ANDROS ATTRACTIONS Visiting the Androsia Factory Androsia, named after the island of "Andros", is a batik fabric and garment manufacturing factory located on the island of Andros in the Bahamas. Since 1973 we have used the beauty of the environment of the Bahamas for inspiration in our print designs and brilliant colours. Androsia has a complete line of women's, men's, and children's batik clothing as well as accessories, home goods, and fabric sold by the yard. Androsia is sold on almost all of the inhabited islands of the Bahamas including Nassau, Paradise Island, Grand Bahama, Andros, Chub Cay, the Abacos, Harbour Island, Eleuthera, Cat Island, Long Island, and Exuma. Androsia was the winner of the Silver Jubilee award for 1998. The Silver Jubilee award celebrates 25 years of Bahamian independence. It was given to certain individuals and companies who have made significant contributions to the Bahamas. See this site about the creation of this business......See their website for more info..... BONEFISHING Andros is considered "The Bonefishing Capital of the World". Located approximately 150 miles southeast of Miami, Andros Island is the largest island in the Bahamas chain, yet it remains the least populated. Andros provides ccess to some of the best saltwater sport fishing in all the world and more fishable flats than any area of the Caribbean. These waters are renowned for both the incomparable sheer numbers of bonefish-“tousands of dem”-in large schools averaging 3-5 pounds, as well as the great potential for trophy-size, double-digit bonefish swimming in its waters. Andros has long been known as the home of the world’s largest bonefish. There are many bonefish lodges, and many bonefish guide on the island. For more info, go to the Andros Fishing Page on this site...... ECOTOURS As the fifth largest land mass in the Caribbean/tropical Atlantic--most of it unexplored--and home of the third longest reef system in the world, Andros offers a remarkable natural environment. Its complex ecology is relatively pristine even though it sits in the back yard of one of the most developed nations on earth. The variety of eco-systems is astonishing. To the north, soft tropical sands sweep back into surprising sweet smelling pine forests. In the center of the island, thick low-lying bush opens to inland waterways and tidal flats. Along the eastern shore, coral rock splits open to underground rivers, while the western shoreline eases out into the Great Bahama Bank. Everywhere, mangrove marshlands feed a pristine reef DIVING Andros Island is home to an underwater world second-to-none and, as on the island itself, much of this territory is unexplored. The Andros Dive experience is one of diversity, ranging from shallow water, wreck and blue hole dives to dramatic wall dives off the 6,000 feet deep Tongue of the Ocean. Approximately 1-1½ miles off the east coast is the island’s major dive highlight, the Andros Barrier Reef, the world’s third largest barrier reef. Go to the Andros Diving Page for more info....... BIRDING < Andros is For The Birds There are over 200 species of birds that inhabit the Bahamas--and Andros, with its vast undeveloped land, is home to many of them. Among the most common are: The Bahama Woodstar, the West Indian Woodpecker, the Loggerhead kingbird, LaSagre's Flycatcher, the Great Antillean Pewee, the Bahama Swallow, the Bahama Mockingbird, The Red-legged Thrush, the Thick-billed Vireo, the Black-whiskered Vireo, the Olive-capped Warbler, Kirtland Warbler, the Bahama Yellowthroat, the Black-cowled Oriole, the Great Antillean Bullfinch, the Black-faced Grassquit, the Melodious Grassquit, the Least Grebe, Olivaceous Cormorant, the Flamingo, the Bahama Pintail, Osprey, Kestel, Sooty Tern, Roseate Tern, Noddy Tern, White Crowned Pigeon, Zenaida Dove, White-bellied Dove, the Key West Quail Dove, the Great Lizard Cuckoo, the Smooth-billed Ani and the Cuban Emerald Hummingbird. Go for more info..... Go HERE for see about scheduled birding trip, based at Small Hope Lodge. .... HIKING Andros is largely uninhabited, and has been a favorite for many hikers. Tiamo Resort organizes hikes, as does Small Hope Lodge As they say on their site, ...." A number of guided tours are available: The Blue Hole Folklore Tour explores three different types of blue holes, the fault line, round and ocean blue hole, all formed millions of years ago. The tour includes an introduction to local folklore, such as legends of mythological creatures like the Lusca, half shark and half octopus, reputed to inhabit the blue holes. History buffs can Plunge into the Past, touring through the varied vegetation of North Andros, with stops at sites like Morgan's Bluff and Henry Morgan's Cave, namesakes of a 17th century pirate who's treasure is said to be buried on the island. Local culture is the focus of the Settlers of the Big Yard tour, which visits different settlements on Andros, like a working Mennonite Farm and Red Bays, where descendents of Florida's Seminole Indians still live. Another tour explores the wetlands on the west side of the island, known as "the muds". Only accessible by boat, this uninhabited water-dominated landscape is a rich breeding habitat for fish and birds. Guests also may take self-guided tours on foot, by bike or kayak, using maps and literature provided by the lodge to explore trails, blue holes, mangrove swashes and other natural wonders, many starting right on the beach at Small Hope Bay." FLY FISHING PARADISE When the Spanish discovered Andros, they