There are enough Blue Holes to satisfy any diver and you'll find them both in the ocean and inland. The island is also home to a large variety of birds, wild flowers, lizards, and crabs.

Small Hope Bay Lodge is nestled among coconut palms on its own private beach along the northeast coast of the island. Each cottage is constructed out of coral rock and Andros pine and decorated with Androsia Batik fabrics. The main lodge features the dining area, lounge and bar area, game room (this also serves as a children's play area), and reading room. There's also an outdoor patio bar and dining area as well as hammocks and lounge chairs located throughout the property - Small Hope is a perfect getaway for singles, couples, friends, and families.

The Lodge offers family-style buffet dining. Guests help themselves, sit where they want, and have the opportunity to meet new people. If you prefer a private table, the staff will set one up for you, but given the family atmosphere, it's more fun to sit with someone at meal times. You can dine alone and have your private space, but you don't have to feel alone.

Guests can choose from a Continental, American, or Bahamian breakfast that includes a variety of fresh fruits, juices, coffee, tea, breads, and your choice of eggs, French toast, pancakes, breakfast meats, boiled fish or chicken souse, corned beef and grits, or steamed tuna and rice.

Lunch selections include hot entrees such as burgers on the outdoor grill, curried pork and rice, barbecue chicken, a variety of salads, lunchmeats and cheeses, fruits, and scrumptious desserts like chocolate cake, brownies, apple pie, jelly roll, and cheesecake.

Social hour starts at 6:30 p.m. in the main lodge, where the staff serves crudités, dips, and Small Hope's famous conch fritters. The chefs make some of the best fritters I've ever eaten - you won't stop at just one!

Dinner selections include a variety of salads, soup, and various dishes such as curried chicken, grilled Mahi Mahi, and roast beef. Side dishes vary and include corn on the cob, potatoes, and peas & rice. There are also fresh fruits and more scrumptious dessert offerings to end the meal each day.

A self-serve bar is set to include a variety of juices, sodas, beer, wine, and spirits to make your own cocktails. Tap water is safe to drink but may have a funky taste due to the high mineral levels. If you don't like the flavor, buy bottled water for your room.

To appreciate the charm of Small Hope it's important to know something about the founder, Dick Birch. He was a family man with a wife and three children. Three separate events brought him to Andros:

1) While holding one of his daughter's hands a truck came around the corner and almost ran over her feet. He decided this is no life for children.

2) There was a great fear of a nuclear war and he wanted to be far away from the fallout.

3) On a Florida vacation, he met a Russian wrestler who taught him to dive. He soon fell in love with the sport and believed that everyone would love diving.

In the late 1950's Dick came to the Bahamas. He visited several of the outer islands before discovering Andros and its beaches. With loans from many of his friends, he purchased land for $13,000, and in 1960, opened four rooms of the 20 cottage resort he fondly named Small Hope Bay Lodge.

Today, Dick's son Jeff runs the Lodge. "I'm following my father's philosophy that people are the most important thing in life," Jeff said. "There's work and there's rest. From the time you wake up in the morning you should enjoy life, especially if your job is incorporated into your daily activity. Running a small hotel is a way of life. I like meeting new people. I truly miss them when they leave, and hope to see them return soon."

Small Hope Bay Lodge has a few simple house rules. No phones or TV's in the guestrooms; no business attire allowed, and guests must obey the 3 R's - rest, relaxation, and rediscovery.

Local diving is laid back and relaxed. Getting to dive sites on the Andros reef system only takes ten to fifteen minutes by Small Hope's two flat-bottomed boats. To get into the boats from the dock, you must climb down a very steep ladder attached to the dock. This is quite a challenge at low tide, however, by the end of my stay, I almost mastered the ladder!

"Diving is a sport and my Dad invented the resort course," Jeff continued. "We dive with a Divemaster in the water at all times. We don't crowd the experienced diver and we don't mother hen the inexperienced diver, but we try to keep them both out of harm's way."

Small Hope Bay Lodge offers three dives a day and two night dives a week. Small Hope is an all-inclusive resort that includes the recreational diving. "There is an extra fee for specialty diving," Jeff added, "but our philosophy is that diving is a sport and we engineer our specialty dives for our recreational divers. Professional type cave divers and technical divers who enjoy diving into the unknown can enjoy our specialty dives and blue holes (caves). We put lines and have pre-established profiles for our specialty dives that allow even the most experienced to enjoy. We design our specialty dives for someone who feels comfortable as a recreational diver and is interested in trying something a little different, and trusts us that we have organized something that they can enjoy."

Small Hope limits the number of divers for each specialty dive, so the diver can enjoy the full experience and the divemaster can maintain control and safety. Sometimes specialty dives are limited to one or two divers!

