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Starting
some 20 miles South East of the island of New Providence,
The Exumas consists of a chain of 365 cays strewn over a
100-mile expanse of the most breathtakingly beautiful stretch
of waters in The Bahamas. Most of the cays are unpopulated.
The chain ends with two large islands, Great Exuma, and
Little Exuma, some 40 miles and 20 miles long respectively.
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| Modern
history of the Exumas dates to 1783, when American Loyalists,
remaining true to the British king after the United States won
the American Revolutionary War, resumed their former way of
life in these islands, complete with cotton plantations and
African slaves. Remnants of these plantations still remain.
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| The major landowner was Lord
John Rolle. When he freed his slaves in 1835, he bequeathed
his land to them for life. Several towns are named after him
and many of the people in The Exumas bear the name of "Rolle".
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| Currently there
is an amount of development on the Islands, in terms of attracting
more visitors, this development includes the construction of
a Golf Course and accommodation complex, and a further planned
development to build a number of holiday apartments for sale
and rent, (The Cays). |
| In line with the
Bahamian Government policy there is a lot of interest in developing
the tourist trade in Exuma, which is arguably the prettiest
of the Bahamian Islands. |
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Tourist activities, include
Fishing (there are are number guides for flyfishing on the
extensive sand flats which surround the island), snorkelling,
boating and yachting (an annual regatta takes place every
april). Stocking Island, with its expansive sandy beaches
and bordering Elizabeth Harbour on the Atlantic shore, is
a local attraction. There are also countless other pristine
sandy beaches around the Islands, some of which are so isolated
that they are only approachable by boat.
There are several places
for eating and drinking on Exuma, ranging from excellent
hotel restaurants, to some very good beach cabana style
snack and bar facilities.
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| There are regular daily flights
to and from Exuma International Airport from Miami (American
Eagle), From Atlanta (Delta) and from Fort Lauderdal (Contental).
Jet Blue fly from New York and British Airways to Nassau, with
connecting flights to Exuma provided by Bahamas Air and Sky
Bahamas. There are also several Private Charter companies.
Car Hire can be arranged at the
Airport and rates are competitive. |
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