My Personal Pictures of The Bahamas Culture, People, and Places
Bahamas culture is like Bacardi. Just have one experience, and you're
hooked. Every visitor will be captivated by the island life with its
noticeable contrasts, behaviors, and a historical thread that links
Christopher Columbus and Internet Web surfers. Let me tell you what
happened to me.
We had only gone there to spend a short time. We ended up spending eleven
years! Go figure that out. Spending more than a decade learning the
Bahamas culture allows me to tell you a whole lot about
Bahamas food, to share
important information you will need when planning your
Bahamas vacations, and even give you
my very own picture of the Bahamas.
It is impossible for me to make you capture every aspect of Bahamas
culture that I have experienced. I have had a lot of experiences in more
than a decade. So, where do I begin.
Choose any of several hundred ways
As a visitor to the Bahamas, you should know that there are about 700
different ways you can begin your cultural experience in The Bahamas -
as many options as there are islands and cays in the archipelagic nation.
You can start anywhere, but the hub of cultural mix is Nassau, the
capital city. Of course, that's where our journey began. Visitors fly or
sail to Freeport on Grand Bahama Island as well. From these two main
entry points the wide range of tropical experiences begins.
Many visitors have made casual trips to this popular tourist destination
and have fallen in love with the Bahamas culture, food, and climate.
Before long they are seeking a
private island for sale.
Another popular option of visitor "nesting" in the
Bahamas is buying a secluded residence in areas such as Lyford Cay, New
Providence. You
will find many celebrities in their winter home hideouts every year.
What's on the cultural menu?
I think of Junkunoo, Kalik beer, the nation's Independence Day
celebrations, and the face of tourism almost everywhere in the country.
(Even if, like me, you don't care about beer or alcohol, you will enjoy
the Bahamian experience as a visitor.)
The mainly African heritage is evident, if in no other way, in the people
themselves. Although the population of the Bahamas is in the region of a
quarter million, it is common to see the country cheering for their sons
and daughters in international sports competitions.
Visitors usually find their experience in the Bahamas culture and way of
life as therapeutic, in some ways. The pace of life (especially in the
family islands - i.e. outside of the capital island of New Providence)
is just slow enough to put your haste to rest. You could almost lower
your blood pressure by taking a trip to crustacean-shaped island of
Andros.
Not only does the pace of life slow in the out islands, the people living
in those areas tend to be more eager to spread a welcome mat for their
visitors.
Even after eleven years of being in the Bahamas cultural mix, I can never
understand why the the most popular color of the paint on buildings,
especially the government buildings, is pink. Plus, I have even seen
some purple houses. My daughter loves that color.
Apart from the weird color selections on buildings, Bahamas culture has
come a long way from when the Spanish first guy docked there in 1492.
Now there is a blend of African, European, American, and other
experiences within the culture.
Although the music and dance have the predominant African and
African-American flavor, The Bahamas (like many western countries) has
cosmopolitan flavor. Being so close to the US mainland, there is no way
to escape this.
But the history and historical landmarks could give you goose bumps. Oh to
be in the very spot where the buccaneers roamed some centuries ago! And
these historical relics and stories are somehow preserved to this day.
The re-telling of the story through regular cultural exhibitions are
part of the experiences any visitor to this vacation destination will
enjoy. I did, for 11½ years.
Learn more about
The Bahamas culture from the official Bahamas.com website. |
The
Bahamas Experiencee
