The silence was so profound I lowered my voice, which was ridiculous since I was standing on the side of a road talking on a pay phone.
It was 10:30 p.m. and there was no traffic, no sounds of TVs, no distant conversations-just the rustling of palm fronds and the sound of my own voice.
Bahamians call Andros “the sleeping giant” or “the big yard.” The eerie silence pervades the island, the largest in the Bahamas and the least developed. At 2,300 square miles and 100 miles long, Andros is one of the largest tracts of unexplored land in the Western Hemisphere.
The west side of the island is 1,000 square miles of mangrove swamps divided by shallow bights and channels, and pitted with “blue holes,” circular drop-offs more than 350 feet deep, formed by the collapse of caves during the ice age. There are usually several feet of stone walls between ground level and water, which makes a fall into one similar to falling into a well. You should watch your step in Andros.
The island is home to only 10,000 people.
At the 12-room Green Windows Inn in Nicholl’s Town, Andros’ largest village-population 600-I was one of two people in the restaurant for breakfast. There was no menu. “Just tell me what you want,” said the young cook.
The other patron was Trevor Miller, a Nassau policeman in Andros on police business.
“It’s pretty quiet here,” I said.
“Yes, it is,” he agreed. “Very quiet.”
“Is there much crime in Andros?”
“No,” he said, sounding a bit regretful. He thought about it for a minute. Well, they almost had a murder a few weeks before, he said. There was a robbery and a man died. But it turned out he had probably died from a heart attack first. There hasn’t been a murder in Andros for more than two years, according to Andros police.
The conversation drifted to the proper way to boil fish for breakfast. “You drop the fish in boiling water. Add lots of pepper, onions and lime,” he said, pointing with his fork to the little boiled snapper in front of him. “When it rises to the top in about two minutes it’s done. It is very important not to overcook.”
You know it’s quiet when the police are sharing boiled fish recipes.
No taxis stop at the inn because there aren’t any. Getting around usually means getting a series of rides. Officer Miller gave me a lift to the port, and from there I went to my next destination with the Lighthouse Yacht Club marina manager, who was picking up groceries for the resort’s kitchen.
The island is so natural and uninhabited it is startling, and spooky. We drove for 30 minutes and saw nothing but dense forests of pine, mahogany, horseflesh trees (used in Bahamian boat-building) and coconut palms.
When the Spaniards came here in the 16th Century, they called the island La Isla del Espiritu Santo: Island of the Holy Spirit.
Here, one might actually believe in the chickcharnie, a mischievous elflike, green-feathered creature with piercing red eyes, a beard and three fingers, who can bring good luck or bad to people who cross his path in Andros’ forests.
Irvin Mackey, an Andros guide, admitted he had never seen one, but said many people have. “They lived more in my parents’ day. But they exist today,” he said emphatically. “If you see one, you should be very polite.”
He was telling me this when we suddenly saw a flash of green in the forest. We had been driving for 20 minutes and hadn’t seen a car, a house or a person.
It startled both of us until we realized the flash was a guy in neon green shorts and shirt on a mountain bike. Since there are so few people in these parts, Mackey knew who he was-a soldier from the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center, a U.S. Navy testing facility in central Andros that evaluates submarines and underwater weapons.
The sight of a biker in the forest was about as strange as seeing a chickcharnie.
There are no singles clubs, no Club Meds, no casinos, not a single T-shirt shop, no nightclubs for tourists, no shopping complexes. Cruise ships wouldn’t think of stopping here.
Tourists looking for a wild time give Andros a wide berth. There is plenty of wildlife, but in the category of wild boars and iguanas. A steady stream of botanists come here to see the 40 species of wild orchids, some of which are not found anywhere else on Earth. And then there are the bird-watchers who stalk the rare terns migrating from South America, the parrots, whistling ducks, partridges and flamingos.
But Andros’ most famous wildlife in not on land.
