“Bay Street is emblematic 
of Nassau as a whole.”  
Bahamas Air Tours

Bay Street is downtown Nassau. Lined on both sides of the street with a few large stores, many small shops, and a few places to grab a bite to eat, it is ground zero for Bahamian culture. It wakes up in the morning when the cruise ships arrive. By 5:00 in the afternoon, as the last of the ships is pulling out of Nassau harbor, Bay Street, for the most part, shuts down. This schedule repeats itself seven days a week.

During the summer, however, local Bahamians gather in the evening hours to celebrate Goombay Summer. With colorful costumes, agile dancers, and the beat of drums, whistles, and cow bells filling the night air, Goombay is a celebration for all to enjoy. Food vendors set up pop-ups along both sides of the street enabling party goers to enjoy a variety of local Bahamian fare such as conch fritters, conch salad, peas ’n rice, jerk chicken, mac & cheese, and an assortment of dessert items.

During the time between Christmas and New Year’s Day, Bahamians again gather to celebrate a cultural festival — Junkanoo. The costumes are more elaborate and colorful, music includes marching bands of local musicians playing various brass instruments, accompanied by the ever-present drumming, and there are lively competitions between various groups participating in the parade. While I’ve experienced Goombay Summer festivities on several occasions, I’ve never been on the island around the holidays to participate in Junkanoo.

Today I took a walk along West Bay Street from my condo to downtown Nassau, which took about 45 minutes. I made one stop along the way — a quick visit to the Courtyard Junkanoo Beach Hotel, where I’ve stayed during my last three visits to Nassau. I had included a word of gratitude to the staff of the hotel in my latest book, A Bahamian Odyssey. In doing so, I mentioned five of the hotel staff by name. Today I dropped off books for four of them. Mico, the bartender, received his copy last night. I am always appreciative of the hospitality offered to me at the Courtyard.

Once on Bay Street, I strolled casually along, greeting several people I’ve gotten to know over the past three years. One gentleman, Bradley Ellis, a security guard outside a jewelry store, lit up when he saw me. He said, “I was jus talkin’ ‘bout you wit my friends yesterday, tellin’ ‘em about dis man who make it a point to visit me any time he in Nassau.” Yes, that would be me. We had a nice visit.

I then stopped in to the Sue-Nan Shoppe to have lunch with my friend, Christine, who is sort of my Bahamian business manager. She sells two of my books at her shop and assisted with getting the new book into the Logos Book Store a few miles down the road on East Bay Street. We dropped off 25 copies of Odyssey at Logos today. I’ll do a book signing event there on the 28th.

Of course, one of the most popular shopping venues for tourists is the Straw Market on Bay Street, just one block from the harbor where the cruise ships dock. Local artisans sell a variety of traditional Bahamian items, along with the usual shirts, hats, bags, and homemade jewelry. It’s difficult, at times, to see the merchants trying to make a living selling their goods, while many tourists consider it a game to attempt to bargain for a lower price. This happens every day. The vendors will be there again tomorrow, awaiting the arrival of four cruise ships of new customers looking for a great deal.

Chester Cooper, the Deputy Prime Minister of The Bahamas pointed out, “The Straw Market is as much a part of the fabric of downtown Nassau as downtown Nassau is part of the fabric of The Bahamas.”