My name is Enrique, but my friends call me Rico. I work in the shipping department of the Bahamian Rum Factory. We make rum from the sugarcane that is grown on these islands. Then we ship it throughout the world. My wife, Chandra makes a little extra money by braiding hair for tourists. Many tourists visit the Bahamas because of our beautiful beaches.

Our son, Andros just turned 16. He was named after one of the islands in the Bahamas – did you know there are over 700 islands in the Bahamas?. Like most teenagers, he seems to live in a different world. Last year he let his hair grow so long that I thought I had a daughter! Then, one day, he came home and said he was going to be a pirate. "Oh my," I thought. "What's next for these kids?"

I didn't realize he meant he was going to play a pirate in a movie. You see, they are filming "Pirates of the Caribbean: Deadman's Chest" in the Bahamas and needed extras (meaning more people to fill the scenes in the movie). Jeremy saw an ad in the paper that said: "Wanted: Pirate & Sailor types to work as extras in a movie. We are interested in tall young men with long hair. It's even better if you have a beard or missing teeth."  Well, good thing they weren’t serious about missing teeth! 

It was no surprise that Pirates of the Caribbean was being filmed in the Bahamas.  Hollywood long ago discovered the Bahamas as the perfect tropical getaway for filmmaking.  Some past blockbusters filmed in the Bahamas include The Outsider, Silence of the Lambs, Cocoon I & II, Flipper, Splash, Never Say Never Again, Zeus and Roxanne, Jaws the Revenge and even Speed 2!  Looks like the secret to movie success is out!

Sure enough, the ships called Black Pearl and Flying Dutchman are anchored in the harbor. I was very proud of Andros.  He learned a lot from working on the movie set, but more importantly, he helped teach the American actors about the Bahamian history, life and culture!  He shared with them how the Bahamas have the clearest waters in the world, with visibility of over 200 feet!  It’s no wonder so many people love to snorkel and SCUBA dive in the Bahamas!

The movie filming was over the winter holidays (which is still nice and warm in the Bahamas), so all the actors and production crew got to experience “Junkanoo” for the very first time.  Junkanoo is often compared to Carnival in Rio or Mardi Gras in New Orleans.  It is a colorful and unique Bahamian parade held on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. What fun the actors had dancing and singing – Bahamas style!

The Bahamian culture made such an impression on the famous actor, Johnny Depp, that he now owns a private island retreat here.  Other famous people who own a home in the Bahamas include Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage, Shakira, Michael Jordon, Oprah Winfrey, Tiger Woods, and Bill Gates.  We’ve never seen any of these famous people around town, but Andros always keeps a lookout for his next adventure!

Map of the Bahamas. Nassau is the Capital.