2nd day 12/29/16

After the first day's excitement of arriving, we decided to really dive into the history of the Bahamas today.  At around 8:00 in the morning, after we had eaten breakfast with the food we had at the hotel, we took the 20 minute walk to the Queen's Staircase (History).  The weather was great and it was nice to get some exercise.  We simply walked down W. Bay Street and made a right on Elisabeth Avenue.  When we saw it, we were absolutely stunned.

It was gorgeous!  The Queen's Staircase is a set of tall stone steps with an artificial waterfall running beside it.  Who can tell the difference though?  We learned a lot about it on our visit.  It was built in the 18th century as part of Fort Fincastle, which we saw later that day.  During this point in time, the Bahamas were ruled by Britain, and the British settlers were concerned about pirates raiding their islands.  The forts around the island were built as a source of protection, and this staircase was a supplement to the fort.  It's a massive structure, with 65 steps that total up to 102 feet in height.  The staircase is made of solid limestone and took 600 slaves to carve it.  The 65 steps may be symbolic of Queen Victoria's 64 year reign, for whom the staircase is named.  The Bahamas fully gained independence in 1973.  

At the top of the staircase, we arrived at Fort Fincastle (History).  It was built in about 1793 to spot invaders approaching and is located at the top of Bennet's Hill, the highest point on the island.  It was built by and named after Lord Dunmore, who had the additional title of Viscount Fincastle.  The fort never saw any battles.  Replicas of the seven cannons that were once housed there can be seen by visitors.

Beside Fort Fincastle, we also spotted a water tower.  It was built in 1928 to help stabilize the island's water pressure, but the public is not allowed access inside.

After spending about two hours at Bennet's Hill, stopping to see the staircase, fort, and water tower, we took another 3.3 km walk to Fort Charlotte (History).  It took us about 45 minutes going at a brisk walking pace, but we made it enjoyable by talking amongst ourselves.  Fort Charlotte was even better than Fort Fincastle!  It covers 100 acres - a breathtaking size!  The fort was built in 1788 and named for Queen Saharia Charlotte, wife of King George III.  Surprisingly, it was built by Lord Dunmore, the same man who built Fort Fincastle.  As it is much more extensive than Fort Fincastle, it has a moat (not currently full), passages underground, and dungeons.  It has 42 cannons that were not fired offensively, compared to Fincastle's seven.  




















After these viewing this magnificent examples of Bahamian architecture, we walked back to the hotel to rest and buy groceries at the local super market.  We bought enough food to last us the first week.  We then watched some television and went to sleep around 9:00.