Getting there is more than half the battle…. We were to leave Kansas City on January 12 at about 2 pm. There was an ice storm that started on Thursday and ran for several days.
Our flight boarded as scheduled and then de-iced….we were running behind and may have had an issue making our connection….got airborne and then we heard a loud noise from the turbine on the right side of the plane. Shortly after the captain came on and said don’t worry folks (first reason to worry) but that there was an issue with a thruster and we would be returning to KCI. As we touched down we noticed 4 fire engines lining the runway and following us back to the terminal….no worries…right!

Got out on Friday on the last flight of the day to Atlanta and all went well from there.
Heard from a friend that was talking with the pilot of this flight during pre-boarding that what had happened to our earlier flight was a large chunk of ice went into the turbine on the engine and bent several of the blades pretty badly.

Spent the night in Atlanta instead of Nassau but we were out of the ice so we were happy.
Saturday morning boarded a flight to Nassau and then a prop plane for an hour’s flight south east of Nassau to San Salvador.

This trip was sponsored by Baker University and scheduled for students to experience new and different activities. My son got 3 hours credit for this trip. Where were these classes when I was in school? There were 22 of us that flew from KC for the trip.

San Salvador is a small outer island in the Bahamas, it has a population of maybe 5,000.
The island is to the far south east end of the archipelago. The circle island road is less than 40 miles around. This island is where Christopher Columbus first landed in 1492. There are at least three land monuments and one on a dive site commemorating his landing in the new world.

We stayed at Riding Rock Inn, the facility is quaint and more than adequate but not a five star resort. What the rooms lack, is made up in personal service and food. The inn was all inclusive for meals and they were very good. On more than one occasion our group ate so much Bahamian bread that they literally ran out. The seafood is their specialty…we had Grouper several times, as well as Wahoo and conch.

The staff was absolutely fantastic, very friendly and wanting to make sure that your visit was memorable. One word of caution….the island water is not recommended as drinkable, either drink a lot at meals or go to a store and buy some water. To buy it at the resort it was $1.50 for a 20 oz bottle. Everything on the island is shipped in so there is duty on everything, prices are a little high but that is the Bahamas…..

Diving; in a word INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!
Riding Rock owns their marina and dive boat.
Cast and Crew are as follows
Captain Bruce is a lot of fun, he is native to the island and knows the waters well and can maneuver the boat with ease.

Patrick is the dive master in charge, this is a guy that has seen the world and so loves the island, owners of Riding Rock and the job that he is willing to fly in and work for the Williams family when they need him…his residence is in the Miami area. This guy knows his stuff, takes no crap when it comes to diving but does enjoy being with the guests.
The other dive master is Lupo, he is lots of fun too and a great underwater photographer he is young and has his finger on the pulse of the island.

The sites are truly just too good to explain. Visibility is fantastic and there are more than enough different fish to see. We saw sharks on almost every dive and even the elusive hammerhead. Rays and grouper were every where. We were even fortunate enough to spot a couple of pilot whales while returning to the marina one day.

There are only two dive operations on the island (Riding Rock and Club Med) so no site is over exposed. While we were there it was between 80 and 85 degrees each day and the water temp was around 75 degrees. Most of the guys were good in a 3 mil shorty but the girls got cold even in their full length wet suits.

The dives are deep. The walls start at around 40 feet with most dropping to a small shelf at about 150 feet before falling off to several thousand feet. There are swim troughs and caves to explore as well as the reef it’s self. We had a group of divers that were getting their certification and a group of experienced divers. One of our divers went over 200 hours of diving on this trip and all of us agreed that we have been no place finer. Many of the divers have been to the east end of Grand Cayman and to Cayman Brac too, as well as Belize and they all said that they don’t hold a candle to San Salvador.

We were even fortunate enough to be the first group on a dive site. It was marked the day before by the other dive company on the island. Our dive masters were even in awe of this site so if you choose to dive San Salvador ask to dive the BU Salt-mine site, you won’t be disappointed.

Yes we had 2 divers that took pix...funny thing is I was one of the divers....my camera was a fairly cheap point and shoot 35 that was good to 100 feet in its protective case. Second dive 135 feet...camera never worked again....oops... .

I have received the pix from the other diver and need to ask him if it is ok to put on my site...pix of our trip are forth coming just havent taken the time yet. I have a much more detailed report on my personal site. If you havent already...just click the link in my signature block and navigate to trip reports and then Bahamas '07.

I will tell you this group did Grand Cayman 3 years ago and raved about San Salvador and not GC in diving comparison. The folks that did the raving have been all over the Caribbean and said by far this was their favorite.


I got the impression from the locals that the temps we experienced were nothing unusual. They do get cold fronts. In fact while we were there most of the US got blasted..but we were far enough south that we got some higher waves....3'... one evening and the next day was beautiful.

San Salvador Island is a bit further south than Miami and far enough east that they will get some chilly days but not like Freeport or even Nassau.

Nightlife is interesting..only 5K people and some nights it is quiet others there seems to be a lot of action for such a small place. No live music but there are some dj's that will spin. There was a dance one night at the bar at Riding Rock. The islanders liked when our group came....we brought a bunch of college aged kids so I think the week we were there they bumped it up a bit. We were clued in on what was happening and where. There are 2 or three local clubs and one at Riding Rock and at Club Med too. The locals turned out at Riding Rock the evenings that things were happening.

Is a great little island...the way I would like to think the Caribbean should be...quaint, clean and very safe. They recommend that you hitch hike. The locals take great pride in their island (and should it is beautiful) and want to make sure you have a great time

Beaches....yes I saw a few. There was a beautiful beach within walking distance of Riding Rock....it was the Club Med beach, beautiful! There are others all over the island that are just about as nice but you may have to rent a car, scooter or bike to get to them.

I did notice that there wasn't much shopping but am sure that Club Med would be glad to let you leave some $$$$ there ir you would be so kind!



Trip home was smooth except for landing in a snow storm….85 degrees in the morning and 30 with 6 inches of snow at night…now that’s a transition. Welcome back to reality!