I was thrilled to go looking for the abandoned mansion on Bird Cay, a deserted island in the Berry chain. We had to dinghy about a mile from our anchor position to reach the shore. There was no mansion in immediate sight, but there was a dock and an entire abandoned village.
Dense overgrowth now obscures fantastical trees.
After trekking through the brush amidst the town buildings we eventually came to a road.
A road being crossed by a peacock. It is said, (by the Australians who put me up to this) that peacocks inhabit the mansion.
At the Bimini nature trail we learned that Australian Pines are an invasive and problematic species in the Bahamas. They started being imported in the 1920's when wealthy foreigners began showing up to build their own private island homes. The pines were used as privacy fences and wind barriers.
Luckily the nature trail also prepared us for the giant termite mounds.
The first clue to how long ago Bird Cay was deserted was in a garage. A 90's Ford Ranger. Well, what was left of it.
The garage is also home to very big moths.
We found the power generation station!
The remains of a trampoline is now a home for hermit crabs.
Dense overgrowth now obscures fantastical trees.
I want to take this tree home.
After trekking through the brush amidst the town buildings we eventually came to a road.
A road being crossed by a peacock. It is said, (by the Australians who put me up to this) that peacocks inhabit the mansion.
So we continued to follow the road.
Fascinating! And why abandoned, do you know?
ReplyDeleteyes we do know ...., owners finally died , surviving daughter sold the island in early 2000s, new owner decided not to develop/repair and took 18 years to flip the property for twice what he/she paid.. i think the new owner took one trip right after they bought it and decided island life was not for them ...its was in relatively good shape at first but fell into irreversible dis repair ... its was rumored to have been recently purchased by david beckham and family...
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