named it Isla del Esperita Santo, the Island of the Holy Spirit, a tribute to the abundance of water in Andros. And it's easy to see why: Andros is laced with thousands of miles of inland waterways and fishing flats. North, Middle and South Bights cut right through the island, east to west, creating a natural access to even more flats on the west side of the island. These provide world-class conditions for fly fishermen in pursuit of bonefish and tarpon. Andros is also blessed with plenty of fresh water. In fact, nearly 7 million gallons of water are shipped from North Andros to Nassau every day. The source of the water: rain water, which collects in underground tunnels and caves, and forms a fresh water lens that sits on top of the salt water. SEARCHING FOR THE CHICKCHARNEY ANIMAL! The Chickcharnee, the most famous of the mythological creatures of Andros, is said to live in the tops of the tallest pine trees on Andros. If you cross the Chickcharnee, he will turn your head on backwards. Other lesser known mythological creatures include the Lusca of the blue holes, the Bosee Anansee, and the Yahoo. Folk wisdom on the largest island in The Bahamas, Andros, requires that visitors carry flowers or pieces of brightly colored cloth. Such items charm the resident creatures called chickcharnies. If you see a chickcharnie, the people say, show it respect. The benefit is good luck for the rest of your life. The consequence of disrespect is that your head will be turned around forcibly and completely. Chickcharnies are supposed to be forest-dwelling elfin creatures resembling birds. Their nesting sites are constructed by joining the tops of two pine trees. Their piercing eyes are red. They have three fingers, three toes and a tail, which they use to suspend themselves from the trees. It is believed that the origin of the chickcharnie idea was the large, three-toed, burrowing owl which once lived in these forests, but became extinct in the 16th century. On Andros Island, Bahamas, is a legend of mischievous, small entities called Chickcharnies. The stories tell of little people that once inhabited the remote forests of the island, that were highly aggressive, and that could turn their heads all the way around. Chickcharnies are reported only from Andros Island and are said to have three fingers, three toes, and red eyes. Now, there truly once existed on Andros Island -- the largest (104 x 40 miles) and least inhabited of the Bahamas islands -- a Chickcharnie of sorts. It was a 2-foot-tall owl called Tyto pollens, a remote cousin of the smaller Common Barn-owl (Tyto alba). Tyto pollens was a large, flightless owl known there from subfossils. It may be that it was territorially aggressive and coexisted with humans. The ability of owls to swivel their heads, and a territorial aggression, may have been the basis for this particular legend, but this is speculation. It is said that to see a Chickcharnie brings lifelong good luck to the observer. I once spent 10 days on Andros Island and explored its seldom-visited old Caribbean pine forests in search of rare birds. But ... no Chickcharnies. (Andros Island is a wonderful place that time and Club Med forgot ... and may they never find it. The few small hamlets are infused with much local color. Andros even has a "Loch Ness Monster" according to one travel brochure, that described it as a dragon-like sea monster called the Lusca. The Spaniards called the island "La Isla del Espiritu Santo," or the island of the Holy Spirit.) MORGANS CAVE/MORGANS BLUFF On the far northern portion of Andros, near Nichols Town. A wide system of subterranean limestone caves, complete with stalactites and stalagmites, reputed to hold the treasures of famed pirate and namesake, Sir Henry Morgan, whose treasure has yet to be found. ATLANTIC UNDERSEA TESTING AND EVALUATION CENTER (AUTEC) AUTEC's Bahamas location, with its semi-tropical climate, quiet acoustic environment, lack of commercial encroachment, and extensive capabilities, is an ideal year-round test facility. AUTEC is located on Andros Island because of its close proximity to the Tongue of the Ocean (TOTO), a unique, deep water basin, approximately 110 nautical miles (204 kilometers) long and 20 nautical miles (37 kilometers) wide, varying in depth from 4500-6000 feet (1.4-2 kilometers). See their website for more info...... RED BAYS A remote village settled by Seminole Indians and Blacks in 1821. For many years the settlement lay isolated and could only be reached by boat. The basket-weaving crafts practiced here are detailed and highly advanced. NIGHT CLUBS North Andros Dayshell's Night Club Nicholl's Town..............................242-329-2183 Roger Munnings Night Club: Mastic Point. Rumors. Nicholl's Town................242-329-2398 Sugar Shack: Nicholl's Town.........242-329-2194 Central Andros Donnie's Sweet Sugar Lounge Fresh Creek....................................242-368-2080 Leadon's Creekside Lounge & Disco Behring Point................................242-368-4167 Go diving in the Blue Holes of Andros and the Giant Staircase, tongue of the Ocean of Andros Reef Explore the caves of Andros Islands’ Morgan’s Bluff, Uncle Charlie’s Blue Hole and the remains of the abandoned city of Pleasant Harbour Learn about recent history at the village of Red Bays, in the Andros Islands which was discovered only in the last few decades. It is home to tribal people believed to be descendants of runaway slaves and Seminole Indians from Florida who still adhere to their ancestral ways