Royal Island (Bahamas)

25° 31 N 076° 50 W

The island reminds me of Chacachacare, a leper colony in Trinidad.

Now, some say Royal Island was a fort and some say it was a mansion belonging to a man who had so much money he didn't know what to do with it. So, he built a mansion. Nearing the end of his life, he hired a man to look after the island and keep it in good condition. When he died, his family didn't pay the keeper, so he left and the once glorious mansion rotted away and is now in ruins, the perfect place for an adventure.

On the jetty is a PVC pipe with algae well-water flowing through it. Where is the well? and more importantly, how does the water get pumped out of the well and along the pipe? The bar is in okay condition. There are a couple of books on a shelf which forms a book swap. Wasps nests and stalactites hang from the ceiling in different patterns. A white wooden ladder leans against the stone wall. The steps slant every which way and climbing requires a roundish object in your head.

The view is lovely and height weary or not, you've got to see it. Next to the bar on your left, back to the sea, is a double storey house. The bathroom has a fireplace, in it is a metal pipe which goes into the geyser. So, you light the fire, the water inside the pipe gets hot, moves into the geyser, you turn on the bath tap and Viola, hot water.

Liz