Grand Bahama Labyrinth - Come out on Saturday, March 21st to a special cocktail hour at the Labyrinth at the Garden of the Groves from 6pm and enjoy the smooth and easy listening sounds of the saxaphone played by Ricardo Major.

Be soothed or meditate on a keepsake 'Love Quote'. Walk the path in peace - renew and relax...YES, it is still ON despite the weather!

Tickets $5 - advance purchase please. Available at the Garden entrance, Italian Specialty, and Radiant Health Centre.  Tickets at the door $10 (Friends of the Garden, $5 secured)...

It seems very appropriate to many of us that we should come together and focus on Love for all creation.   Love is a great healer, and combining our energies on our beautiful Spiritual Path will surely be of great benefit to each of us, our Island and our Planet.

Valentine's Saturday, February 14th from 6:30pm. Loving donations to the Labyrinth accepted. Suggested : $10.00..

Nassau, The Bahamas - Senator the Honourable Dr. Jacinta Higgs, Chairperson of the Clifton Heritage Authority advises the public that work on phase one of the Clifton Heritage National Park is progressing well and when completed, Bahamians and tourists alike will be able to enjoy the various historical and natural features of the Park.

Over the past two years, the Park has been transformed from a commercial

dumpsite to a well manicured park and nature trail site, and has become one of the most popular holiday sites for Bahamians and tourists alike in Southwest New Providence.

One of the finest places in The Bahamas to commune with nature, the Garden of the Groves, now also houses a beautiful recreation of an ancient sacred path — The Grand Bahama Labyrinth — where visitors of all faiths can walk and reflect on healing, peace, meditation, prayer, our connection to the Divine, and our connection to one another.

This historical monument was founded and created in 2008 by Barbara Chester and the Community of Grand Bahama Island, with the invaluable help and creative guidance of Robert Ferre & Judy Hopen of Labyrinth Enterprises, Limited.

Find out about visiting the Labyrinth and read the Founder's Message within...

Under the watchful eye of a brilliant moon, the Grand Bahama Labyrinth at the Garden of the Groves was the stage for the dancers and singers performing under the canopy of the night sky on Saturday, January 10^th 2009.  The Eldon-McGlone production called “Circle of Life”, in support of the Grand Bahama Humane Society, dazzled a large crowd of approximately 200 people. Viewers circled the Labyrinth either in lawn chairs, on blankets or even stood to watch a show that is a first for Grand Bahama, and most definitely a first of many performances to come at the Grand Bahama Labyrinth.

The night was a fascinating mix of ancient and modern rhythms and movement, passionate singing, and heartwarming images of animals through the modern technology of the interactive screen display...

DIVE Travel TV goes to UNEXSO on Grand Bahama Island to learn how to hand feed Sharks and also put them into a state of tonic. Come along for the adventure and see if we keep all our fingers.

In this video, expert Cristina Zenato of UNEXSO explains how to shark feed before the dive. You will also see the outfit that must be worn before the dive.

Watch as the host, Denny Willis feed sharks, surrounded by many sharks at one time, and even pet a shark in a state of tonic.

VIDEO Produced by: Bottom Time Productions

Our beautiful Grand Bahama Labyrinth is now celebrating its very first Christmas, and at this beautiful time of the year, I invite each and everyone in our community to visit our Labyrinth in the resplendent Garden of the Groves to enjoy the blessings of this Christmas Season. A joyful Carols Around the Labyrinth party will take place on Sunday, December 21^st at 4pm and everyone is invited to attend. Families are encouraged to bring a blanket to sit upon.

I would remind you all that the Path of the Labyrinth is a spiritual tool for healing and peace.   It represents a personal journey to our Creator, and a symbolic destination path.

The first Christian Labyrinth represented ‘the way’ to the temple in holy city of Jerusalem...

