Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
LITTLE EXUMA
Little Exuma lies only around 10 miles south of the Exuma International Airport, and is sep-
arated from the main isle by a 200yd-wide bight; a bridge fills the gap.
A number of ongoing developments for private beachside dwellings have yet to encroach
completely over some lovely beaches. A nice day can be spent here relaxing on the white
sands and paddling around in the perfectly clear water.
Pretty Molly Beach
is one of the loveliest beaches on the island, despite the sorrowful
origin of its name - a slave killed herself one day by simply walking into the waves off this
beach. The stark beauty of these shores is a fitting monument to her spirit, which is said to
still walk alongside these waters.
Ferry to Williams Town
Ferry is a small hillside settlement that lies immediately across the bridge from Great
Exuma. Look out for
St Christopher's Anglican Church
, a whitewashed chapel (sup-
posedly the smallest church in the Bahamas) festooned with a bougainvillea bower.
forbes hill, 12 miles southeast of george town, has a 100yd-wide scimitar of pure white
sand with turquoise shallows cusped by tiny headlands. two miles south of forbes hill a side
road leads east to
Tropic of Cancer Beach
, another true stunner that runs south, unblem-
ished, for several miles - it's unusual to see anyone else here, so you don't have to worry
about finding a spot, though there are no facilities or shops nearby.
The southernmost settlement is
Williams Town
(population 300), populated predomin-
antly by Kelsalls, descended from or named for the foremost Loyalist family that founded
the settlement. The Kelsalls established a cotton plantation and sold salt drawn from nearby
salt ponds. The brush-entangled ruins of the plantation home -
Hermitage Estate
- still
stand amid pinkish brine ponds.
You can see locals dressing their fresh catch of fish and conch at the rickety wharf behind
and just south of St Mary Magdalene's Church in William's Town. North of town, on the
bluff to the side of the road, you'll pass a tall
Doric pillar
transporting you (metaphorically)
to ancient Greece. This column and a rusty cannon stand high above the rocky shore. The
hulk of a ship lies dramatically on a white-sand beach fronting the village, within calling
distance of the column meant to guide mariners.
EATING
Mom's Bakery (in Williams Town) is the place to stock up on tasty rum cake, banana bread,
coconut tarts and bread. Two restaurants worth mentioning are the following:
