthouse in Abrahams Bay for about $30 US/night, a more (and the only) upscale place, the Baycaner, which is $190/day for 2 with all meals and water included (including use of a truck to cart yourself around the island, and the use of canoes on Curtis Creek- a really good deal), or camping, which is possible but rough. There are three stores on the island, and the guesthouse and Baycaner serve meals on a advance notice basis. You can buy fish from fishermen every day on the docks. You access the island via Bahamas Air three times a week ($200 RT out of Nassau), the Bahamian mailboat out of Nassau once a week, or by sailboat.

(Sidebar: the Bahamasair flight that came in a couple days after I did turned back, as the windshield was cracking and the co-pilot was pressing out with his legs to keep it from caving in. The passengers were in life jackets in crash positions. The only other 2 guests scheduled for the two weeks I was there were on that flight, and elected to return home. Promptly, I am told.)

Like so many other remarkable places in the Caribbean, a US development company has big plans for the island: 160 second homes, an upscale resort, probably a bloody golf course. The Bahamas and that part of the world in general are filled with the ruins of such grand dreams: the locals are eventually left with hammered eco-systems, crumbling support structures and a crime problem where none existed before.

Sounds divine.

a few weeks ago i took some very rich people in my Learjet from Kentucky to -- yep, Nassau. However on arrival and departure we got a nice routing to have a peek and some of the outer islands. It is gorgeous. I've also had the good forture to zip amongst the islands in my Navy plane on a few occasions - we do submarine sonar training near Andros. We've been accused of damaging marine life with our sonars (perhaps one of the many data points that led me to separate from the Navy last year)

In any case, as a pilot, I find the story of the co-pilot holding the windshield out with his feet rather comical. I'd have to know exactly what kind of plane it was to determine the plausibility of such a story, but i find it highly unlikely it was neccessary.

I agree-it does seem unlikely. But then a windshield caving in seems unlikely too-until you have flown Bahamasair, or Royal Tongan Airlines (water pouring into the cockpit of a vintage DC-3), Air Grenada (a vintage smuggler Lockheed Loadstar with duct tape on the windows), or any one of a number of other third world airlines I have had the living crap scared out of myself on.

The Bahamas Banks may be the most beautiful water in the world-glad you scored a peak.

Peek.

Great trip report salmo99. Pictures?

quote:

Great trip report salmo99. Pictures?

I have seen pictures of Salmo99. He is a handsome fella.