bahama island vacation
Bahama Islands News, Articles and Information
Native Bahamian tells of country's traditions
Situated between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean lies The Bahamas, an island chain of adventure with 700 islands and cays.The pristine beaches, warm sunshine and warm people create a tourist paradise and vacation haven for foreigners, but to this international student, the Bahamas is where I call home.
As the Bahamas gradually become a melting pot of cultures, Bahamians are still being true to their "navel strings" buried deep across this archipelago.
From Grand Bahama Island in the north to Inagua Island in the south, the words colour and cheque (bank) are still spelled in that "weird" way of the British English.
We still do the "strange" thing of driving on the left, another British custom.
Most of the residents in this archipelago live on New Providence Island in the city of Nassau, with rest of the population living on Family Islands.
Club Med - Turks and Caicos
Join Steppin Out, known for getting active Jewish singles out of their routine, for a Club Med getaway to one of the hottest islands in the Bahamas - Providenciales in Turks & Caicos. Spectacular beaches, world-renowned diving, legendary party atmosphere... and an adventurous sun-loving crowd will be waiting for you. Not to mention the many splendors of Club Med Turkoise, where we'll be spoiled into a blissful state. The village is all-inclusive with everything you'll need for your finest vacation dreams to come true... White sandy beaches, cozy bungalows, sun-soaked pool, open-air night club, amazing staff, restaurants, all-inclusive meals and beverages, beachside bar and more. Snorkeling, water aerobics, trapeze, trampoline, tennis, catamarans, weight rooms, volleyball and diving. And then get ready for the night.Balancing conch fishing with big development
Bimini has always been a beer-and-fried-fish kind of place. And the most salient feature of West End, the settlement on the westernmost tip of Grand Bahama Island, has been the mountains of conch shells that line the road.But both places are in the midst of a metamorphosis.
A building boom that will bring a luxury hotel, pricey vacation homes, a golf course and gambling casino to rustic, laid-back Bimini is already underway on the island that has long been a favorite of sports fishermen.
And a development company from Celebration, Fla., is seeking final approval to build a $5 billion resort project, Ginn sur Mer, in West End. It's already showing seaside home sites to prospective buyers.
As today's cover story (''Building Up the Bahamas,'' page 22) by reporter Amy Martinez points out, large-scale and expensive resort projects and marinas are going up all over the 700-island nation.
Timeshare owners learn of new deal
After an almost two-year freeze on their points, timeshare owners at the Crowne Plaza Golf Resort and Casino at the Royal Oasis are learning of a deal that could break the ice and lure them back to the distressed property.Lehman Brothers, the financiers of the resort, signed a contract last Monday with World Investments Holdings (WIH) for the purchase of the resort which has been closed since 2004.
The closure wiped out 965 rooms in the towers and country club from the island's inventory, shut down the casino, both golf courses and 98 timeshare units and pushed some 1,300 employees into the unemployment pool.
The move came days after Hurricane Frances in September 2004. The owners claimed the property sustained extensive damages.
With an inoperable property in Grand Bahama, timeshare owners say they were unable to vacation anywhere else because their points had been frozen.
News briefs for August 30
ALLEGAN/PLAINWELL: A Plainwell couple killed last week in a plane crash near Ormond Beach, Fla., will be remembered Thursday during a service at Richland Bible Church in Richland. Ward T. and Barbara Walter were en route Friday from Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport in a Mitsubishi MU-2 airplane to a vacation home in Eleuthra Island, the Bahamas, when their plane crashed. Visitation for the Walters is 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday at Life Story Funeral Home in Plainwell. The service at Richland Bible Church follows at 6 p.m. The plane was registered to Drug & Laboratory Disposal Inc., a Plainwell waste-disposal firm founded by Ward Walter in 1977. ADA/CASCADE: Cascade Township officials believe there are about 144 potential sites built between 1820 and 1916 with local historical significance.
Fla. Braces for Tropical Storm Ernesto
KEY WEST, Fla. - Steve Saunders and his family drove seven hours from central Florida to the end of the Florida Keys, blissfully unaware they were heading the wrong way as Tropical Storm Ernesto crept ever closer.Tourists had been ordered to evacuate the Keys, where Floridians were expected to feel Ernesto's first effects. But lying by a hotel pool Monday evening, Saunders said his family planned to stay in Key West and ride it out.
Driving back up the peninsula didn't really make sense, as Ernesto was forecast to follow the same path north, Saunders said. "It's going to get you if you drive up Florida," he said.
Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center said Ernesto could reach hurricane strength by the time it makes landfall on the Florida mainland.