A Photo Essay of Top 5 Things I Had a Blast Doing in Inagua

Inagua was well worth the visit and I encourage others to go. It is not the type of island you visit on a hurriedly planned spontaneous trip. You need to plan ahead and keep your expectations simple. The reward is an island with endearing wildlife, off-road adventure and simplicity. I have lots of tips to make planning your trip easier, but to kick things off, I am going to start with the basics: A Photo Essay of TOP 5 Things I Did in Inagua.

1. Swim at The Pump

To keep fresh sea water continuously circulating in Lake Rosa and the salt pans used by Morton Salt, the company has a canal that runs from the sea into the lake. A giant pump sucks up 50,000 gallons of water from the ocean every minute and vomits it into the canal. This creates an amazing salt water lazy river. Jump in by the Pump and let the flowing current take you on a ride down stream.

2. Pretend to be a Birder

I am not someone with a particular interest in birds. I simply love nature and I love to watch animals at play. My TV stays stuck on Cable Channel 273: National Geographic Wild. I am simply in constant awe of how magnificent creation is. That being said, a birding tour for me is a 2-hour affair, not an 8-hour day. And the only birds I can identify are Bahama Parrots and flamingos.

3. Bathe in Salt Crystals

In Inagua you will find dry lakes of a pure sodium chloride. Morton Salt exports this rock salt around the world. One of its most abundant uses is to defrost icy roads in North America. Lake Rosa is a shallow salt pond with massive open plains. Combined with low rainfall, high wind flow and a gluttony of sunshine, Inagua has the perfect conditions for massive solar evaporation, which is the basic physical process used to make Inagua salt. You can walk right on to the dry pans known as crystalizers and feel the rock hard diamond shaped masses of salt.

4. Snorkel off Collin’s Beach

As far as Bahamian islands go, Inagua is not where you go for a romantic beach front vacation. That is not to say Inagua does not have beautiful beaches. It does. Collin’s Beach in particular. But the coastline is mainly rocky iron shore. The island has a thin perimeter of shallow water with deep ocean just off shore. From the beach you can swim out and snorkel on a shallow reef, and launch your boat to go fishing just off shore for deep sea red snapper. Collin’s Beach is a great spot for a beach picnic or camping trip. There are gazebos, tables and my favourite, a tree swing.

5. Fish in Town Pond

Town Pond is where the old salt factory used to be located. These salt pans are no longer in active use by the salt company, but they are still full of fish and used by locals as a fish market. Only thing, at the Town Pond you don’t buy fish. You have to catch them. Despite some enthusiastic attempts, my local guide Dnez came up empty handed, but we did run into a crew who caught bonefish and barracuda. The lighting at dusk creates the best visuals at Town Pond. The clouds reflect beautifully on the still surface of the water.