A beach within reach

Purring up the heavily shaded lane, and then inching ever so carefully around the hairpin turn, the black stretch limo pulled to a stop.

"Miz Jarvie?" the driver inquired as he sidled out, not a hair out of place although his rig certainly was.

The luxury car and driver, sent from the Disney-like Atlantis resort, were in shocking contrast to the small, family-run inn where we had just spent four days. Embarrassment mixed with glee as my family clambered inside and we left simplicity behind for three days of opulence. It seemed garish, but perfect all the same.

The Bahamas is a study in contrasts -- money, casinos, resorts and celebrities exist alongside fishing shacks where you can eat fresh conch salad washed down by a bottle of local Kalik beer. A few blocks back from the sunburned skin, hair braids and flowered shirts of the tourists, hundreds of years of history are alive in the smiling but guarded faces of the Bahamians.

Arawak Indians settled in the Bahamas, a pretty collection of 700 islands in the Caribbean, around the ninth century. Christopher Columbus landed briefly in 1492. The islands later attracted pirates and rum runners, American colonists and slaves.

During the Second World War, the islands housed an air and sea station, but have since evolved into a playground for the rich. The Bahamas attracts its share of celebrities and high rollers with its luxury hotels, casinos and internationally renowned restaurants.

The original Mr. Bond, Sean Connery, lives in a private enclave on the west end of New Providence Island, while former Playboy playmate Anna Nicole Smith lived in the eastern end until her death last year. Unofficial taxi tours still take tourists to her gravesite and former home.

Bad-boy rocker Tommy Lee spinned his tunes as a guest DJ at a nightclub here in December and former NBA great Michael Jordan is expected back this month in a $25,000-a-night Atlantis Resort suite for his annual celebrity golf invitational.