Abaco lies in the northern part of the archipelago of the Bahamas.
Regions
- Abaco Island
- Elbow Cay
- Great Guana Cay
- Green Turtle Cay
- Little Abaco
- Man-O-War Cay
- Moore’s Island
- Spanish Cay
- Walker's Cay
- Gorda Cay
Other goals
Gorda Cay
This small island is located 12 km off Sandy Point and is also called Castaway Cay known. It is 5 km long and 3.5 km wide. The Walt Disney Company has leased the island for 99 years. Around 10% of the island's area was made available to cruise guests. The two cruise ships Disney Magic and Disney Wonder call the island regularly on their cruises, twice a week. Island facilities include the Castaway Post Office, Castaway Air Bar-B-Que, Cookies Bar-B-Que and Head's Up Bar restaurants, Family Beach, Scuttles Cove, Serenity Bay and Teen Beach, and Mount Rustmore . The ships dock directly on the island, guests are driven around with a small train on rubber wheels.
Grand Cays
The Grand Cays with their 400 inhabitants are located around 90 km northwest of Coopers Town and form the northern end of the Abacos archipelago. These remote islands include the uninhabited Grand Cay, Little Grand Cay, Mermaid Cay, and Walker's Cay.
Marina
Restaurants
- Hilltop View Restaurant & Lounge and Island Bay Restaurant. Tel.: 359-4476.
Pelican Cays
This archipelago consists of six tiny islets and is protected by the 850 hectare Pelican Cays Land & Sea Park. This means that fishing is prohibited there.
background
The boomerang-shaped abacos, 170 km north of Nassau, consist of the flat main islands Great Abaco and Little Abaco, as well as 82 offshore islands, uninhabited cays and 208 smaller rocks. From Walker's Cay in the north to the southern tip of Great Abaco it is over 208 km. Of the offshore islands, the so-called Loyalist Cays are densely populated and important. They owe this name to the first settlers, loyal refugees of the North American Revolution who came here from 1783 onwards. They are Elbow Cay, Great Guana Cay, Green Turtle Cay and, furthest north, Man-O-War Cay.
The main island of Abaco is largely covered with pine forests. In the north-west a bridge embankment now leads to Little Abaco. There used to be a ferry there. South of Treasure Cay is the Wild Boar Country, a hunting ground for wild pigs. In the middle of the west coast, many small islands, floodplains and mangrove forests dominate the landscape. There is the large nature park "The Marls".
In the north and east there is an elongated barrier reef off the coast of the smaller islands.
In the mid-1950s, the Americans rediscovered the islands. Many built their winter homes there, others only came here for the holidays. It was not until 1995 that the main road from Sandy Point in the south to Crown Haven in the north was paved continuously. At the same time, Great Abaco and Little Abaco had full power, and the short distances between the islands, numerous anchorages and sheltered harbors made Abaco increasingly popular with sailors. There are more berths for sailboats than hotel beds. Many regattas are held here, with the largest “Regatta Time” always taking place in July and offering a particularly entertaining supporting program. Marsh Harbor is now the third largest city in the Bahamas. With its four charter bases, the city is considered the center of sailing. In Man-O-War, small craft businesses, most of which have been family-owned for generations, still build beautiful yachts and sailing ships made of wood.
history
Abaco was originally inhabited by the Lucaya Indians. In 1990 a 600 year old Indian skull was found near Hope Town. Ceramic finds have also been made in various places on the west coast. The island is already marked on the Caribbean map drawn by Juan de la Casa in 1500. In 1513 Ponce de Leon is said to have supplied itself with fresh water on Walker's Cay. In 1565 a ship with French settlers landed, but the successor ship found no trace of them.
The abacos were not settled permanently by English immigrants until the middle of the 17th century and by American loyalists from South Carolina after 1783. They mainly came to Green Turtle Cay and Treasure Cay. 1770 New Plymouth, then Carleton were founded at Treasure Cay; Carleton was the British military commander of North America.
In 1778 there were 196 white settlers and 198 slaves on the upstream cays. Between 1815 and 1855 the population there grew to 1,000 and New Plymouth was the economic center of Abaco, in 1890 there were already 1,700 residents.
Great Abaco Island had a population of 1,000 in 1785, the majority of whom had immigrated from New York and Florida. In Marsh Harbor there were 440 inhabitants, in Maxwell Town there were 210 and in Spencer's Bight 100. Maxwell Town was built near Marsh Harbor in the mid-1780s, but disappeared again after a few years from the map. The settlement on Spencer's Bight later became known as Sweeting's Village.
