It is said that when 15th-century explorer Christopher Columbus first travelled to the new world in 1492, he called Long Island the “most beautiful island in the world seen by human eyes.”
“He was probably just happy to finally see land after months of sailing!” I thought. In all my smug travel experience, I clicked on to find out more about Long Island and the Bahamas in preparation for my trip just days away.
As a travel writer, I’ve admittedly become rather desensitized to destinations boasting their bluer-than-blue waters and stunning beaches. Yes, yes— paradise. Most amazing sight you’ll ever see— wow, nod appreciatively, and smile. Insert appropriate oohs and aahs at particular pauses. Well, let’s see what happened on Long Island.
Hopping over to Long Island & Stella Maris
It’s a four-hour hop and skip to balmy Long Island from biting cold Toronto. Once you land at the one-storey, one-room airport terminal at Stella Maris Airport in northern Long Island, you begin to realize that this island isn’t like all the other Caribbean islands. You won’t find Sandals or Riu resorts here; only local mom-and-pop owned and operated hotels, inns, bed and breakfasts and villa rentals.
Our hideaway for this trip would be at the cozy Stella Maris Resort Club, a five-minute drive through thick overgrown bush. We arrived on a late Thursday afternoon—just in time for Rum Punch Night and of course, unlimited conch fritters on the side.
More like a plantation than any typical beach resort, the Stella Maris property stretches from its main lodge and rooms down to a privately owned beach with a stretching oceanside boardwalk, ocean-side restaurant and pool. Despite the built-up resort amenities, it was quiet on the beach that late afternoon.
It was then that I began to notice the stillness and serenity that Long Island offered. I was in a truly different place.
