Went to Great Guana Cay in about 1979. It was pristine and perfect. Pretty sure the place I stayed at was later wiped out by a storm. Crystal clear water and reefs. Place I stayed at would fix up the lobster tails and hog snapper we brought back every evening. Every morning they brought coffee an Nassau Royale to the room. Almost no homes on the island. Just the resort and a little shack that sold amazing bread. Thanks for reminding me of this place. Great memory.
Would have loved to have seen it back then. Even when I started going with friends who introduced me to the area it had a very remote/free feeling to it. I don't know if people understand this part of the Bahamas vs the typical experience most people have when visiting the more commercial portions. I've been to Eleuthera as well, it has much the same feeling. Hope to one day visit the Exumas.
Our typical days there consist of early mornings on the boat, head out to the reef for snorkelling, head to another island for lunch, and what comes comes. From isle to isle, many uninhabited. You snorkel, explore, spear lobster, catch giant star fish just lying on the bottoms. The best have been the adults only trips wherein we let it all hang out. There's no BUI or DUI to worry about there. You best know the waters when boating as outside of the harbours it's all unmarked and reefs, rocks, & sand bars abound. And it can get dangerous when you're carried away with drink & smoke. I've broken my tail bone, a rib, & cracked a bone in my elbow on separate occasions there. Nearly gutted myself on a boat prop at Lubber's Quarters once.
Everyone with a smile and a wave. No beads, no braids, mile long beaches on which you may be the only person.
Some of that changed after Baker's Bay was built on Guana, which brought more people/business to the area, but still quite remote/free.
The hurricane was devastating. We got together and raised supplies. We loaded a friends plane to the hilt and made a run a week after it had passed. We had to "sneak" onto Treasure as there was no air traffic control left there. As we approached the radio crackled with dozens of other private planes doing the same. The pilots worked together via radio to keep the landings/take offs as safe as possible as they came & went all day out of Florida to deliver supplies.
There was very little government presence except some military at the airport, but they welcomed us all even though we were technically breaking the law by landing. The destruction we saw in town that day was terrible. You could smell death everywhere. Just twisted piles of wood where homes once stood. That storm sat on top of the area for over 24 hours putting most of the area under a 6' storm surge as tornadoes took care of the rest.
