Bahamas’ Driving scares me (or is that Bohemian?)

This was our first time catching a taxi on our own.

From Bahamas - 2011

Let me first say that it is easy. It is also not that expensive. They charge four dollars a person to transport tourists between the ships and the tourist attractions. It seems to be unofficially officially done. The taxis are not crown vics or four door cars. They are ten person vans and they will squeeze thirteen or fourteen people into them. The AC often does not work and sometimes they don’t open the windows. It can be a hot and stuffy experience.

We walked down the path to the road that runs past the beach. This place is full of taxis. Full to the tune of a hundred or so. A few dozen drivers are milling around. One guy seems to be the organizer. He gathers up groups of eight to ten people as they come off the beach and hands them over to a taxi driver.

From Bahamas - 2011

Our group loaded up. However, our driver swung back by the path to the beach and collected an additional four people. That made for twelve of us. It was cramped driving. Tim suggested that we get out. However, I just wanted back to the ship so my hope was that we would not die on the way there. Also, I didn’t think that any other cab would hold fewer people. 12 people x $4 per person = $48 for one trip. At least the window was open and the air flowed over us at least, which was a relief compared to the hot sweat box we had arrived in.

The Bahamas are left side drive. However, the vehicles are a mixture of right and left hand vehicles. It makes for some random driving. The driver’s are all over the road. The edges of the road are open for business if you need a bit more space. Most of the roads are not made for two vehicles and the corners are tight. On foot, horseback, or motorcycle it would be fine. In a car, its a hairy situation the entire time.

We also avoided the toll going back. When we started winding through back roads and one way streets I felt a bit of a twitch of worry.

From Bahamas - 2011

Like any city, once you move off the main roads it is not such a pretty picture anymore. The shops are very, very worn. It no longer has the festive look of the tourist areas. The island is not a super rich one and many of the people live at a substance living. Yet life is very different. Its calmer and more relaxed. People are just hanging out everywhere. The bars have more locals then tourists in them. It is a different culture. When we saw the ships rearing up out of the port, I felt relief. We slid out of the back streets that had helped us avid the toll.

During our trip we had been passed by an ambulance. The ambulance stopped at the local hospital. I was amused to see that it was named Doctor’s Hospital. That is the name of one of the hospitals my mother worked at for years. I was glad to see them because we had just passed another Taxi driving with the side door open. There were no seatbelts in these things.

From Bahamas - 2011

There are also police departments as well. Instead of being the somber things we are used to seeing they're often brightly painted like all of the other building. Even in green, pink, and white a police station is a police stations. It seems that some of them drive Crown Victoria’s as well. The emergency number is 919. It is 911 in America and 999 in England.

From Bahamas - 2011

From Bahamas - 2011

Jet Skis, Sand and Water

We tried the grill area for lunch this time. I said, “don’t eat to much” and my husband said, “Okay.” I got Mongolian for both of us and he ran off to get a hot dog for himself and a burger for me.

Once I had the Mongolian in hand I found him at a table with hot dogs, burgers and fries. I plunked down the Mongolian and said, “I thought we were not going to get super full?”

“Whoops.”

Lunch was okay. The burgers are pretty good. Not the best thing ever put on a bun, but nice and flavorful if thin. I don’t mind them thin. I take off half of the bun anyway, plus I understand the concept of mass market food and money management. They are going to be just enough and not more. I’ve had Michelin star burgers before and its a different environment and a different comparison. (I still dream about those Michelin star burgers as well, wow) The hot dogs I don’t care for but the husband really enjoys. The fries are super tasty. The Mongolian was not so much. It needed more sauce in my opinion. It wasn’t bad just not great. I will try it again on my next cruise but I did not eat it again on that one. There were better meals available on the ship.

Fuller then we meant to be, we went to change and rest for a little bit before we went to use the jet skis. We had gotten little water wallets. They are plastic with a clamp and a rubber seal. They had stayed dry for our snorkeling and we wore them around our necks to carry our sail and sign cards. We added our photo IDs to the mix. Our swimming clothing looks more like tops and shorts. Its easier then carrying bags for cover ups and such things. On our feet we wore our Vibram Five Fingers. They are all I wear these days and they are excellent beach shoes. My pair for the day were bright blue and yellow and got a lot of attention during the day.

