Rum Cay

Rum Cay is a 40 km ² large island and a district of the Bahamas.

Rum Cay is located 32 km south of San Salvador and is a flat island with rolling hills that rise up to 37 m. Christopher Columbus named the island Santa Maria de la Concepción. It is believed that the name of the island of Rum comes from a lost shipment. The main settlement is Port Nelson, a picturesque village amidst coconut groves.

History

The island was first called by the Lucayan Indians Mamana and later renamed from Columbus to Santa María de la Concepción. Spanish researchers found a rinsed at the beach Rumfass and named the island then again in Rum Cay has to offer. The island has 53 inhabitants (1990). It was in the 19th century by Loyalists who fled the American Revolutionary War, settled.

In the north there is an interesting cave with lucayanischen drawings and sculptures. Numerous artifacts from the Arawak period have been found by farmers in the fertile soil that has been fertilized by the Indians with bat guano. Together with other islands of Rum Cay has a checkered history. The cultivation of oranges and sisal, the extraction of salt were once major industries, but due to the competition and natural disasters, these industries are no longer relevant today. Main source of income is now tourism.

Population

The majority of the population now lives in Port Nelson. Settlements such as Port Boyd, Black Rock and Gin Hill are now deserted and overgrown.

Nature

The reefs Summer Point Reef and Pinder 's Point, surrounding this former pirate harbor, are a popular destination for divers. At the Grand Canyon, the huge coral rich almost to the water surface. In the Summer Point Marina there are berths, bars and restaurants, as well as a small guest house that can be rented. The marina Last Chance Yacht Supply offers shopping and is used by boats on the way to Mayaguana in the Turks and Caicos islands and other points to the north.

Divers can parts of the HMS Conqueror, the first screw -driven warship of the Royal Navy, see, here still. The ship sank in 1861 and lies about 10 meters depth.

Traffic

On the island the airport is the IATA code RCY.