New air service puts Bahamas' Out Islands within reach

A vien, aka Coco, wasn't able to meet me at the Eleuthera airport with my rental car. He was busy at his restaurant in Rock Sound. So his wife turned over the battered nondescript vehicle with the steering wheel on the left, asked for some cash (she doesn't take credit cards), and told me I could pay the rest when I turned it into her mother, who works the gift and snack shop at the airport.

If I got lost, folks at the airport told me, I could just stop and ask anybody. That's the kind of friendly, trusting, loosy-goosy place the Out Islands manages to remain.

The drive between the airport and Cape Eleuthera took me through quiet church-anchored settlements and along the oh-I- forgot-how-beautiful-the-water- is-here seascape showing off every shade of blue and green imaginable.

Miles of scrubby and piney ``bush'' peeled past my window with little man made infringement. No speed limit signs, stoplights or complicated roundabouts told me how to drive. It felt like I'd arrived at another dimension of the planet, where life's pace made total sense.

In tempo with general island pacing, change happens slowly on these islands removed from the metro vibes of Nassau and Grand Bahama Island. It does happen, however. Heydays have come and gone and appeared to be coming again as development began to pick up about five years ago.

Despite the economy, new resorts have been cropping up, particularly in Eleuthera. In response, air service is expanding. Starting Nov. 19, American Eagle adds nonstop service from Miami International to two new Eleuthera airports and one new Abaco airport with plans to continue it year-round.

The airline will serve Treasure Cay (aboard a 63-passenger plane), located north of Marsh Harbour on Great Abaco Island and known for its award-winning beach. American is also adding a second flight to Marsh Harbour (where the runway is being lengthened) in Abaco and resuming its seasonal flights to Exuma this month.

Existing flights to the Out Islands: Continental/Gulfstream International flies twice daily from Fort Lauderdale to Exuma; Continental and United Air serve North Eleuthera and Governor's Harbour from Miami and Fort Lauderdale; Continental/Gulfstream International flies direct from Fort Lauderdale to Bimini.

How much will new development and flight schedules impact the islands' inherently genuine, unrushed personality? Will Out Island traffic lights, which number one at this point (in Marsh Harbour), multiply? Will the Atlantis-style casino and mega-resort anatomy bleed onto islands where small resorts, natural attractions and Bahamian restaurants are the rule?

Islanders believe not: ``The type of people who come to Eleuthera are the type who don't want the island to change,'' said Leesa Fountain, a Bahamian-Canadian islander. ``It attracts adventurous people. People who like the Nassau scene will continue to go there.''

ELEUTHERA

``It's huge!'' said Stephen Kappeler, general manager at the new Cape Eleuthera resort, of the new flight. ``It's Miami, and the internationals don't have to go through Nassau and lose days. It also brings competition. Already local airlines are dropping prices.''

Like most islanders, Kappeler sees only good things resulting on secluded, scarcely populated Eleuthera, even though his resort lies at the southernmost point of the 110-mile-long skinny island, close to Rock Sound.

Despite its drop-dead gorgeous beaches, including hard-to-reach Lighthouse Point, ``up south'' on the island sees the fewest visitors these days. Its mid-1900s heyday has passed, but Cape Eleuthera struggles to bring it back with a mega-yacht harbor and luxury rentals.

Governor's Harbour, mid-island, and Harbour Island, a short ferry ride from the island's north end, see the most tourism, thus the new service to their airports. Lovely Governor's Harbour boasts picturesque Loyalist-era mansions, boutique hotels, and fun restaurants.

Two years ago, Pineapple Fields opened its 32-unit bright yellow, Bahamian-style one- and two-bedroom condo resort next to a five-acre pineapple farm just outside of Governor's Harbour.

On the horizon, Sky Beach Club's residence rentals and gorgeous Bistro will bring a whole new architectural look and level of exclusivity.

Beaches -- interrupted here and there by limestone upcroppings -- are never far away on Eleuthera.

The pink sands of Harbour Island, another Loyalist settlement, have made it famous among Out Island travelers.

High-end resorts such as Pink Sands and Coral Sands Hotel, and restaurants such as the popular Sip Sip overlook the beach.

Overnight and day-trip guests tool around in golf carts, visiting the shops, harborfront straw market and pubs.

Spanish Wells, another ferry-accessible island, is more residential, less touristy, but equally intriguing for day-tripping and lunching.

