For an island population of only a couple hundred we counted at least half a dozen churches in town, animated sermons and choir singing audible as we passed by. Late model cars filled the church parking lots and worshipers wore their finest despite the tropical temps, men in dark suits and women in fancy dresses. The Roman Catholic and Anglican churches were the largest and most impressive (see photos); there were also Baptist, Church of God of Prophecy, Kingdom Ministries, and others we can't recall.

In addition to a few shops we passed several small government office buildings. Half the population must be civil servants, there were so many of them. The other half must work at the resorts and shops, as there didn't appear to be any other signs of commerce. The island consists mostly of sand and salt marshes, not much arable land.

We smiled and said hello to everyone we saw and they all answered in kind, but nobody initiated a greeting, unusual for such a small place. Most inhabited, pastel-colored houses were in good shape but there were quite a few deserted ones slowly being reclaimed by nature.

Considering there were just a couple of lanes in the little village, they were remarkably well signed. The First Avenue and Deveaux Street intersection caught our attention (see photo), as Devaux was Burger's maternal grandmother's name, of French Huguenot origin. The other intersection was at First Avenue and Queen's Highway, amusingly pretentious for the sandy beach road.

As in all the Bahamian islands, the original native peoples were replaced by European colonials who brought in slaves to work their plantations, but when the poor soil and harsh living conditions led to their demise, the slaves were abandoned to their fate. Today's population are their descendants, and the poignant words on a large framed illustrated sign commemorating island history reflect their continuing struggle to reconcile the past with the present:

"... the salvific Cross of Jesus Christ, marking the first landfall in the New World by Christopher Columbus on 12 October 1492, reminds us that the greatest benefit of the arrival of the Europeans was the gift of Christianity, even though the Church's representatives were culpable in the genocide of many peoples in the Americas and the institution of slavery but has served to guide us towards becoming communities of love."

"... Watling's Castle reminds us of the experience of colonialism and plantation slavery and our continuing effort as a people to rise from the ruins of the institution of slavery to a free and sovereign people aware of our history and our national potential."