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GREAT EXUMA ISLAND
There are 365 islands and cays strung out across
over 120 miles of ocean that make up The Exumas. From the air, these cays
look like jeweled stepping stones surrounded by a shimmering emerald sea giving
them distinction of being one of the prettiest in The Islands of The Bahamas.
The bright white sand of the deserted beaches is a striking contrast to the deep
aquamarine and jade hues of the water.
Most of Exuma's 3,600 residents live on Great Exuma
or Little Exuma, the two larges islands that are connected by a short bridge.
These friendly and outgoing people are genuinely happy to receive vacationers.
Most Exumians make their living fishing or farming, with the main crops being
onions, tomatoes, pigeon peas, guavas, papayas and mangoes.
Wild cotton also grows on Exuma, a testament to its
part in the island's history. Lord John Rolle, who imported the first
cotton seeds in the late 18th century, had more than 300 slaves. Following
the custom of the day, the slaves adopted their master's surnames. When
cotton proved to be a financial failure for him and emancipation loomed, Lord
John Rolle deeded the 2,300 acres of land to his slave foremen. Those
acres have been passed down the generations and can never be sold to outsiders.
Today almost half the residents go by the name of Rolle and one of the largest
settlements is appropriately named Rolleville.
One of The Islands of The Bahamas' most prestigious
events, the Annual Family Island Regatta, is held every April in picturesque
Elizabeth Harbor in George Town. A tribute to tradition, the regatta is a
race of Bahamian workboats, handmade sloops with wooden hulls, canvas sails and
tall wooden masts.
George Town is also home to the Government
Administration Building, a pink and white edifice modeled after the Government
House in Nassau. A few steps north is St. Andrew's Anglican Church, a
beautiful 150 year old white building with blue doors and shutters that is an
active place of worship today.
naturally, in the heart of the Exuma Cays, is the
Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, a 176 square mile natural preserve which is home
to brilliant coral reefs, exotic marine life and the rare Bahamian iguana - some
of which grow to over two feet long.
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