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| Starting
some 20 miles South East of the island of New Providence, The
Exumas consists of a chain of 365 cays strewn over a 100-mile
expanse of the most breathtakingly beautiful stretch of waters
in The Bahamas. Most of the cays are unpopulated. The chain
ends with two large islands, Great Exuma, and Little Exuma,
some 40 miles and 20 miles long respectively. |
| Modern
history of the Exumas dates to 1783, when American Loyalists,
remaining true to the British king after the United States won
the American Revolutionary War, resumed their former way of
life in these islands, complete with cotton plantations and
African slaves. Remnants of these plantations still remain.
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| The major landowner
was Lord John Rolle. When he freed his slaves in 1835, he bequeathed
his land to them for life. Several towns are named after him
and many of the people in The Exumas bear the name of "Rolle".
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| Currently there
is an amount of development on the Islands, in terms of attracting
more visitors, this development includes the construction of
a Golf Course and accommodation complex, and a further planned
development to build a number of holiday apartments for sale
and rent, (The Cays). |
| In line with the
Bahamian Government policy there is a lot of interest in developing
the tourist trade in Exuma, which is arguably the prettiest
of the Bahamian Islands. |
| Tourist activities,
include Fishing , snorkelling, boating and yachting (an annual
regatta takes place every year). Stocking Island, with its expansive
sandy beaches and bordering Elizabeth Harbour on the Atlantic
shore, is a local attraction. There are also countless other
pristine sandy beaches around the Islands, some of which are
so isolated that they are only approachable by boat.There are
several places for eating and drinking on Exuma, ranging from
excellent hotel restaurants, to some very good beach cabana
style snack and bar facilities.
Getting There
There are regular daily flights to and from Exuma International
Airport from Miami (American Eagle), From Atlanta (Delta)
and from Fort Lauderdale (Contental). Jet Blue fly from New
York and British Airways to Nassau, with connecting flights
to Exuma provided by Bahamas Air and Sky Bahamas. There are
also several Private Charter companies. Car Hire can be arranged
at the Airport and rates are competitive.
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