Seeing the sights of Nassau is, no doubt, right at the top of your list of Musts for this vacation. And your options for touring the island’s numerous points of interest are many. Chauffered limo, horse & carriage, loaded tour bus, motor bike. The trouble with all these modes of transportation for checking out the sites are, umm…well… they’re just too touristy.
You’re not the cookie cutter variety of tourist. You seek the slightly exotic. You’re a traveler willing to step briefly into the world of the country and people you’ve chosen to visit. If that description fits you, then there is a special vehicle you must board to see the sights of Nassau in style that’s out of the ordinary.
It’s called a Jitney. That’s the name the locals give to the 44-seater public buses with routes that go in every direction on the island. It’s a means of transportation for thousands of Bahamians. At $1.00 a ride, the fare is unbeatably low. And it’s becoming more and more comfortable. Most buses now have air-conditioning. But the jitney is more than a ride. It’s something of a social forum, where a chance comment from a passenger can spark a bus wide debate. And Ah! there’s entertainment. Reggae, hip hop, Gospel, native Rake & Scrape, Soca. On the jitney, the music’s always jamming.
For your tour of the sights, head in the direction of George Street, one of Nassau’s oldest thoroughfares. Just as you turn the corner, there they are. A line of buses waiting on the left of the street. They’re all marked #10. “Cable Beach! Step right up!” trumpets a fellow pacing up and down in front of the first bus in line.
Yes, there’s no mistake about it. This is your bus. The Number 10 bus, named for its route, will take you on a road trip that covers 15 scenic miles along West Bay Street, a coastal route that winds its way through the heart of town, past historic forts, along gorgeous ocean vistas, past luxury resorts, well-to-do neighborhoods, secluded coves and strands of gleaming white beaches.
For the best vantage point, make your way to the back of the bus and settle into a corner seat. From here, in addition to seeing the passing sites, you’ll be able to do a little people watching. Enscounced in a corner seat at the back, throughout the trip, you’ll remain undisturbed by passengers getting on and off the bus. Sit back and relax. The island tune playing is one of the latest hits by a top local artist.
The driver has turned on the ignition, and the bus is pulling out onto the street, heading south. The purple building straight ahead, with the skull and cross bones is Pirates of Nassau, a museum that showcases the colorful lifestyle of the swashbuckling pirates who made Nassau their headquarters in the 17th century. Across the street from the museum, on the left, is Christ Church Cathedral, built in 1837. Its structure of plain stone, simple yet impressive, draws many visitors appreciative of Church architecture.
Just south of Christ Church Cathedral, on the left, is Reginald House, which dates back to the mid 1700’s. It is thought to have been commandeered as the living quarters for the Commander of the Spanish Garrison that occupied Nassau between 1782 and 1783. Over to your right, is the bright coral building housing the Towne Hotel. A few hundred yards south, are several old houses with jalousies, lattice and dormers, all typical of the architecture of the Loyalists.
Straight ahead, midway up a flight of stairs leading to Government House is a white marble statue of Christopher Columbus. Though the Genovese explorer has, in recent years,, become a controversial historic figure, Nassau still gives him pride of place at the top of the hill overlooking the city. Columbus is credited with literally putting the Bahamas on the map, having made his landfall on the Bahamian island of San Salvador. Government House, the much photographed, pink, colonial, hilltop mansion, is the official residence of the Governor General, personal representative of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
As the bus waits for the traffic light to turn green, at the corner of Marlborough and Blue Hill Road., take a look at the building straight across the street, on the right, at the corner of West Hill Street. That’s Graycliff, an 18th century structure, which now houses a five star restaurant, boutique, hotel and cigar factory. Out of sight, at the other end of this street, stands the recently restored Villa Doyle, home of the Bahamas Art Gallery, which opens its doors on July 7, 2003 to a showcase the most comprehensive collections of Bahamian art.
At the green light, the bus turns and descends Marlborough Street. Straight ahead, presides a city landmark, the recently refurbished British Colonial Hotel. The original hotel was built in the late 1800’s on the site of what was Nassau’s first fort constructed in the 18th century. At the front of the hotel is a statue of Woodes Rogers, the first Royal Governor, who brought to an end the reign of plunder of the pirates and restored trade.
Turning west onto Marlborough Street, the bus passes two side streets, on the left, Nassau Court and Queen’s Street. Coming up on the right is Marlborough Antiques, which features a substantial antique collection, along with the work of Brent Malone, one of the Bahamas’ most renowned artists. A slight turn to the right, around a bend takes the bus onto West Bay Street, past a strip of budget hotels. Across the street from these hotels is a public Beach, alternately known as Junkanoo Beach or Western Esplanade.
