Culture & History

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GUIDES

Exploring the Abandoned Naval Facility Ruins on Andros

From the air, the western shore of Andros looks like a military installation frozen in time—which makes sense, since the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC) has been operating here since the late 1950s. The U.S. Navy chose this spot for one reason: just offshore, the ocean floor drops into the “Tongue of the Ocean,” a deep-water canyon that reaches depths of up to 6,000 feet (1,800 meters). That geological quirk made Andros the perfect place to build an underwater testing range for submarines and sonar systems—and over the decades, a collection of piers, hangars, and support buildings

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How to Try Traditional Bahamian Basket Weaving Firsthand

On any given morning at the Nassau Straw Market, you’ll find Bahamian women hunched over bundles of sun-dried palmetto straw, their fingers moving in patterns that haven’t changed in generations. The market itself has been a fixture on Bay Street since the 1940s, when local women began selling handmade straw goods to supplement household income. What started as a practical way to support families has grown into one of the Bahamas’ most enduring cultural traditions — and one you can still take part in firsthand. This article walks you through the best way to experience traditional Bahamian basket weaving,

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How to Spend an Afternoon Learning Bahamian Knot Tying

I learned to tie my first knot — a simple figure-eight — on a shaded dock at Highbourne Cay, with the water so clear I could see sea fans swaying twenty feet down. The instructor was Windy Chien, a San Francisco-based artist who spent a full year learning a new knot every single day — a project she called The Year of Knots. That afternoon in the Exumas changed how I think about rope, craft, and the slow pleasure of hands-on learning. This article covers how to spend an afternoon learning Bahamian knot tying yourself — whether you join

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A Guide to Bahamian Straw Weaving Workshops for Visitors

On Grand Bahama, straw plaiting isn’t just a souvenir — it’s a living tradition shaped by African ancestral knowledge and the resilience of enslaved Bahamians who transformed local resources into both art and livelihood. The craft, which blends techniques from African forebears and Seminole communities who sought freedom in Andros, is having a resurgence in Freeport through the Grand Bahama Port Authority’s (GBPA) Crafters Academy. In July 2025, the academy hosted a two-day “Crafting Couture” workshop led by veteran artisans Vernetta Frith and Roganna Wilchcombe of Strawtacular Designs — both Cacique Award recipients and longtime stewards of the island’s

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How to Spend a Day Learning to Fillet Fish Like a Local

Late afternoon light slants across the cedar dock, and a Bahamian fisherman named Marcus runs a seven-inch blade along a snapper’s spine in one smooth motion. Most professional anglers carry at least two knives for this kind of work—a fillet knife around seven inches and a longer skinning knife around nine inches. Watching him, I realized that with a sharp blade and a patient teacher, you can pick up the basics in a single day. This article walks through exactly how to organize a day learning to fillet fish like a local, from finding a guide to cooking your

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How to Spend a Morning at a Bahamian Farmers Market

I’d heard about the Saturday morning ritual at Doongalik Farmers’ Market long before I stepped into its open-air enclosure under the Nassau sun. The setup is straightforward: local farmers and vendors set up stalls selling fresh produce, cooked meals, fruits, vegetables, fresh bread, organic seasoning, locally produced oils, herbs, and freshly caught seafood and meat (Doongalik). It’s not a tourist trap — it’s where Bahamians actually stock their kitchens for the week. If you’re visiting Nassau with a family, hitting a morning market is one of the best ways to taste the real Bahamas without a tour guide. This

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Exploring Man O War Cay’s Living Boat Building Tradition

Man-O-War Cay has been the boat-building capital of the Bahamas for over 200 years, with the Albury family at the heart of that tradition since a teenage sailor washed ashore in 1820. Emily’s Take You don’t just see boats here — you watch seventh-generation craftsmen shape wood by hand, tour a century-old museum, and walk past working shipyards that have operated since the 1950s. The island is small (2.5 miles long) and dry (no alcohol sold), so it’s a half-day stop unless you’re a serious boat nerd. Best for families who want a real cultural anchor in an Abaco

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A Guide to Bahamian Cooking Classes for Total Beginners

I’ve never seen a group of strangers go quiet so fast as when the chef handed each of us a conch and said, “Okay, crack it.” That moment — a dozen travelers standing around a table on Bay Street, holding a shell they’d only ever seen on a menu — is the kind of thing that separates a Bahamian cooking class from a normal afternoon in a kitchen. You don’t just learn recipes here; you learn why cracked conch tastes different when you’ve done the cracking yourself. This article is for total beginners — people who’ve never filleted a

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How to Book a Bahamian Sponge Diving History Tour

The Ocean Atlas — a 60-ton sculpture of a young Bahamian girl holding the weight of the ocean on her shoulders — sits 16 feet underwater off Nassau’s coast. It’s part of a growing underwater art movement that blends marine conservation with cultural storytelling. That same impulse — to connect what’s beneath the surface with what’s shaped Bahamian identity — drives the growing interest in sponge diving history tours. These experiences combine reef diving with stops at museums, fortresses, and rum distilleries that tell the story of the people who worked these waters for centuries. This article covers how

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Wandering Clifton Heritage Park Where Cliffs Meet Slave Village Ruins

The limestone cliffs at Clifton Heritage Park don’t rise so much as they lean—tilting toward the sea like they’re about to tell a secret. It’s a fitting posture for a place where natural beauty and a complicated history sit side by side, from the remains of a slave village to the underwater sculpture garden where Jaws props still rest on the sand. Located about 40 minutes from downtown Nassau, the park covers 200 acres of western New Providence Island, combining dramatic shoreline, coastal wetlands, and several key historical sites. This guide covers what to see at Clifton Heritage Park,

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