Originally published Sunday, November 6, 2005

GREAT EXUMA, Bahamas -- On Sunday afternoons they arrive by the boatload, locals and yachters and a handful of guests from the tony Four Seasons. Kahlik beers in hand, they nibble on conch salad - ``Bahamian Viagra,'' says Pedro the conch man - while waiting for the ribs and chicken to finish barbecuing on the massive grill. Guests cool their feet in a sea so blue you think somebody spilled the Tidy Bowl and indulge in the directive demanded by this breezy bar's name: Chat & Chill.

``I haven't been to the Exumas in years,'' says one Chicagoan with relatives on Great Exuma. ``Lord, I'd forgotten how glorious it is.''

If you've been to Nassau and think you've seen the Bahamas, you're in for a mind bend. Far from the glitz of Paradise Island lie the Out Islands - the less known, less visited, less stressed ``family isles'' where the pace is easy, the locals are friendly, shoes are optional and the Kahlik never stops.

Endless sandy beaches, spectacular snorkeling and fishing, and a sense of ``being away from the crowds'' led Florida native Gary Herick to fall in love with the Out Islands on frequent visits during his youth. Now a Denver stockbroker, Herick and his partners in Black Pearl Ventures are among a growing number of developers lured by pristine beauty, proximity to the U.S. and a Bahamian government looking to spread tourism, it's No. 1 industry, to its less-visited quarters.

During the past half-dozen years, small hotels big on charm and cuisine have opened throughout the archipelago, including Tiamo Resort and Kamalame Cay in Andros, Rock House in Harbour Island, Pineapple Fields on Eleuthra, Sammy T's Beach Resort on Cat Cay, Dolphin Beach Resort on Great Guana Cay, Palm Bay Beach Club in the Exumas. But for many upscale travelers, the Out Islands hit the radar screen with the opening in November 2003 of the Four Seasons Exuma, a 219-unit resort with manicured grounds, golf, spa, gracious guest rooms and first-class service rarely seen in the Bahamas, where surliness was once a serious problem.

Earlier this year, Peter de Savary opened The Abaco Club at Winding Bay. Celeb watchers know de Savary as the British shipping magnate who created the Carnegie Club at Skibo Castle, where Madonna was married.

De Savary is drawing a similar well-heeled crowd to The Abaco Club, featuring a Scottish links course designed by Donald Steel, tennis courts, fishing boat, beach club, a small spa and horse-riding stables set on 520 lushly-landscaped acres. Memberships - 90 percent refundable - cost $75,000 plus $4,000 annual dues; airy turn-key cottages start at $1.75 million and home sites at $875,000. Thirty-nine of 60 lots have already sold.

Also underway: Cotton Bay Villas in Eleuthra, featuring a luxury Starwood resort and private homes; several second-home/condo-hotel developments in the Exumas, including the Four Seasons Residences, and February Point, where Black Pearl is selling fractional ownerships. Announced: A 250-room Conrad hotel on Bimini, due to open in late 2008, with a condo phase to follow.

Rumors about other resorts and second-home developments flit around like money bats, the giant black moths that visit here in late summer. A Ritz Carlton and an Aman resort are said to be on the way, though neither company would confirm. As in South Florida, some planned developments may never break ground, suspect insiders.

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