The bus rolls on, past Xavier’s, a Catholic Primary School, on your left. The fortification ahead is Fort Charlotte, one of the island’s three existing forts. Fort Charlotte was built by Lord Dunmore, who was Governor of the Bahamas between 1787 and 1796. Named in honour of the wife of King George III, the walls of Fort Charlotte were cut into the lime stone elevation. The Fort commands the approach to Nassau Harbour, and for all its battle ready appearance, it has never fired a shot in anger. At the outer edges of Fort Charlotte lie the 18 acre Nassau Botanical Gardens which feature a wide variety of flowers and trees, and is an excellent location for bird watching. The sign on the corner of Chippingham Road at the entrance of the Botanic Gardens point the way to the Ardastra Gardens and Zoo, home of the marching West Indian Flamingos.
Across the street, over on your right, opposite Fort Charlotte, is the Fish Fry at Arawak Cay, a seafront village of Bahamian shacks, that’s a favorite hang out for locals and visitors alike. The specialty here is conch (pronounced konk), the Bahamian seafood prepared in so many ways: conch salad, conch fritters, cracked conch, scorched conch, conch chowder.
So far, the bus has made few stops. Most of your fellow passengers won’t get off for another two miles. They’re either tourists, like you, returning to their hotels on Cable Beach or workers on their way to begin shifts at those hotels. The chatter found on jitneys on other routes is absent from your bus. With such scenery passing outside the bus window, who needs to talk? But continue to sit back and relax. Many more sights await you ahead.
The beach behind the stand of giant casuarinas trees over on your right is Saunders Beach, popular with both the local and tourist crowd. A distance out to sea, you’ll see a submerged tower and a picturesque bridge. The observatory tower was once the main attraction of the former marine park on Crystal Cay.
The bus is rounding a bend, Go Slow Bend. Take a look over to right. The view is gorgeous: an expanse of turquoise sea shimmering in the sun. In the distance are the resorts of Cable Beach. In land, over on the left, you’re passing a well-to-do residential area know as the Grove. In former times, these lands were part of a sisal plantation. Ahead, just about where the road turns into a dual carriage way, over on your left are the rolling greens of the Cable Beach Golf Course.
You’re now entering Cable Beach, named for the fact that the first cable communication between Nassau and Jupiter, Florida was installed in the area between 1892. Over, on your right, are the Great Resorts of Cable Beach. First in the line up of resorts is SuperClubs Breezes. Coming up are Nassau Beach Hotel, the Wyndham Nassau Resort & Crystal Palace Casino, Radisson Cable Beach. Over on your left are a number of business establishments, including several banks, one with a Western Union Office. The bright green building is the Cable Beach Police Station. Further ahead is the Cable Beach Straw Market, a smaller version of the large Straw Market located downtown, but just as stocked with souvenirs of straw, and friendly vendors ready to close a bargain.
For the next mile or two, on both sides of the streets, you’ll notice brand new office and condominium complexes and several more under construction. This is all testimony to an economy that has weathered global economic fluctuations, thanks to the tourist dollar. Spaced between developments on the right, are regular openings to the sea. The bus turns a bend, and there before you spreads a breathtaking vista of ocean, a small nook of white, sandy beach or a partly hidden cove.
Just a few minutes past the Resorts of Cable Beach, to your right, is Olde Towne at Sandyport, a shopping village of pastel buildings that’s a combination of the Mediterranean in the tropics. The Olde Towne features a collection of upscale souvenir shops, clothing stores, restaurants, and weekly live entertainment.
Just west of Sandy port, is the small village of Delaporte, which saw former times as a plantation. Not far from here, on your right, are the Caves, formed by erosive action of the sea on the natural limestone. Half mile ahead, just where West Bay Street intersects with Blake Road, in front of the Bayside Office Complex, is Conference Corner. The trees here were planted in 1962 by three of the then world’s leaders: John F. Kennedy, Harrold McMillan and John Diefenbaker.
Continuing west, you’ll come upon Gambier Village, one of the first villages of Nassau settled by liberated Africans captured on the high seas by the Royal Navy after the abolition of slavery in 1807. Rolling along past stately hillside homes, in land, on the left, the bus turns a slight bend, and there ahead of you, on the waterfront is the most unexpected sight. A compound of brightly colored Caribbean clapboard huts and cabanas. That’s Compass Point Beach Club. And it’s right about here that your bus turns around and heads back downtown, to your point of departure, there on Olde George Street.
