One of the perks of being a playwright is that I occasionally get to travel to exotic locales to see my works performed. 3 years ago some folks in The Bahamas did my "Peter VS the Wolf" and I now pop down there for a visit every year. I am just back from my most recent trip. Here are some pix and some fun facts about The Bahamas:
The main island, New Providence, has mass transit called "jitney buses," which run various routes around the island. These buses are privately owned. They have been known to race eachother to get to a group of new passengers first.
There is no website showing you the routes. They vary widely in quality– some are barely running, others are brand new and have AC. You will often be treated to pop gospel music, depending on the driver's taste in music. There are no emergency exits; the safety system is a ballpeen hammer to break the windows if needed. There is no such thing as an official "bus stop." You just wave them down on the route, and you tell them to stop when you want to get off.
The Bahamas are an oral society. It was amazing to me an outsider just how much is not written down. When you call a bank to get info on your account, they have no passwords to make sure it's you. Instead, they will ask, "who on the bank staff knows you?" and you will chat with someone on the bank staff who knows your voice, and that's it. pretty tough security when you think about it.
Since I stay with locals, I get a completely different experience than the typical tourist. Above, jazz at sunset at Provence restaurant in the old colony mall. Really fun.
for a beach day, I was advised to just march thru the lobby of the british colonial hilton and park myself on their beach, which i did. the beaches are "public" so i figured buying a drink at the bar was good enough. that's paradise island across the way. It was gorgeous.
Other wacky things: no matter where you are, if you just ask around a little, you can get your car detailed while you are doing just about anything.
The tourist experience, for me, always looks so contrived and just "plastic." I love to see how the locals live. It's harder and more tiring and if you just want to get some rest i don't recommend it . . . but this trip I really got to meet a lot of locals and there sure is a big world out there.
and finally, above is a pic of one of the many kids who are students at the bahamas conservatory, a relatively new program introducing string playing to the kids on the islands. it's a total bootstrap operation in its 3rd year, ambitious and quite amazing what they do with precious few resources, and with kids as young as 2 years old! They can use your support, and no, it's not tax deductible, as there are no income taxes in the bahamas!
more pix are here, hopefully i did the settings right so they are viewable to anyone on facebook.
bye for now — jl
