Driving around Long Island, part 1

We rented a car with Rob, Kate, and Mona of Pyrat Soul for a couple of days to try to see as much of Long Island as possible. Getting six of us in one car was a bit of a feat, but by tossing the girls in the wayback, we made it work!

On the first day, we headed north from Salt Pond Cay (right in the middle of the island) to see what we could see on the north half of the island.

We stopped off at the Stella Maris Marina on the west side of the island as we drove north. It was a very quiet spot.

We continued north, intending to go to the Columbus Monument, but we drove past it and wound up at Broken Bridge (which was clearly repaired in the recent past, because it’s beautiful!) Some local fishermen said we could cross the bridge and hike to the beach on the ocean side, so we did. First there was a beach in a cove, and then you could walk down that beach to another short trail you could cross to the ocean side.

We hopped back in the car and headed back to the monument turnoff that we had passed by (but we were glad to have accidentally found that little hike at Broken Bridge!) The guides we had seen mentioned the last bit of “road” to the monument was more off-road and that the climb to the top was a rocky path. Well, those guides were all out of date because the road was all paved, with a big parking lot at the end, and the path to the top was poured concrete and stairs. 🙂

The monument is dedicated to the aboriginal Lucayan people of Long Island, as well as to Columbus’s landfall on the island in 1492. This was the third island he visited, according to the history books. He is said to have declared it the most beautiful of the Bahamian islands, and I would second that, as it is truly a gorgeous spot.

We took advantage of the beautiful scenery for some family photos.

We’d seen so much already, and it wasn’t even lunchtime yet!