The Bahamas (that's with a capital "T") is one of the most geographically complicated nations of the Atlantic. A coral-based archipelago, it is composed of more than 700 islands, 2,000 cays (pronounced "keys," from the Spanish word for small islands), and hundreds of rocky outcroppings that have damaged the hulls of countless ships since colonial days.

The Commonwealth of The Bahamas came into being in 1973 after centuries of colonial rule. After Great Britain granted The Bahamas internal self-rule in 1964, the fledgling nation adopted its own constitution but chose not to sever its ties with its motherland. It has remained in the Commonwealth, with the British monarch as its head of state. In the British tradition, The Bahamas has a two-house Parliament, a ministerial cabinet headed by a prime minister, and an independent judiciary. The queen appoints a Bahamian-general to represent the Crown.

Today the government and various investors are pumping money into the tourism infrastructure, especially on Paradise Island, across from Nassau, as well as Freeport/Lucaya on Grand Bahama Island. Cruise ship tourism continues to increase, and a more upscale crowd is coming back after abandoning The Bahamas for many years in favor of other Caribbean islands such as St. Barts and Anguilla.

When Hubert Ingraham became prime minister in 1992, he launched the country down the long road toward regaining its market share of tourism, which under Prime Minister Lynden Pindling had seen a rapid decline. Exit polls revealed some first-time visitors vowing never to return to The Bahamas under the administration of the notorious Pindling, whose government had taken over a number of hotels and failed to maintain them properly.

Ingraham recognized that the government wasn't supposed to be in the hospitality business and turned many properties back over to the professionals. After a painful slump, tourism in the post-Pindling era is booming again in The Bahamas, and more than 1.6 million visitors from all over the world now flock here annually. In the capital of Nassau, it's easy to see where money is being spent: on new air terminals, widened roads, repaved sidewalks, underground phone cables, massive landscaping, sweeping esplanades, a cleanup campaign, and additional police officers walking the beat to cut down on crime.

Unlike Haiti and Jamaica, The Bahamas has remained politically stable and made the transition from minority white rule to black majority rule with relatively little tension.

And economic conditions have slowly improved here. You do not see the wretched poverty in Nassau that you see in, say, Kingston, Jamaica, though many poor residents do still live on New Providence Island's "Over-the-Hill" section, an area where few tourists venture to visit (although the neighborhood is gritty and fascinating).

Nassau really is the true The Bahamas. You'd think a city so close to the U.S. mainland would have been long since overpowered by American culture. Yet, except for some fast-food chain outlets, American pop music, and Hollywood films, Nassau retains a surprising amount of its traditionally British feel. (By contrast, Freeport/Lucaya on Grand Bahama Island has become almost completely Americanized, with little British aura or Bahamian tradition left.)

The biggest changes have occurred in the hotel sector. Sun International has vastly expanded its Atlantis property on Paradise Island, turning it into a virtual waterworld. Several new restaurants have opened, replacing older establishments that had grown tired over the years. The Hilton interests have developed the decaying old British Colonial in Nassau, restoring it to life.

And Grand Bahama Island is in an interesting state of flux. Hotels along the entire Lucayan strip are being either built from scratch or upgraded; the fabled Royal Oasis Golf Resort and Casino in Freeport is experiencing a renaissance under new owners.

If there's a downside to this boom, it's the emphasis on megahotels and casinos -- and the corresponding lack of focus on the Out Islands. Large resort chains, with the exception of Four Seasons, have ignored these islands; most continue to slumber away in relative seclusion and poverty. Four Seasons opened a huge new megaresort with an 18-hole golf course in 2003, but other development has been minor, so the Out Islands remain drowsy. Their very lack of progress will continue to attract a certain breed of adventurous explorer, the one who shuns the resorts and casinos of Paradise Island, Cable Beach, and Freeport/Lucaya. Little change in this Out Islands-versus-the-rest situation is anticipated until well into the new millennium.

There's another interesting trend to note here. After a long slumber, the government and many concerned citizens of The Bahamas have awakened to eco-tourism. More than any government in the Caribbean, except perhaps Bonaire, this nation is trying to protect its natural heritage. If nothing else, its residents realize doing this will be good for tourism, because many visitors come to The Bahamas precisely for a close encounter with nature.

Government, private companies, and environmental groups have drawn up a national framework of priorities to protect the islands. One of their first goals was to save the nearly extinct West Indian flamingo. Today, nearly 80,000 flamingos inhabit the Island of Great Inagua. Equally important programs aim to prevent the extinction of the green turtle, the white-crowned pigeon, the Bahamian parrot, and the New Providence iguana.

Although tourism and the environment are bouncing back, many problems still remain for this archipelago nation. While some Bahamians seem among the friendliest and most hospitable people in the world, others -- particularly those in the tourist industry -- can be downright hostile. To counter this, the government is working to train its citizens to be more helpful, courteous, and efficient. Sometimes this training has been taken to heart; at other times, however, it still clearly has not. Service with a smile is still not assured in The Bahamas.

Drug smuggling remains a serious problem, and regrettably there seems to be no immediate solution. Because the country is so close to U.S. shores, it is often used as a temporary depot for drugs shipped from South America to Florida. The Bahamas previously developed a tradition of catering to the illicit habits of U.S. citizens, as well; during the heyday of Prohibition, long before cocaine, marijuana, and heroin were outlawed, many Bahamians grew rich smuggling rum into the United States. Things have improved, but you'll still see stories in the newspapers about floating bales of marijuana turning up in the sea just off The Bahamas's coastline and such.

Though this illicit trade rarely affects the casual tourist, it's important to know that it is a factor here -- and so, armed with this knowledge, don't agree to carry any packages to or from the U.S. for a stranger while you're visiting. You could end up taking a much longer vacation on these islands than you had ever imagined!