Tidal Flats and Deserted Beaches, Andros Island, Bahamas
There are some places that you visit that stay with you forever.
For me, one of those is Andros Island in the Bahamas. It's the largest of the Bahamian islands, but it's also the least populated. That means that you get all of the gorgeous blue water and white sands you can get anywhere else in the Bahamas, but without any of the crowds!
Discover more of Andros Island, Bahamas!
A guide to studying abroad at Forfar Field Station,
Finding the place that time forgot at Red Bays.
But back to those deserted beaches. When I say that they were deserted, I meant it. The experience of spending an afternoon on the uninhabited, unexplored shores of northern Andros was incredible.
Who wouldn't love the chance to cavort in some place that looked like this?
Getting to the beach was an adventure unto itself, as we had to park on the side of the road and hike two miles. We were in the middle of nowhere near the tip of Andros Island, so while there are gorgeous beaches, you have to work to see them.
We forded the river (luckily, none of our oxen died. Thank you, Oregon Trail, for teaching me real life lessons on crossing bodies of water). We even had to do the whole tie-your-shoes-around-your-neck thing that you see people in movies do.
We waded through mud. Lots and lots of mud. Have I ever mentioned that I am not an outdoorsy person? (I think my face in the picture below says it all.)
We got scratched by brambles and this prickly grass that was everywhere. Most of us were in bathing suits and were ill equipped for everything the hike threw at us. But we were determined, so we didn't let a little sawgrass stand in our way.
Our view stretched on and on like this. We had to believe that our trusty guide (aka our teacher) that the crystal clear water was out there somewhere waiting for us.
On the way, we even found the wreckage of a plane. While it creeped us out, our teacher (who knows these kinds of things) assured it that 1) the wreck had happened a long time ago, and 2) no one had been hurt. Looking back, I wonder if he actually knew that or if he was just making it up to keep us from spazzing. Either way, I'm happy not knowing.
When we made it to the beach, every bug bite, scratch, and sun burned patch was worth the view. I've never seen a place that was so pristine and perfect. We were the only people for miles--literally, as waaaay over to our right was Fort Lauderdale, and to our left was nothing but the road we'd parked on that was two miles back.
No trip to the beach is complete without burying someone and adding fake sandy genitalia. (P.S. Can you tell that we were super mature college students at the time?!?)
The water was warm and shallow, and the sand was soft and white. I think the entire class would have agreed to camp out on those deserted beaches on Andros for the rest of the trip, but we had other adventures that awaited us!
What's been your favorite travel moment? Would you go out of your way on your travels if it meant you'd get to see something extra awesome?
