The Island of Inagua
The most southern-lying island of The Bahamas is
called Inagua. Some say the name is an anagram for iguana which are
found abundantly on the island. Others say the name is historic and is
found on Spanish maps dating to 1601. At that time, the island was
called Ynagua, which closely resembles the Spanish word Heneagua, meaning "water
is to be found there."
Tell someone in Nassau or Freeport that you are traveling to Inagua and they will look at you in a different light. You are a real traveler - an adventurer, someone looking to get far away from the beaten path, a lover of nature, a person familiar with Bahamian life; an explorer. You are definitely not the run of the mill slot machine player and tour bus rider.
While the island is probably the most obscure of the Bahamian islands geographically, it is the third largest in land size. Despite its relatively large size of 45 miles from east to west and 20 miles from north to south, only 900 Bahamians call Inagua home. Matthew Town is the only real settlement and it is where most of the 900 inhabitants live, where airplanes arriving on the island land, and where the weekly mail boat arrives. Flamingo Nest Resort lies at a comfortable distance from the "flurry of activity" in Matthew Town.
Geographically, Inagua sits nestled between the islands of Cuba and Hispaniola (Haiti and Dominican Republic) - both destinations are ripe for the expansion of their own tourist trade. The distance from Freeport and Nassau mixed with the historic isolation of Cuba and Haiti explain in large part why Inagua has not yet been discovered. People don't stumble on Inagua, they discover it through friends and word of mouth.
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Flamingo Nest Resort is located 550 miles southeast of Miami, Florida, 350 miles southeast of Nassau, 50 miles southwest of Turks and Caicos, 42 miles northeast of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, 60 miles northwest of Haiti, and 2 miles north of Matthew Town, Inagua.
The strait of water between Inagua and Cuba is one of the most highly trafficked shipping lanes from South America to the United States and Canada.
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The Bahamas National Trust covers approximately 80% of the island and is delineated by the green border. The park is home to one of the world's largest colonies of West Indian Pink Flamingos (80,000 according to last year's count). Visitors entering the park must be accompanied by a park ranger.
Matthew Town is shown on the far left bottom corner of the map. All 900 residents live within the settled boundaries of Matthew Town (2 square miles). The rest of the island (600 square miles) is uninhabited and largely unexplored. |
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