As I sit by the fire, my eyes widen as I listen to the tales spun by an animated local of the "Big Yard" about the indigenous Chickcharnee. According to our friend, folklore tells of a half man, half bird that lives in the cross of the pine trees. It is also said that if you are one of the unlucky to encounter the Chickcharnee and you have been bad, that you must bare your bottom, put your head between your legs and bang two coconuts together or your head will turn around backwards. For those of us bystanders that have been good, I assume we are left to watch in amazement of this awesome event and pass this story on to our children…at the risk of being committed!
The "Big Yard" is slang for Andros in the Islands of The Bahamas and the local I speak of is none other than the colorful Jeff Birch, owner of Small Hope Bay Lodge and son of the lodge's founder Dick Birch, who pioneered the Bahamas first dive resort in 1960. As the local Bahamian Kalik beer flows like water, the stories ramble on about the Lusca, believed to reside and suck boats down into the many blue holes surrounding Andros; or the Yeahoo, rumored to be a half man and half rat with a long tale. Now I would love to tell you what the Yeahoo are known for, but the roar of our laughter and the aching of our sides prevent us from getting to the bottom of this elusive creature.
Our arrival on Andros was as close to a tickertape parade as one could expect in the quiet town of Fresh Creek. As a plane full of dignitaries, divers and bone fishermen, we exited the aircraft feeling like rock stars on Continental Connection's inaugural non-stop flight from Ft. Lauderdale to Andros.
The popularity of this flight was with good cause, connecting travelers from the present with this place of the past. A place where the oldest known family-operated dive lodge provides underwater experiences in blue holes formed thousands of years ago. A place where third generation bone fishermen guide guests on old-world trips across 1,500 square miles of ancient fishing flats. Places like Bone Fish Charlie's Bang Bang Club where Al Capone and his cohorts rendezvoused to plot their control of the bootleg and racketeering ring between Havana and Miami. And past time civilizations like the Black Seminole Indians exiled from North America who continue the art of basket weaving passed down through generations in their north island settlement at Red Bays.
For divers, this now easily accessible destination provides opportunity to dive shallows, wrecks, sheer walls, and marine blue holes on the second largest barrier reef in the Atlantic. An area worthy of Jacques Cousteau's exploration and charting of the unprecedented abundance of both ocean and inland blue holes, which crater the island of Andros much like the surface of the moon.
My brethren of divers and I arrived at Small Hope Bay Lodge where we met our master of diving ceremonies and lodge manager Mike Hornby. After a quick assessment of our skills, Mike rattled off a variety of types of diving available to the group.
Blue holes…check, sheer walls…check, shark diving….double check!
The "Big Yard's" backyard is the Atlantic's Tongue of The Ocean, home to the only known tidal blue hole that both sucks and blows—also known as King Kong's Cavern. There are also places like Turnbulls Gut where a cut in the ocean spits divers out on a wall at 120 feet, and unique shallow dives like Red Shoal where you can dive or snorkel in a 10 foot deep fishbowl, chock-full of marine life.
Armed with an arsenal of cameras, we descended down and over the ledge to the massive 80 foot deep crescent-shaped entrance to King Kong's Cavern. Mike and I descended down to around 130 feet, finning back into the bell shaped cavern in an attempt to capture the drama of the ensuing divers on film. I tried to capture the essence of this vast and dark structure, which proved to be cumbersome without the aid of a team of Doubilet strobe assistants.
Back on the boat, our time-limited options are considered. The group votes to opt out of the wall dive in order to maximize our bottom time for the heart-pumping shark adventure. We are particularly excited about this signature dive for Small Hope as it is one of the most unique dives in the Caribbean where you can free swim in a relatively close and very safe environment with no less that 10 Caribbean reef sharks at a time. As we arrived on site at "Shark Dive" we peered over the side of the boat where large shadows lumbered below. We were instructed to follow our dive guide down to the sandy bottom and wait for one of the other guides to race down with the "chumsicle"— a 5 gallon frozen bucket of fish parts chained to a cable. The Ice Cream Man raced to clip the frozen treat to the anchor before any of the sharks closed in on it.
At that point, divers were free to swim about as long as they stayed 20 safe feet away from the feeding frenzy. Due to my past shark diving experience, I was permitted to get within 10 feet and the action was hot as I closed in for the shot. Big Mama, Chop Wing, Gilly and the gang ranging from juveniles to seven footers were going at it like a pack of wild dogs. I backed off as the bait was whittled down, remembering Mike's warning that one lucky shark would snatch the last morsel and take-off like a dog with a bone, likely leaving me bowled over in its wake. We continued the dive in and around the large coral heads and were escorted back to the boat by the few remaining sharks.
Back at the lodge, we spun tales about our adventures with the other guests over a bowl of chicken souse with grits—a Bahamian delicacy. In turn, they tell us about negotiating a fair price with a local fisherman for fresh conch ceviche prepared right before their eyes. We cringed at they described encountering a couple of locals skinning a just-caught wild bore, and our mouths watered when they told us about the fresh- picked strawberries they tasted from the local Mennonite settlement in North Andros. Come to think of it, those land-lubbers did a lot of eating on Andros.
I ask Jeff what makes Andros such a special destination. "Andros is more of an experience than a destination," Jeff explained, "A place where peace, self-exploration and rediscovery are found. Where people connect with the way life used to be in a simpler time and in a more peaceful, low impact environment."
Our adventure was winding down as we packed up and headed to Fresh Creek for our Continental Connection flight back to the future. Yet on the 45-minute flight back to Miami, I felt a pang of regret that I couldn't linger in the past just a little longer. I now believed that while in the almost mythical landscape of Andros, I just might have seen a Chickcharnee!
Continental Connection flys from Ft. Lauderdale, FL to Andros, Bahamas every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. For a virtual video tour of Andros, Click Here!
Andros, Bahamas - Small Hope Bay Lodge Winter Special
December 5-18, 2005, January 14-19, 2006, and January 23 - February 16, 2006 we will be offering 15% off of our all-inclusive rates for divers, snorkelers, and vacationers. This discount applies to the all-inclusive rate only and not to any a la carte items. Please use PROMO code: SPTDVR05 when booking.
The Small Print:
A 4 night minimum stay applies and this is not combinable with any other specials, offers, discounts, or commissions. This must be booked directly with Small Hope Bay Lodge 800-223-6961 or SHBinfo@SmallHope.com.
Special Thanks to:
