Not to be confused with the beach by the same name in Florida, Coco Plum Beach was my favorite beach on the island of Great Exuma, and easily the most beautiful beach I have ever visited as an adult, the other being one I went to as a child in the Caribbean.

Several things make Coco Plum Beach the best on my list: It’s remote and deserted, it’s pristine, and the water is unparalleled: warm and crystal-clear, with sandbars that stretch out like long slender arms reaching across a barren sea.

At low tide, the water arrives ankle-deep in parts, and to the shins in others. With the sand so soft and powder-white, the water looks like a swimming pool. The sun sparkles on its surface, illuminating the shallow depths. On one day, I walked all the way to a small island: a craggy outcrop in the sea, mostly covered with shrubs and rocks, and a small sandy beach. I had to swim the last 30 yards or so, but only because I could barely touch the bottom with my toes. Once there, I walked to the other side and took in the view: A reef separated the small island from the open sea. Then, not wanting to get caught in the rising tide and currents, I headed back to Coco Plum Beach, swimming a ways before climbing back up the sandbar and wading through the water which now arrived at my waist. It was exhilarating. Not another soul was in sight, except for my family who had remained on the beach.

The beach with its sandbars is also known for sand dollars lying half-buried on the shallow sandy floor. We must have found over 100 of them. It was like searching for treasure! We let the live ones go, and kept only those whose occupants had long since departed their delicate shells.

This beach was by far the highlight of my visit. All the sparkling, unspoiled beauty of the island is captured by this long stretch of deserted white sand fringed with shrubs and low pines on one side, and crystalline water on the other. That’s all. No people, no shacks, no venders, no concession stands, no music. It is totally unspoiled and intensely romantic for those who are enchanted by natural beauty and things untouched by civilization.

It is truly something like the Blue Lagoon, only better because of the sandbars. There is a haunting beauty about remote places. A secluded splendor. They are steeped in solitude and seem to unleash one’s vivid imagination.

It certainly did for mine.