During my time at Small Hope, I went on the following specialty dives:

The Ocean Blue Hole 2nd Level - A short fifteen minute ride from the hotel, three divers and three divemasters separated into two groups and we dropped down to about 45-50 feet to an opening in the rocks. The opening looked very small to me, too small and much too dark for any person to fit through wearing scuba gear. However, my divemaster re-assured me that there was plenty of room. After a few minutes of animated gesturing and finger pointing, I insisted the divemaster go first and I promised to follow. As it turned out, there was plenty of room and it was quite easy to drop through the openings.

We came into a huge tunnel where we maintained our depth at approximately 100 feet over a 300-foot bottom. We swam along the ceiling at a depth of 130-140 feet. Then the ceiling soon broke away and amazing shafts of light shone through some of the clearest, bluest water I've ever seen! As we made our way around the cavern, I was amazed at the colors and rock formations. I highly recommend a trip to the ocean blue hole for anyone looking for a new adventure. It's also used as the practice dive for anyone wanting to dive an inland blue hole such as The Guardian.

Over The Wall - This dive descends down to the top of the wall at 70 feet. We went over the wall to a depth of 185 feet where there was a ledge that we knelt on facing the tongue of the ocean. While on the ledge, in swam a curious juvenile reef shark. It was a perfect photo op, as the shark swam along the ledge checking us out! Additionally, this dive is also done as a specialty night dive, which is something I'll have to check out on my next visit!

Shark Dive - Small Hope offers the most natural and the freest type of shark dive than any other operator throughout the Caribbean. The only rule is you must stay still while the chum line's attached. Once it's attached in the water divers are free to move about as they please. There are no lines and no forced kneeling as with other shark dives I've experienced. This gives the diver a unique opportunity to freely view the sharks from any angle or place. At the end of the shark dive, we didn't have to get out of the water. We continued our dive to explore the surrounding area as well as hunt for shark teeth.

Jeff doesn't plan to add any more rooms, but he will continue to develop Small Hope's diving program. He plans to be one of the first resorts to offer a technical resort diving course. He's thinking of offering a mixed gas course down to 160 feet.

"While we do specialize in diving, we also offer our guests many other activities," Jeff said. "Our guests can fish, go birding on our nature walks, bike, kayak, sail windsurf, or do absolutely nothing. We've taken the natural resources that surround Small Hope and we present them so that our guests enjoy what we and nature offers. Small Hope Bay Lodge is really a nature resort. We're becoming known as a birding place and for our Ecotourism. The National Bird Association brought a group down for Ecotourism and bird watching in January 2000."

Small Hope is not an Ecotourism resort because of the shark dive where they feed the sharks. In an Ecotourism resort, you don't feed the animals. Jeff considers the shark dive a nature excursion. He feels his methods preserve the health and welfare of the sharks and protects them from over-fishing.

This program does condition the sharks because when the dive boat circles they know that they're going to get food. "But we don't change their behavior," he adds. "They are feeding on what they normally eat as we don't feed them dog food or fish that are not in their natural environment. Also, they don't fight for a piece of fish. The sharks come in to feed in a leisurely fashion."

Small Hope's been around for 40 years and has been able to maintain reasonable occupancy by catering to families. Four of the cottages are two bedroom units sharing one bathroom, ideal for families with children or groups of three or four. Single travelers may opt to share a two-bedroom cottage with another single traveler at no extra cost. Single travelers that prefer a private room with private bath pay an extra supplement.

Small Hope is also well known for their informal, but organized weddings. Small Hope takes care of all the details and the wedding becomes a wonderful party.

The only land extras you have to pay for at Small Hope are bottled water, chips, and candy. If you want a nice piece of fruit, just go to the kitchen door and ask for it.

Other amenities Small Hope offers include rinse buckets outside each cottage to rinse the sand off your feet before entering. Guests can rinse their gear and wet suits at the dock or with hoses located at the end of each cottage. Hooks are attached to each cottage to hang gear to dry. The dive storage area is located on the dock where you can hang your wetsuit to dry and keep your gear in an assigned cubbyhole.

While at dinner, the "towel fairy" comes to your cottage and provides fresh towels for your use that evening if you want to take a midnight swim on soak in the hot tub. The staff is helpful and will assist you with anything you need. They'll arrange to have a massage therapist come to Small Hope - approximate cost is $65 an hour.

Hiking and walking trails are everywhere. Get a map from the office, grab your walking shoes, and go either by foot or bicycle. When you visit Andros, you must include a tour of the Androsia Batik Factory and outlet store for their wonderful batik clothes and linens. You can borrow a bicycle and pedal on over.

If you're going to Georgetown on the island of Exuma, consider staying at Club Peace & Plenty Resort. The dive operation, Exuma Scuba, is owned and operated by Small Hope Bay Lodge. Exuma Scuba also operates the booze cruise and ferry to the beautiful beach at Stocking Island, just across the harbor.

© 2001, Hillary L. Bloom

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