Rolling down the runway

In my dreams, perhaps I could be a beach bum. In real life, though, I just can’t bring myself to just sit and lounge for hours on end, no matter how nice the surroundings. So before too long, I’m up from the beach chair and itching to explore.

Bob and I have talked about taking the tram down to Serenity Bay, the adults-only beach. He and Linda have been there before. They describe it as nice and quiet, with of course lots fewer people. The water, they say, doesn’t slope off from the shore quite as quickly as on the west shore of the island where the other cruiser beaches are – you can wade out a hundred feet and the water won’t be up to your knees.

Frankly, there’s not a lot about Serenity Bay that appeals to me, except for the fact that I haven’t seen it. So Bob and I plan on going to visit. Linda offers to stay and keep an eye on Brandon and Benjamin, but Becky’s quite content to stay on her lounge chair, so Linda comes with us instead.

The “Palm Central Station” tram stop is just down the walkway. On the way I pass the main eating area, Cookie’s BBQ, which I’d not seen before – I’d never been past the family beach, since we abandoned the island before lunch on our first trip because of the weather.

We stand around for a while waiting on the tram. There’s a sign that says that the tram comes around every 12 minutes, but qualifies that with the parenthetical “(Bahamian time!).” No worries – it’s a beautiful spot to wait, with sprays of colorful tropical flowers in bloom around us.

After about 15 minutes the tram arrives, a smaller version of the other tram, and we hop on board.

While I am interested in seeing Serenity Bay, I’m also curious about the path that the tram takes. For after we wind through a paved tramway bordered by dense foliage, we turn onto a wide, straight, long drive that takes us the rest of the way. This is Castaway Cay’s airstrip. I’ve landed and taken off from this runway many times – on Microsoft Flight Simulator! (Castaway Cay’s ICAO identifier is “MXYB,” in case you want to go there yourself.) It’s pretty wild to see it in person.

I’m almost certain this used to be an asphalt airstrip, one that Disney even painted with “CASTAWAY CAY” in large letters after they acquired the island. Now, however, they’ve covered it with sand. Interesting. It’s still very usable as an airstrip when needed, but I guess it fits the uninhabited island motif a little better? I’m not sure.

We pass an abandoned (?) twin-engine airplane halfway down the runway -- and a wooden sign reading "Beware of Low-Flying Planes"! Another airplane is parked at the end of the ride, covered in foliage, beside the entrance to Serenity Bay.