If you still think Sean Connery was the best movie James Bond (and he was), then you will remember the movie Thunderball. Some of that movie was filmed in the Bahamas. Near the area called Big Majors Spot (yes that is really the name) there is a spectacular natural feature named Thunderball Grotto where part of the movie was filmed. It’s not a huge place, but it is spectacularly beautiful and at the same time somewhat spooky. It’s also a popular spot for day tours for groups from resorts and cruise ships, so it can be a busy place. It’s also very close to the “swimming pig island” which is also a popular tour boat stop.
Words cannot do it justice, but perhaps we can give you a bit of a feel for it…
Thunderball Grotto is inside of a small island, and there are three inlets to get inside it as well as large holes on the sides and in the top. This allows light to come in from many directions creating bright lights on the coral walls, deep shadows in some places and many nooks and crannies for fish, crustaceans and if you are James Bond – for bad guys to hide. Depending on the tide level, you have to dive below the surface of the water to get through some of the rocky overhangs and swim through the holes to get inside.
This is one of the entranceways into the Grotto
When we were there one of the tour groups was jumping through the hole in the “roof” and splashing into the water within the grotto. When we first entered the grotto we did not know this and the first one scared the crap out of me. The entrance we came through was a bit eerie with many places where large predator fish like barracuda, rays and sharks could easily lurk waiting to shoot out and make the hapless humans scream. So I had just passed through the inlet and surfaced inside the grotto and out of the corner of my eye I see this streak shoot down from the top and then hear and feel the percussion of something very large exploding in the water. I got a good shot of adrenaline and was about to climb up on the rocks when I realized that it was only a very large tourist jumping through the hole in the roof into the water. He was followed by a few more and then the tour guide herded them out of the grotto and back to their boat. There were now only a few people and we savored just floating with our snorkeling gear and watching the light patterns change and the many fish for whom the grotto is home. There were a ton of fish in the grotto and in the reefs outside surrounding the little island. They were very curious and swam right up to MB’s camera hoping to find something to eat.
David snorkeling inside the grotto
David swimming out of the Grotto through one of the three entrances
One thing we never get tired of is the remarkable Bahamas water. The color is too perfect to be believed, and depending on the depth and the type of bottom (sand, grass, rock) ranges from almost clear to a deep “noxema” blue in the deep ocean. Most of the water in between the islands is a clearish, greenish, bluish color. I know that makes no sense, but it is very hard to put a label on it. The grotto, like many things under the water here is drenched with a wonderful blueish greenish light. It is just gorgeous.
Well we did not see James or Sean, but we had a nice visit in this very cool place. By the way, after our first visit 2 years ago we bought the DVD for Thunderball. The Grotto is only in the movie for one short scene, but it is recognizable.
Thanks for reading,
David and Mary Beth
P.S. MB will post a video of snorkeling in the Grotto on FB.
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