Bahamian Tropic
Bahamas: Tropic of Cancer Beach
Feb 25, 2013 by Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon
It’s not every day that you get to straddle a line of latitude. But you can in the Exumas, where the line that marks the Tropic of Cancer bisects one of the Bahamas’ most breathtaking beaches.
The pride of Little Exuma, the shore’s formal name is actually Pelican Beach. It’s the island’s longest, and improbably, you’ll likely have all to yourself. Perhaps because it’s so hard to find. Apparently people keep running off with the road sign. (Who wouldn’t want a memento?) So my advice is to drive about five miles past the bridge connecting Great and Little Exuma, and then look out for the telephone pole with reflectors. Still stumped? Just ask; islanders are always happy to offer directions to the hard-to-find, even-harder-to-forget crescent.
When you get here, you’ll look down and see the blue painted line that marks the tropic’s coordinates. Now look up, and behold the calm blue swath of Caribbean bordered by sugary white sands that silently beg for footprints. I predict it’ll be about 3.4 seconds before you add yours.
Fun fact: The line’s position isn’t fixed, and the Tropic is drifting south at a rate of about half a second of latitude a year. But don’t worry; no matter when you get here, Tropic of Cancer beach will be waiting.