Pineapple planting, shipbuilding and fishing brought wealth. The Bahamas Timber Company built a sawmill at the south end of Abaco in 1906, producing five to six million linear meters of boards annually. A large part was exported. By 1943 the sawmill changed hands and location several times, then all usable wood stocks were cleared. In 1944 the plant was relocated from Grand Bahama Island to Snake Cay. After World War II, the two American companies Robert Fulton and Owens-Illinois Corporation cleared wood for another 17 years and operated sawmills in various locations. After there was no longer any usable wood, the stumps were cleared, the land was leveled and prepared with great use of fertilizers. Then in 1968 sugar cane was planted on 7,200 hectares and a year later 15,000 tons of raw sugar were obtained from the harvest, considerably less than expected. The next harvest brought 19,000 tons of raw sugar, which was not enough for the donors either. The investors withdrew, the plant was closed and the sugar cane from 1971 was no longer harvested.
Most of the forests have now grown back, and citrus fruits are growing on the remaining fallow land.
In 1881 there were 3,610 people living on the Abacos, in 1953 there were only 3,407 and by 1963 the number rose again to 6,490 due to immigrants. In recent years the population has increased by leaps and bounds. Boat refugees from HAITI make a not insignificant part of this. On the other hand, many Americans had a retirement home or a second home built on the islands, especially after September 11, 2001.
The 2000 census was 6,612 for North Abaco and 6,558 for South Abaco.
National parks
- Abaco National Park. The Abaco National Park, about 8,300 hectares in size, in the southeast part of the island between Cherokee Sound and the southern tip, along the road to the lighthouse consists mainly of pine forest. But there are also duck ponds, blue holes, scrub and bushes. Among other things, over 1,000 parrots of the endangered species "Bahamian Parrot" live there.
- Black Sound Cay National Reserve. A 1 ha small sanctuary in front of Green Turtle Cay. It is a retreat and breeding area for water birds.
- Pelican Cay National Land & Sea Park. 850 hectares in size. It is south of the Elbow Cays.
- Tilloo Cay National Reserve. The Tilloo Cay National Reserve is only 4.5 hectares of coastline, set up as a sanctuary for sea birds.
- Walker's Cay Reserve. Walker's Cay Reserve is a sanctuary for divers.
- The Marls. The Marls area is designated as worthy of protection by the government and is to be upgraded to a national park.
Sisal
Sir Ambrose Shea was appointed governor of the Bahamas in 1887. He was a good businessman and recognized the great opportunities with "agave rigida sisilana“Doing Business. As early as 1945 this plant was brought from Yucatan to the Bahamas by the colonial secretary C. R. Nesbitt. A single sisal plant has a lifespan of 14 years. From the fourth year on, the leaves can be harvested every six months and produce a yield of 1/2 to 1 ton of fibers. Governor Shea made 40,000 hectares of crown land available for growing sisal. The poor arable soil alone prevented the expected large profits.
getting there
By plane
There are a large number of airfields on the Abacos, both state and private.
- Gorda Cay Airstrip, private, 2,400 x 60 feet runway
- Green Turtle Cay, closed, 1,000 feet runway
- Marsh Harbor Airport [MHH], 5,000 x 100 feet runway
- Moore's Island Airstrip, [MYAO], government, 2,600 x 100 feet runway
- Sandy Point Airstrip, private, 4,500 x 100 feet runway
- Scotland Cay Airstrip, private, 3,300 x 100 feet runway
- Spanish Cay Airstrip [SPC], private, 5,000 x 80 feet runway
- Treasure Cay Airport [TCB], 7,000 x 150 feet runway
- Walker's Cay [WKR], private, 2,800 x 80 feet runway
By boat
Ferry connections exist to Nassau and the upstream cays.
mobility
The island of Great Abaco can only be explored by rental car. There is practically only one continuous road from Noren to the south, the Queen's Highway / Great Abaco Highway, which is a highway in name only.
In contrast, only electric golf carts often run on the upstream cays.
taxi
Fares from Marsh Harbor Airport to:
Marsh Harbor $ 10; Abaco Beach Resort $ 12; Abaco Town-by-The-Sea $ 10, Albury's Ferry Dock $ 12, Casuarina Point $ 60, Cherokee Sound $ 80, Coopers Town $ 85, Crossing Rocks $ 100, Little Harbor $ 80, Sandy Point $ 135, Tilloo Cay $ 35, Treasure Cay Airport $ 65.
Fares from Marsh Harbor to:
Abaco Beach Resort $ 10 for 2 people, Albury's Ferry Dock $ 4, Cherokee Sound $ 60, Conch Inn $ 10 for 2, Elbow Cay Ferry $ 6, Great Guana Cay Ferry $ 4, Lofty Fig Villas $ 10, Little Harbor $ 60, Sandy Point $ 135.
Fares from Treasure Cay Airport to:
Banyan Beach Club $ 6, Cooper's Town $ 30, Crown Haven $ 85, Fox Town $ 60, Green Turtle Cay Pier $ 5, Marsh Harbor Airport $ 65, Marsh Harbor Ferry Dock $ 85, Marsh Harbor $ 75, Tangelo Hotel 25 Treasure Cay Hotel $ 14.
activities
Catch fish, sail, lie in the sun.
security
It is usually a bit lonely on the islands, everyone knows everyone, but crime is rather the exception. Recently there have been only a few newspaper reports of stolen motor boats and larger yachts on the offshore cays.
