“Let Bahama Papa Make You His Bahama Mama”

What fascinated me most about the Bahamas was the attitude of the local men. Bahamian men are the incredibly friendly and amusing!  

I thought that Spaniards are the only ones who’d dare to call after girls in the streets, but Bahamians are even braver! “Enjoying the Bahamas, ladies?” was their playful way of saying hello.  

And although Eva found their comments annoying, I thought they were just being sociable in a manner that is very typical for cultures of these low latitudes. Spanish men’s whistling, I argued with Eva, is always sexually charged; it makes a woman feel revered and wanted.  Bahamians, on the other hand, call after girls simply to attract their attention and to make them smile at their rather silly jokes. Let me illustrate with a story:  

The jet ski guy at Cable Beach promised me, "the lady in green," a free ride next time! But riding what?

 

 

  

Eva was already lying on the beach while I was still struggling to put my towel on the sand without letting the wind blow it off.  

“Beautiful, let me show you what we in the Bahamas do for our ladies,” said a local guy we had never seen before. He brought four stones and with them weighted down the four corners of my towel. He did help!  

Then he sat between me and Eva and started chatting with us! Are we enjoying ourselves in the Bahamas, did we like the sun, which was our hotel and room, he asked. Would we like to stay with him in the Bahamas and become his Bahama mamas?  

 Eva did not tolerate his humor and tried to hiss him away: “HELL NOOO! We aren’t telling you anything!” Her fierce temperament only motivated and entertained him even more! He winked at me and continued to tease her and “hit on” her.  I found the situation hilarious! All his comments were obvious jokes: playful, but not disturbing at all in my opinion. Basically, he spent twenty minutes maddening her and making me giggle. It was his lunch break, and I guess this is how he likes to pass his time: by making silly talk with foreign white girls.  

Finally, he told another local passer-by that he’d pay him to take Eva to lunch, so that he and I could be left in private (because I was the one who got his jokes).  At this point, even Eva couldn’t pretend she was annoyed and burst out laughing!  

So the moral is, Bahamian men are some silly Don Juans! They are hilarious and I love it!  

Bahamian with Jamaican flavour taking Junkanoo Beach sand off the streets