A pink and brown nose sticks out in the shimmering turquoise sea of a small paradise gull. Standing waist-deep in the pristine clear waters of the Exuma Archipelago, the intrepid explorer shivers at the smell of carrots wafted nervously by my fellow explorers.
A large brown speckled pig swims towards us with its hooves, its head slightly above the water. I blink and wait for him to bite, but he takes the vegetable in my hand and slowly pulls it out, paddles ashore and swallows it. A few of the group leave quickly because of the floating pig poop, but I guess we’re in salt water. It will be fine.
Swimming pigs (yes, that’s true) are not native to the Bahamas at all, and are believed to have been abandoned by sailors in the neighboring Exuma River (known as Pig Island) – presumably to return and eat them. Or maybe a farmer just gave up. No one is quite sure. They have now “migrated”, settled on several islands and become a national treasure.
But it should come as no surprise that friendly Bahamians welcome these relative newcomers.
There are many ways to reach the hearts and souls of these island people.
1. Getting to know the local population
Kwame Russell, a daily air traffic controller who also owns a boat charter business for tourists, is the people-to-people scheme ambassador. This program matches interested visitors with volunteer locals based on their occupations, hobbies and passions. The idea is for tourists to have a fully immersive cultural experience around culinary, natural or historical interest.
A typical activity is dining with the ambassador and their friends, and during my visit I’m treated to Bahamian classics of conch fritters, potato salad, chickpeas and rice (not rice and chickpeas!) and macaroni cheese.
Intricate Junkanoo costumes and headdresses are proudly displayed. Fellow guest Percy ‘Wola’ Francis, the ‘King of Junkanoo’, explains how this annual Boxing Day and New Year’s Day street carnival originated with slaves who were allowed three days at Christmas and sang and danced from house to house. with colorful masks.
2. Learning about Junkanoo
Junkanoo is evident in the spirit of Bahamian culture, including impressive skill. At the Junkanoo Museum in the Bahamas, we learn that the intricate costumes were originally made from anything that could be recycled, from sea sponges to cereal boxes.
Nowadays, a new costume is created every year, painstakingly decorated with colorful crepe paper strips, jewels and feathers over several months from cardboard (donated by hotels and businesses). The most elaborate ensembles can cost upwards of $25,000. Junkanoo groups receive some sponsorship, but many Bahamians are self-funded.
3. Witnessing wildlife
Exuma Powerboat Adventures takes us to the tip of the Exuma reef for a shark feeding encounter. ‘Submissive’ nurse sharks feed on string fish. Apparently these sucker feeders are pretty “harmless” (even if they manage to pull the entire Queen from her shell) with some dramatic kicks.
For a human, it takes a hammer, a blunt knife, and then a strong fork to remove the shells from the horned pink shells. We are given a demo. The resulting alien-like creature is still alive, complete with guts, ‘claws’ and ‘eyes’. When eaten raw with chopped peppers, onions and lime, it makes a Bahamian specialty, conch salad.
4. Attend the Goombay Summer Festival
The annual island-wide Goombay Summer Festival showcases the rich heritage of the Bahamas and takes place every Thursday in July.
Traditional street food and strong rum cocktails (no measure is used, so they all taste slightly different) are sold from stalls along Bay Street. The live concert features unique Goombay calypso music featuring the Rhythm Band accompanying popular local singers.
When I attend, a musician with Olympic-level endurance breaks a carpenter’s saw with a metal brush for three hours. This makeshift instrument is a staple of the Bahamian sound.
The final scene is the Junkanoo ‘mini-parade’, a troop dressed in finery with music played on cowbells, pigskin drums and tubers.
5. Study of national parks
In Grand Bahama, a 30-minute flight away, I learn why mangrove ecosystems are key to protecting these Caribbean islands from ever-increasing hurricanes.
On the way from Freeport to Lucayan National Park, I see the devastation caused by Hurricane Dorian, which destroyed a giant pine forest in 2019 – now reduced mile by mile, the trees split in half. Being poisoned by 180mph winds or an unprecedented saltwater surge.
The heavenly Golden Rock Beach, with its shallow waters stretching hundreds of meters, is reached by a raised walkway over mangroves that have been replanted to calm the waves.
At the nearby award-winning Coral Vita project, scientists grow corals on land before moving them out to sea to restore fragile reefs lost to overfishing, pollution and climate change. They show me canapé-sized specimens grown in tanks and artificially adapted to harsher conditions to increase their durability.