Mike Hollar/AP

So where on earth does the leader of the free world go for a little R&R? Anywhere he wants. It may come as a surprise, however, that the favorite places of the first families are often decidedly low-key destinations — places ordinary civilians vacation every day. So even if your job isn't quite as stressful as the Commander in Chief's, take a trip to one of the destinations on our top 10 presidential getaways list, and you can vacation like it is.

1. Bahamas: Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a man of many travels, but it wasn't all work and no play. In fact, the 32nd President traveled south to the Bahamas on fishing expeditions several times during his presidency. It's no wonder FDR made the trek — besides its crystal-clear water and soft sandy beaches, the Bahamas are known for excellent deep-sea and bone fishing...

Grand Bahama Island - On Saturday, November 1st, the new Grand Bahama Labyrinth was Dedicated at the Garden of the Groves. People from the community gathered around the Labyrinth to listen to Reverend, Dr. J. Emmette Weir of Our Saviour Lutheran Church give the invocation. Musical selections were performed by the Bishop Michael Eldon High School Paradise Pans, Hazel Springer and Erica Weir of the Regency Singers accompanied by Lois Desaulniers, and Susan Jensen-Sweeting. Welcome remarks came by the founder of the GB Labyrinth, Mrs. Barbara Chester (see below) and remarks were also provided by Mrs. Erika Gates, president, Bahamas Parks, Gardens and Recreation (see below). Martha Cartwright read a scripture. Bishop Sobig Kemp, president of the Grand Bahama Christian Council led the official act of dedication standing in the center of the Labyrinth.

All those congregated were invited to then walk the labyrinth at the completion of the ceremony, many for their first time. Refreshments provided by the Grand Bahama Ministry of Tourism were served at the Lofty Fig Deck...

ELEUTHERA ISLAND, The Bahamas- The new $85 million Cape Eleuthera Resort & Yacht Club was awarded the prestigious Blue Flag certification for its marina by the non-profit Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) based in Denmark. The marina achieved this certification for exceeding standards relevant to sustainable development and environment responsibility.   Transcending 23 areas of strict criteria covering Environmental Education and Information, Environmental Management, Safety and Services and Water Quality, Cape Eleuthera received the Blue Flag for appreciating the value of the marine ecosystem and how it affects the future social and economic development of the islands.

The Blue Flag program, the largest and most recognized certification program world-wide with the participation of some 37 countries globally was established in Europe in 1987.

The enclosed 30-second Grand Bahama Island promotional video will be featured at  all upcoming hockey games at the Bank Atlantic Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and is an initiative of the Grand Bahama Island Tourism Board.

Grand Bahama Island is full of adventure – swim with dolphins, dive with sharks, kayak through mangroves, snorkel through the world’s longest surveyed underwater cave system, tee off in the ‘golf capital of the Caribbean’ and horseback ride on long stretches of sand and surf.

Click to view this informative and inviting Tourism spot...

In what can only be deemed the largest single donation to education, in the history of The Bahamas and the Caribbean region, The College of The Bahamas is pleased to announce that the Freedom Foundation has donated $10 million toward the creation of its Small Island Sustainability Programme (SIS), the first undergraduate programme of its kind in the world.

The SIS undergraduate programme will focus on four innovative areas: Two Bachelor of Science degrees; one in Environmental and Ecosystems Management; and one in Integrated Development Planning. The other two will be Bachelor of Arts degrees: one in Ecotourism and Development; and one in Policy Studies.

Click [Read more... ] to view the video....

Buzzing toward the shore of San Salvador in a dinghy, it's hard to imagine what Christopher Columbus felt when he spotted this island after 33 days of nothing but the endless blue of the Atlantic.

No doubt he saw the same turquoise water, lime green vegetation and mostly flat, scrub-covered land. But he certainly didn't climb out of an inflatable boat onto the dock of a small marina, where I now await the arrival of a tour bus that will show me around this 12-mile island.

