San Salvador, Bahamas

San Salvador, also known as Watling Island, is an island and a district of the Bahamas. The island is one of the most beautiful among the Bahamas. According to legend, San Salvador was the first land that Christopher Columbus saw and visited during his voyage to the New World in 1492. The other islands of the Bahamian archipelago, however, believe this is not true, but the locals are still convinced that San Salvador was the first.

The English took control of the archipelago, now called the Bahamas, in the early 17th century. For a time, San Salvador served as a base for the pirate John Watling, from which one of the island’s names originated.

About 930 people live on San Salvador (2010), and the main settlement is Cockburn Town.

Today, thanks to the island’s many sandy beaches, the island’s main and thriving industry is tourism.

A road runs around the island, with a length of about 80 kilometers. A drive along the entire coastline is an excellent way to get to know the island and enjoy all its beauty. Traffic here is left-hand, so drivers from Russia will feel comfortable.

San Salvador is an island for beach holidays and ecotourism. The local landscape and nature have remained almost untouched since the time of Columbus. This is the main trump card of San Salvador. Lovers of pristine nature will find the cleanest lakes here-most of the island is covered with them, no wonder it is also called the Land of Lakes. San Salvador’s beaches, as everywhere else in the Bahamas, are clean and have fine, soft sand. In the clear water, you can spot tuna and dolphins, as well as unusual blue marlins. The most popular beaches are East Beach, Bonefish Bay, Dim Bay, Grotto Beach, Long Bay, Snow Bay. The most beautiful of this list is considered to be East Beach. It is famous for its coral reefs, which have an unusual pale pink color. Thanks to the tropical climate, the underwater world here is unique. Multi-meter coral walls, loggerhead sea turtles, rays, and other wildlife create a character that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. The west shore of the island is especially good for diving.

Columbus’s words about this island are still relevant today: “From this land came an air of flowers and trees, and it was so exquisite and sweet that it seemed there was nothing in the whole world more beautiful.”

The climate of the Bahamas is tropical and trade-wind, with heavy rainfall in May-June and September-October. The average temperature in January is +21 °C, in July about +30 °C. Fairly frequent hurricanes hit the islands from June to October.