“Bonefishing is where the action is,” said Capt. Rupert Leadon. Of course he would say that since he’s the owner of the Andros Island Bonefishing Club in the tiny village of Cargill Creek in central Andros.
But it must be true. Baseball great Ted Williams, astronaut Wally Schirra, and CEOs and executives including those from the New York offices of Rolex, frequently stay at the club.
Cargill Creek Lodge, another bonefishing destination for well-heeled anglers, is nearby.
Divers like the family-oriented Small Hope Bay Lodge in central Andros, a collection of 20 stone and wood cottages, which has a well-known dive program. Owner Dick Birch, who pioneered resort dive courses, started the resort 35 years ago.
Only half a mile off shore is the 142-mile-long Andros Barrier Reef, the third largest in the world. (The first is Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, second is off the coast of Belize, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica.)
The Bahamian-owned Lighthouse Yacht Club and Marina in Fresh Creek is by far the most luxurious hotel choice. The white-tiled rooms are big and modern. There is a pool, marina, restaurant and tennis courts.
One night I watched “Seinfeld” in my room at the Lighthouse Yacht Club.
The Big Quiet of Andros stretched beyond the sliding-glass doors-two worlds from different galaxies colliding.
DEALS TO THE BAHAMAS
Palm Beach Cruise Lines is offering special cruise-hotel prices through Oct. 15 that include round-trip passage on the Viking Princess cruise ship and a choice of four Freeport hotels.
Passengers leave the Port of Palm Beach at about 8:30 a.m. and arrive in Freeport about 2:30 p.m. The round-trip cruise and a one-night stay at the Radisson at Lucaya Beach Resort is $79 for one night (per person, double occupancy); $109, two nights; $139, three nights; $169, four nights.
The other hotels offered in the package: Lucayan Beach Resort, $99 one night (cruise and hotel); the Bahamas Princess (not on the beach), $99; and the Atlantik Beach Resort, $89. (All packages include port charges.)
Great Escape Vacations prices, in effect until Dec. 10, are about $20 higher. Call 800-447-2290.
Paradise Island Vacations has Super Vacation packages that include round-trip air fare from West Palm Beach on Paradise Islands Airlines to Nassau and hotel accommodations.
Prices start at $228 per person for round-trip air and two nights at the Paradise Beach Resort, which is 100 feet from the beach. Other hotels offered are the historic British Colonial Beach Resort in Nassau ($235 per person for air and two nights’ hotel), Comfort Suites Resort on Paradise Island ($248) and Radisson Grand Resort Paradise Island ($253). Hotel tax is extra. Call 800-722-7466.
WHERE TO STAY AND BONEFISH
Getting there: There are two airports in upper and central Andros. Two mailboats, the Lisa J. II and the Central Andros Express II, go between Nassau and Andros once a week. The trip is about four hours and costs $30 one way.
Lodging: In Nicholl’s Town: Green Windows Inn room rates are $82 for doubles; $62, singles. The rooms are modern and have air conditioning. Dinner at the restaurant, which serves excellent Bahamian dishes, is by reservation only. The beach is a five-minute walk. Call 809-329-2194.
Near Andros Town: The Small Hope Bay Lodge rates includes all meals. Through Dec. 17, rates are: $140 per day, non-diving, per person; $200 including all dives and snorkeling; $70, children ages 13-17; $40, children ages 2-12. Call 800-223-6961.
Room rates at The Lighthouse Yacht Club and Marina are $130 year-round. Call 809-368-2305.
Chickcharnie Hotel is an economical eight-room inn popular with fishermen. Rooms are $40 without private bath; $60-$75, private bath. Call 809-368-2025.
Bonefishing: Andros Island Bonefish Club, call 305-238-9252. Frontiers International Travel also books reservations. Call 800-245-1950. Various packages are available, starting with four nights at the club and three days of fishing. The cost is $1,435 per person ($960 per person, double occupancy). The package includes lodging, meals and fishing with boat and guide. Guests usually stay longer.
Information: For information about Andros and the Bahamas, call 800-4-BAHAMAS.