Many visitors to the Bahamas never leave the bustling confines of places such as Nassau, where banks and designer shops cram city streets. But of the 700 islands in the Bahamas archipelago, only 50 are inhabited. And of those that are populated, some are just sleepy outposts that most tourists never see...

In September, 2007, the LAMAR Institute dispatched a team (Dan and Rita Elliott) to Grand Bahama Island to conduct archaeological work on the Freetown Cemetery and Freetown settlement. This project was divided into two phases. The primary goal was to “ground truth” the results from an earlier Ground Penetrating Radar survey of the Freetown cemetery and its surroundings that was conducted in July, 2007 by Dean Goodman and Kent Schneider. 

This phase consisted of creating a detailed topographic map of the site and all above-ground cultural features and excavation of nine 2 m by 1 m test units on a variety of features and non-feature areas.  The second phase of the project was a brief reconnaissance of the Freetown settlement, which is an abandoned settlement located west of the cemetery. This village, which is thought to date to the 1830s and lasting into the 1960s, consists of a series of ruins and archaeological deposits now vegetated in jungle. The LAMAR Institute technical report on these investigations is available in .pdf format by clicking below:

Grand Bahama Island - A Labyrinth is a sacred healing tool; a place of beauty where you can reconnect with your Divine Creator, Mother Earth and your own soul.    It is a place to calm, centre and rebalance your body and mind and receive guidance and blessings of love and peace.

A Labyrinth can be walked, skipped or even danced…..it provides a quiet, holy place – a nirvana - for reflection, meditation, supplication and celebration.

Labyrinth Walks will soon be starting with some special facilitator guidance available.

Paradise Island, Bahamas – Travel and Leisure Magazine rates The One&Only Ocean Club, Paradise Island #1 among hotels in the Caribbean, Bermuda and The Bahamas.   The resort scored an 89.29 in the magazine’s 2008 World’s Best Awards beating out its competitors like the Four Seasons Resort in Nevis and The Reefs in Bermuda.

The One&Only Ocean Club, Paradise Island climbed the ratings from 21st in 2007 to 1st in 2008.  

The Travel and Leisure Magazine World’s Best Awards is an annual reader survey rating destinations and travel providers since 1995...

Grand Bahama Island - The Garden of the Groves, founded by Wallace Groves in 1973 and owned by the Grand Bahama Port Authority, was considered one of the finest botanical Gardens in the Caribbean before the hurricanes of 2004. The gardens were devastated and they have sat untended since then, that is until two wonderful people decided to bring them back in order in November 2007. Erika Gates of Grand Bahama Nature Tours and Michelle Hanson formed Bahamas Parks, Gardens & Recreation and have been working diligently as the dynamic duo on the return of the Garden of the Groves. The Grand Bahama Port Authority committed to fund the restoration up to its re-opening, at such time Bahamas Parks, Gardens & Recreation will begin leasing the property.

Besides extensive tending to the fauna and foliage, damaged buildings have been removed and nine new pump systems for waterfalls, circulatory ponds and fountains were purchased and installed by the Port Authority...

After many days of hard work, combating very inclement weather conditions, the new Grand Bahama Labyrinth at the Garden of the Groves is nearing completion. Labyrinth expert Judy Hopen, from Labyrinth Enterprises (Missouri) arrived on Grand Bahama Island the weekend of June 7^th to begin the process of creating a beautiful full-scale sacred 'Chartres' Labyrinth. Greg Farrington of Entech Services began leveling the ground and poured concrete for the 50'x50' octagonal base in early June.

Phase one of the process was marking the pattern out on the concrete. Judy brought special tools for this and used Sharpies to mark the base. Only socked feet were allowed on the surface during the creation of the labyrinth. In phase two, the very timely process of meticulously marking all the lines with masking tape. This was a challenge as many millipedes enjoyed the surface and had to be continuously swept off. Phase three was covering the entire area with plastic and cutting out the area to be painted with resin, creating a large plastic stencil. Phase four is applying the coloured resin to the open areas...