How do you want a slushy and cloudy day, at leastfor a day plunge into the warm ocean waters and soak up the sun! Fortunately, modern man is free in his movements and can go to any heavenly place on the planet. Recently, the Russians, already fed up with the resorts of Turkey, Egypt and Thailand, are in search of something new and exotic. Give them this will be the capital of the Bahamas - Nassau. The island on which this beautiful city is located has long been a stronghold of piracy and robbery. But let's talk about everything in order.
The game of geographical names: what are you, Nassau?
If you start looking on the map of Nassau and willare very attentive, then, most likely, you will find two geographical objects with exactly the same names, but only they are located in different parts of the world. In one case we are talking about the capital of the Bahamas, but in another Nassau - an island in the Pacific Ocean. The latter also deserves a detailed description.
Nassau - an island lost in the ocean
In the Pacific there are a lot of lost archipelagoes,which for many centuries do not change their appearance. Nassau belongs to this category. The island is part of the group of Cook Islands and is remarkable for its pristine beauty. It is almost completely overgrown with coconut palms, which are the only income of a few local residents.
One of the features of the island natives consider itform. The fact is that Nassau has practically no bays and lagoons - it is completely open to storms and winds. This greatly complicates the life of the islanders, who constantly fall under the destructive effects of cyclones and typhoons. After each orgy of the elements, they have to restore almost completely destroyed houses.
Description of the island
Nassau has a very small size, more correctlycall it an atoll, not an island. It is only 1200 meters long and 800 meters wide. The shape of a regular slightly elongated oval provided Nassau with the absence of lagoons, which, in turn, significantly complicates the approach to the atoll. It is surrounded on all sides by coral reefs. In some places their width exceeds one meter.
A few years ago the project was actively discussed.construction of a convenient harbor, which would give impetus to the development of tourism on the island, but the substantial cost of this project hinders its implementation.
Many tourists would like to spend their holidays onsecluded Nassau: the climate on the atoll has a lazy and relaxing holiday. The average temperature throughout the year is kept at around 25 degrees, which would be very comfortable for holidaymakers. However, tourists in Nassau you will not see. To do this, there is absolutely no infrastructure on the island, and at the present time the development of this industry on the atoll is not expected.
History of the island
Initially, the atoll was inhabited, the natives settled on it from the nearby island of Pukapuka. It is worth noting that now Nassau belongs to the population of this atoll.
Europeans discovered the island only in the beginning of XIXcentury, but he did not make a great impression on them. Literally for 70 years, the French, British and captains of the whaling ships reopened Nassau from time to time.
At the end of the 19th century, the atoll was occupied by the Americans, later it came under the jurisdiction of the British Empire, and it was only in the middle of the last century that the inhabitants of Pukapuk bought it.
Population of nassau
According to the latest data on the atollonly 70 people, and more than half of them are children of school age. All the islanders live in a single village, which is not even invented the name. As we have already mentioned, frequent typhoons cause significant damage to the homes of the islanders, so they make their homes as simple as possible, the roofs of such huts are made of palm leaves and branches, which allows them to be restored rather quickly after another hurricane.
In the middle of the last century, a school was opened in Nassau. It still works, which is very convenient for locals who do not need to leave their property to get an education.
Can I buy tours in Nassau? Unfortunately not.In the best case, if you arrive on Cook Islands, you will be able, with the help of local residents, to get to the atoll as a guest. But you are unlikely to stay here overnight - the islanders do not like foreigners too much.
But what about the capital of the Bahamas, because we talked about it at the beginning of our article? Take your time, we will tell you now about another Nassau.
Nassau City: Description
The capital of the Bahamas is located on the islandNew Providence. The city occupies almost the entire territory and is the cultural center of the Bahamas. The total area of the island is approximately 20 square meters. km, which stretches beautiful villas, excellent harbor, entertainment centers and beautiful beaches. All this is available to tourists day and night.
The city itself is reminiscent of buildings prim England.And this is not surprising, because for a long time the island was ruled by the British. Most of the buildings belong to the XIX century, many of them are historical monuments.
In recent decades, the city has replenishedmodern entertainment centers and casinos. The newly built area of Cable Beach strikes the imagination with bright signs and an abundance of people, because it is here that the whole nightlife of Nassau is concentrated.
City `s history
In the XVII century, it was the British laid herecity, but in those days he bore the proud name of Charlestown. Although with such a beautiful name it existed for several years, and in the 90s of the XVII century it was renamed Nassau. Under this name, the city and developed in the future.
It is worth noting that his story is very richevents. For a long time, New Providence was the main base of pirates of the Caribbean. They hid their ships in numerous bays and enjoyed life in pubs.
For years for power over the cityThe British, the Spaniards, and even the Americans fought. Nassau saw a lot of bloody battles and deaths, until the power of the British Crown was established there. But at the end of the XIX century, the island became very interested in Americans. They began to come here to rest, and during the “dry law” period, many smugglers smuggled alcohol through Nassau.
Now the city is the capital of tourism in the Bahamas,vacationers bring to the budget up to half of all incoming funds. The development of Nassau is fast, the city quickly adapts to the needs of tourists, which is very valuable for them.
When can I go on holiday to the Bahamas?
The climate of Nassau is subequatorial.It is quite conducive to the development of tourism, the average temperature rarely drops below 25 degrees. In winter (February, March), the tourist flow decreases a little, but the Russians can rest easy at this time of year. After all, by our standards, the water temperature at twenty degrees - this is quite acceptable for swimming.
During the summer, there are often hurricanes and typhoons in the Bahamas, so this is not the best time to rest. The high season in Nassau begins in September and lasts until February.
City of Nassau: attractions
Usually small islands do not have largethe number of attractions and monuments, but the capital of the Bahamas does not fall into this category. So, what can you advise to tourists who come to Nassau? What to see first?
As a rule, guests go to the Parliamentarysquare. Here is a large monument to Queen Victoria and almost all buildings of the colonial era. They are distinguished by their special architecture and character.
Among the many museums of the Bahamaspopular is Pirate. It is dedicated to the period of the history of the island, when the power of reckless corsairs was established on it. The museum exhibits are very interesting, from time to time the collection is replenished with new finds.
Большой интерес у туристов вызывают и старинные forts designed to protect Nassau from the water. Many vacationers enjoy visiting the aquarium, which contains all the inhabitants of the underwater world of the Bahamas.
Tours in Nassau have different directions.They are divided into historical and entertainment. The first category includes an inspection of the British heritage of the island. But the entertainment excursion program includes various sports, boat trips and, of course, visiting the night entertainment facilities, of which there are many in Nassau.
Beach area of the island
The beaches of Nassau are beautiful and diverse, butmost tourists prefer to spend their time on Paradise Island. This small piece of land, literally covered with white sand, is very close to Nu-Providence and is even connected to it by bridges. Here are the most luxurious hotels, and you can find a lot of interesting activities to the day was the most fun and rich.
The most popular resort on Paradise Islandcalled Atlantis, and it is often compared to Las Vegas. Once he served as just a haven for local fishermen, but literally over two decades turned into a luxurious and fashionable resort.
Из России в Нассау не летают прямые рейсы, но с With the help of transit routes, our compatriots will also be able to experience the delight of contemplating the beauties of the Bahamas and see all the sights of their capital.