Between the north end and Governor's Harbour, visitors stop in Gregory Town, where they might catch rocker Lenny Kravitz, who owns a home nearby, at Elvina's nightclub or the Laughing Lizard Café.

The Cove resort, one hill away on this unusually hilly Bahamian island, turned out a completely renovated product in 2005.

Island sightseeing is not taxing -- Preacher's Cave, the hot baths, Surfer's Beach, Awesome Blossoms garden, and Ocean Hole.

Eleuthera's true attractions are its genuine people and the joy of discovery when you ferret out incredible pineapple tarts at Miss Gibson's, homemade bread once served to Prince Charles and Lady Di during their frequent stays, deep-fried lobster balls at Surfer's Beach Manor, Friday night Fish Fry, fresh-made conch salad and Kalik beer at Coco's, or a sweet dive spot.

EXUMA

Like Eleuthera, Exuma is slightly off the travel radar. In 2003, the opening of a 226-room Four Seasons got it noticed; the Four Seasons has since been taken over by Sandals, which plans to open its doors in January 2010.

Islanders were happy for the employment at first after Four Season's opening, but within a year many were complaining about the stress level of their jobs.

Exuma and stress don't mix. A 60-mile stretch of some 365 islands and cays at Nassau's southeastern doorstep, Exuma has long been a secret of the yachting and angling crowds, crazy about its profusion of safe harbors and bonefishing.

Annual spring sailing regattas fill the harbor around capital George Town with sailors from all corners of the planet. Services in the capital city focus on their needs.

Outside of town on Great Exuma, the largest of the isles and bridged to Little Exuma, where lodges cater to hard-core anglers in search of the enigmatic, flats-dwelling bonefish.

Old-style resorts such as Club Peace & Plenty huddle around George Town, giving visitors an opportunity to mingle and experience Out Island lifestyles.

Ferries from Government Dock take them to amiable Chat & Chill, the ultimate yachties haunt at beachy Stocking Island's south end. Beaching, kayaking, snorkeling, fishing, and boating fill lazy days on Great Exuma.

George Town's local eateries and resort clubs while away the evenings with local bands and Bahamian eats -- cracked conch, lobster, barbecued pork, fried chicken, and fresh fish.

ABACO

Of all the Out Islands, Abaco prospers and bustles most, due to its widespread boating reputation and population of wealthy winter residents.

If any of the islands is affected beyond the purely economic by the new flights, it would be Abaco. It could very well change the character of Treasure Cay, bringing direct service to the quiet, exclusive community for the first time.

Its 3 ½-mile beach has won numerous awards for its pillowy white sands. It's also the launching point for ferry service to Green Turtle Cay and its New England-style town of New Plymouth.

Miss Emily's Blue Bee Bar, home of the Goombay Smash rum drink, is one of the island's favorite stops for boaters or overnighters at the Green Turtle Club.

Island-hopping to Abaco's smaller cays is one of the destination's greatest pleasures. Ferries to Hope Town, Man-O-War Cay, and Great Guana Cay all depart from Marsh Harbour.

BIMINI

Synonymous with ``fishing'' and made famous by Ernest Hemingway's early patronage, Bimini lies closest to the U.S. mainland, making it an easy destination for both fishermen and partying types.

Although a large percentage arrive by private boat, flights from Fort Lauderdale land at South Bimini, the quiet counterpart of more lively North Bimini, a short ferry ride away.

Those who prefer the quiet stay at Bimini Sands, where the Petite Conch restaurant serves American and Bahamian favorites at breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

In North Bimini, the three-year-old Bimini Bay Resort has boosted the island's tourist appeal with golf, a casino and a restaurant.

Its main community of Alice Town, at the island's south end, offers a typical Bahamian straw market; camera-seducing pastel homes and buildings; bakeries scenting the air with sweet Bimini bread; the white-sand stretch of Radio, Blister, and Spook Hill beaches; and the locally colorful End of the World Saloon -- sand floor, strewn mementos of visitors past and all.

As in most of the Out Islands, watersports reel in visitors. Scuba charters take divers to explore wrecks, the Bimini Wall and Bimini Road, which legend identifies as the ancient underwater thoroughfare to the city of Atlantis.

Fishing tournaments and regattas throughout the year present ample excuse to party in the finest Hemingway tradition. Come spring break, one can believe the other legend -- that of the Fountain of Youth -- as North Bimini fills with college students.