Since the time I started planning a trip to Andros, I knew I wanted to visit Androsia Batik. We had previously ordered from their online store, and picked up some items on a trip to Eleuthera, but I really wanted to see where and how it was made. Courtesy of our taxi driver, Mr. Pinder, it was a short drive to Androsia Batik in Fresh Creek, Andros, Bahamas. Androsia Batik is family-owned and operated and has been around since 1973. Every piece is made by hand. The designs are carved from sea sponge and each stamp is applied by hand to the fabric, making each piece unique. As we approached…
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You don’t go to Andros, Bahamas for the night life or casinos or shopping. You go because of its natural beauty, the beaches, the wildlife, the wetlands, and the third largest barrier reef in the world. If you like to explore the natural environment, Andros is for you. One of the most interesting natural features of Andros are its blue holes. Blue holes are vertical caves, formed by the slow erosion of the limestone bedrock of the island from acidic rainwater trickling through crevices in the limestone. Andros has the highest concentration of blue holes in the world, over 220 total, some inland, and some oceanic. In 1971, the famous…
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Let’s take a tour of Kamalame Cay! From our previous post, you know how to get to Andros, Bahamas. Now let’s make our way to Kamalame Cay. If you fly into Fresh Creek, take a taxi to Stanyard Creek. There you will find the boat dock where you will be greeted and escorted to Kamalame Cay. Once on the island, you will be escorted to the front office to check in and then off to your villa. At each turn, there are guideposts to show you the way. Let’s head toward the beach villas and check out our villa, Driftwood. Welcome to Driftwood! There are plenty of places to relax,…
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“I’ve never been to a place where the palm fronds clack together,” my husband said while sitting back in his beach chair facing the calm of Kamalame Cay. Coconut palms surrounded our chairs on what seemed to be our own personal beach. “You have,” I replied. “You have just never heard them before.” We have been to quite a few private beaches and luxury resorts in the Caribbean, but Kamalame Cay was distinctive from the rest. It was like nothing we had ever seen, or heard, before. There are no televisions. We thought we would miss that, particularly with the NBA Finals going on at the time of our visit.…
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When people ask where we’re headed for vacation, it often prompts two questions: (1) How did you hear of that place? and (2) How do you get there? The first question is easy to answer. I am an avid reader of all things Caribbean. I love to search out new places and go to those places which are a little harder to reach, to search out the unspoiled Caribbean. When I first read about Andros, Bahamas, I was drawn to the fact that although it is the largest island in the Bahamas, it is the least populated. I loved that there were no big resorts, and that the natural beauty…
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Many people rule out a Caribbean vacation during the summer because they don’t want to travel during hurricane season. Hurricane season officially begins June 1 and runs through November 30. Every trip featured here on My Irie Time was taken either the beginning or end of hurricane season, and you would never know it by browsing through our photos. Travel during the “shoulder season” can be a great way to visit the region, when rates are lower than the holidays, and the weather is great. The Caribbean is home to some great festivals during the summer and fall months as well, including Crop Over in Barbados (May through August), Crab…
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In preparation for each trip, I like to do some research on the history of the area, and sprinkle in some other books related to island life. This year’s trip is to Andros Island, Bahamas, so I picked up a copy of Samuel Charters’ book, “The Day is So Long and the Wages So Small.” Samuel Charters was a highly-regarded music historian, known for capturing some of the great performers of blues and jazz when the music was still unknown to many Americans. He began making recordings for Folkways Records in the 1950’s, including some of legendary performers like Lightnin’ Hopkins, and wrote the influential history of blues music, “The…
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Over the years, I have posted “What’s in My Bag?” about various trips. On the last two trips, I have traveled with both digital and film cameras, and I wanted to do a separate post on traveling for hybrid shooters. As you might expect, it’s easier to travel with digital. Memory cards are small, and you don’t have to worry about the effect of x-ray machines at security checkpoints. I also feel more comfortable experimenting with digital. You can try new techniques, and the only loss is your time. However, I find that there are times when I prefer film over digital, and it’s worth the extra effort. There are…
