Lee Stocking Island

Who doesn't want to visit an abandoned town, especially one located on a remote island of the Bahamas? To see how it would look if everyone suddenly abandoned a settlement? We certainly did, and with limited information, we set out to do just that. Thinking we knew what to expect, what we found was something different entirely. Think post-apocalyptic movie set, but with a scientific twist. 

Lee Stocking Island was home to the Perry Institute for Marine Science. A once thriving scientific community making advances in marine science and research. From their website, perryinstitute.org:

John H. Perry Jr., Caribbean Research Center
Our research center on Lee Stocking Island is located in a remote area of the Exuma Cays, and it provides the ideal environment to observe, study, educate and inspire. The location was selected as a long-term research site and field station for two reasons - its proximity to the U.S. and the incredible variety of untouched marine habitats that surround the island. Scientists can take a 10-minute boat ride east to explore deep-water sea life off the Exuma Sound, where the ocean floor plunges 3,000 feet, or a 10-minute boat ride west to the shallow-water ecosystems of patch reefs.

The laboratory is one of the largest and most productive science field stations in the entire Caribbean region. And the field station is highly regarded by the most esteemed research institutions in the U.S. and abroad. 

PIMS began in 1970 by John Perry after being appointed by President Johnson to chair the new Marine Science Commission from 1968-1970. Mr. Perry was instrumental in the creation of NOAA. Read more about the history of the PIMS here: Perry Institute - History

Shortly after his death in 2006, PIMS lost their federal funding and the center was closed. What was once a place "dedicated to making a difference by protecting our oceans.", is now a wasteland of trash, chemicals, plastics, and pollutants that will negatively affect the very oceans they were once trying to preserve. But I digress. I'll get back to that later.

We anchored in the old mooring field, opting not to use the existing mooring lines per the advice of previous visiting captains. We had three other anchored boats in our little bay, right off the main part of the now defunct institute. 

We couldn't wait to get to shore and explore. From the boat, we could see many buildings that looked fully functional, so we were sure we would find it occupied once ashore.

We were wrong.

Walking down the empty roads, we went from building to building, inspecting. All the while, waiting for someone to walk out of one and ask us what we were doing there. In most of the buildings, it seemed as if somehow, everyone just vanished. Other buildings looked as if someone had tried to move out the contents but ran out of room in the moving truck and had to leave items behind. Exhibit 1, the dive center, complete with a decompression chamber. Yes, that's right, a DECOMPRESSION CHAMBER. That definitely wasn't going to fit into the moving truck!

Terrifying, right? We found it this way.

In the main house, we found a painted map of the island. This was an amazing discovery as it gave us the layout of the island and an idea of what each building once was.

There were several empty houses on the island. From the "Pink house" to the "Bahama house", the "Conch cottage" and even Mr. Perry's old house on the northern end of the island. Each house offered up it's own amazing view of paradise. 

Note the Christmas lights still hanging

Mr. Perry's house sits atop the northern point, overlooking Exuma Sound

The houses, like all the other buildings, sat abandoned and neglected. Vandalized by uncaring visitors and the harsh Bahamian weather. Any one of them, with a little bit of hard work, could once again be a beautiful home. We felt almost angry at the waste. Along our walk down the stone and paved roads, we found their "Home Depot", the hangar next to their airstrip and their junk yard. 

Home depot and workshop

The junk yard

The airstrip

We followed a path that led up a hill to a huge wind turbine. Now covered in vines and rusting apart. Next to it were the now-empty tankers that supplied the generator which powered the island. Steve couldn't help but have a little fun. 

Wind Turbine folded down.

We stumbled across the lab and storage shed, both full to the top with dangerous chemicals, thousands of pieces of plastic, Styrofoam, and glass. Hydrochloric acid, acetone, and chloroform to name a few. Pretty nasty stuff and here it sits, waiting to wash down into the beautiful blue waters the scientists once lived to protect. 

I wonder if this would make these Doctors proud?

The government cut their funding. I get it, war is expensive. I'm not getting into the politics of this or placing blame on either party, but there has to be an end-game plan. As a large non-profit agency, you have to have a plan if all those millions stop coming. How can anyone who truly cares about the environment, who, by their own words, is "dedicated to making a difference by protecting our oceans" leave this as the legacy of Mr. Perry. Shame. It's a damn shame.

Enough of all the negative. The anger and sadness I felt, and still do, will be why it's my number 2 spot. But there is a reason this was Steve's number 1 spot on our trip and it's easy to see why. First I will say that for Steve, this place will forever be known as the island we will live on when the zombies attack. We'll have everything we need and zombie's can't swim. But lets get to the real reason. Look at these views.

Around every turn was a new crescent beach. White sand, gentle waves lapping up to the shore. Incredible coral reefs just offshore and the waters filled with wonderful sea life. We had a resident nurse shark that would come swim under us when we were swimming around the boat. She floated along, back and forth, as if she wanted to join in on the fun. Happy to have visitors and new friends. Did I mention she was at least 5 foot long, a big girl. Along with her, we had several giant eagle rays, Nassau grouper, grunts, conch, snapper and so much more. With the crystal clear water, you can see all of them clearly. 

On the southern end of the island, is the trail to Perry's Peak. The highest elevation in the Exumas at 123 feet above sea level, there is a breathtaking view. See for yourself.

Lee Stocking Island. The place were we celebrated Jake's 17th birthday. We made new boating friends. We scaled Perry's Peak. The island where we'll live when the zombies come. The place where we all saw the Southern Cross for the first time. A once beautiful island community, where for but a brief moment, we sat on the deck of the remains of a beautiful home, looking at an amazing view and pretending for that moment, that we were the lucky ones who lived in this paradise. 

From our Skeye app