![The "Bahamian Birthday Hat".](http://photos.travelblog.net/371766/974679/s/9251523-the-quot-bahamian-birthday-hat-quot-0.jpg "The "Bahamian Birthday Hat".")
![Bigger group shot! (Cruisers and "Vacationers")](http://photos.travelblog.net/371766/974679/s/9251510-bigger-group-shot--cruisers-and-quot-vacationers-quot-0.jpg "Bigger group shot! (Cruisers and "Vacationers")")
!["standing" upright...then straight up and "flip"!](http://photos.travelblog.net/371766/974678/s/9251483-quot-standing-quot-upright--then-straight-up-and-quot-flip-quot-0.jpg ""standing" upright...then straight up and "flip"!")
![The "nick" in her tail!](http://photos.travelblog.net/371766/974678/s/9251477-the-quot-nick-quot-in-her-tail-0.jpg "The "nick" in her tail!")
Arawak Indians inhabited the islands when Christopher Columbus first set foot in the New World on San Salvador in 1492. British settlement of the islands began in 1647; the islands became a colony in 1783. Since attaining independence from the UK in ...more history