Liz Beatty // Host
Native Traveler Blog
Native Traveler Blog

Bahamas

Check out Native Traveler's full-length BAHAMAS show!

 
 

Chef and writer Phillip Pearce says it best, in introducing his Native Traveler feature:

I know I’m not alone in the excitement I’m feeling. My clothes feel too heavy. My head, lighter. My life from four hours ago in cold, wet Toronto begins to feel like an archaic mainland memory, sluggish and grey. Our wide eyes take it in from above and I can’t wait to walk out onto the tarmac, and feel Exuma all around me.

Click the red circle right below to experience more of etherial Exuma.  

Grand Isle Resort & Spa

 

Philip Pearce

Chef/Writer

 

Cameron Hepple

Canada's Bahamas Tourism ambassador

 

Memories of Surf, Sand & Sun on Great Exuma

Chat 'n' Chill's Famous Conch Salad

Conch (commonly pronounced "konk") is the Bahamas' national food and a true Bahamian delicacy. It can be eaten steamed or deep-fried, but we would argue that the best way to try it is freshly chopped in a conch salad.

Chat 'n' Chill, located on Stocking Island just across from Exuma's main harbour, is famous for its open-air bar and waterside conch salad shack—well worth a visit if you're in town! The chef will take the conch from the sea, crack it open, and prepare it right in front of your eyes. Mix in some locally-grown tomatoes, onions, peppers, and Bahamian sea salt, and voila! Your fresh-from-the-ocean meal is ready.

Watch Chat 'n' Chill's Chef Ronaldo expertly whipping up some conch salad in the video below.

Hidden Treasure

Hidden Treasure

As we come down out of the clouds and the islands of the Bahamas stretch out beneath us, window shades go up and our necks strain to look out the windows of our airplane. Cara and I are flying over Grand Bahama, then New Providence, the big island of Andros to our right, and then the Cays of Exuma are stretched out in a line ahead of us. It looks like a painter's palette down there, strokes of cream-coloured sand bars and crystal blue water punctuated with the dark, lush green of the inner islands. I know I’m not alone in the excitement I’m feeling. My clothes feel too heavy. My head, lighter. My life from four hours ago in cold, wet Toronto begins to feel like an archaic mainland memory, sluggish and grey. Our wide eyes take it in from above, and I can’t wait to walk out onto the tarmac and feel Exuma all around me.

A Secret Corner of Paradise

"I have never seen water so blue," says Native Traveler Senior Producer Cara Ferguson of her first glimpse of Exuma, as their plane descended for landing. No stranger to stunning tropical destinations, Cara was awestruck by this lesser-known district of the Bahamas, consisting of over 365 islands, also called cays. Great Exuma is the largest of these cays. Cara traveled here with Toronto-area chef/writer Phil Pearce whose embedded local connections gave them a vivid insider's perspective. Hear all about this in our Exuma show feature.

Cara insists their home base on Great Exuma, the Grand Isle Resort & Spa, was a highlight. "Their villas make for a wonderfully private experience," she explained. "Of course, expect all the trimmings of 5-star accommodations, but it's the care and personal touch of the people who work here that really put this luxe resort over the top."

Flyfishing, diving, snorkeling, great food, and more—Cara says you can even buy your own piece of paradise at this resort. The pictures below speak for themselves.

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