We went and found the Jet Ski place. The off Carnival excursion is a bit more... rugged. We paid, they called the guy to expect them and put a pink band on the husbands wrist with the reservation number. Everyone assumed that we were Jet Sking for the husband and that I might not want to do it with him. I didn’t tell them it was the reverse.

Our cab fare to Paradise Beach was included. Our cab fair back was not.

From Bahamas - 2011

We avoided hawkers for jet skis, beach chairs, umbrellas, water, beer, para sailing and everything else. We found our place and after a brief argument about who was riding and the fact that we wanted to ride double we went out on the jet skis.

From Bahamas - 2011

The husband just wanted to ride. I did a ten minute learn to use the jet ski with its owner and then released us. I will say that for two heavier people, it wallowed a bit. He enjoyed himself. I had fun but I learned that I don’t like having a passenger. I am a motorcycle rider and I refuse to have a passenger on my bike. Now I am even more sure that I will never allow someone to ride behind me on my bike. There is no warm ocean to catch us if we go over. Because he is not a strong swimmer I fretted about him the entire time. We had life vests but I still worried. Then, a strong wave came as I was turning around and off we went.

I was frantic about my husband. I surfaced and found he was right beside me, giggling and holding onto the side of the jet ski with his life vest doing its job. The water was so warm the fall itself wasn’t a shock. Also, the flavor of the water was different from the snorkeling in Freeport. It was not as bitty and nasty saline.

The jet skis owner came and rescued us. The husband went back in and I finished riding around. I will list Jet Skis as a lot of fun. Next time we will each ride our own. I tipped the young man that had been so informative and we laughed over our unexpected plunge into the water.

Now he has a story to tell about how I dumped him in the Ocean.

Sand Sand Everywhere

From Bahamas - 2011

We decided to stay on the beach and play in the water.

From Bahamas - 2011

My idea of beach and ocean is not pleasant. It was limited to Ocean City, Maryland on the east cost. The sand is dirty and full of trash. People like to use drugs on the beach as well and there is a constant worry about strings along with the trash. The water is normally very cold and a murky color. The sand is full of shells and trash and you begin to fear for what you might have stepped on. There are also plenty of jelly fish to top things off.

The beaches and the water in the Caribbean are nothing like that. The beaches are clean if you take away the cans and bottles of drink everywhere. People tuck them into the sand to go play in the water. This is not the best idea that they have ever had. The cans get filled with sand. Beyond this, and the occasional bottle in the water it is very clean. I think people are surprised at how quickly the tide comes in and they get their things stolen from them.

The water is warm. It is warm like a bath is warm. At only a few degrees below your body temperature the feeling is blissful. There is no cold shock to it. Also, it is very, very clear. This helps make things a little bit nicer in an already nice day.

We were already wet from the jet skis. It was a simple matter of going, “Wanna play in the water?” and Tim saying, “Yeah.” We trotted down to the water and plunged in. The water is a lot of fun. Swells come in and the undertow happily drags you out. You can go about fifty feet out before the grounds shifts down a bit more rapidly and you are free swimming. There is a swim line to separate the swimmers from the people on jet skis.

We swam, we played in the waves, we made use of our under water cameras and took photographs of our toe shoes. My Vibram Five Finger’s are an excellent water shoe. You can dig in like you do with yor foot without the discomfort of shells or weird things on your feet.

From Bahamas - 2011

There is also a lot of free floating seaweed in the water. So I took an underwater photo of seaweed on the surface.

From Bahamas - 2011

A group of young men got in a little bit away fro us. I do not think that they expected the water to be as violent as it was. They swam, they splashed around, and one lost his sunglasses after an especially large wave came in and smashed all of us under.

When he realized he had lost his sunglasses he started to panic. It seems that they where a six hundred dollar pair. They all start looking but none are to be found. They asked us if we had seen them and we said no.

I looked. About two waves later I saw them. I lunged for them as the wave hit and got them only to loose them again. A few frantic grabs and I surfaced with a handful of sand and a pair of expensive sunglasses. I waved him down and handed them over. He thanked me profusely and said that if he had a hundred dollar bill he’d give it to me. That made me laugh.

We played for a while longer.

From Bahamas - 2011

It was easy to get dragged around the beach in unexpected directions. We played in the waves and played in the surf and finally, when standing was becoming to much work dragged ourselves out of the water and headed back to the ships.

The Kodak Playsport is a good little camera

From Bahamas - 2011

I'm a bit of a failure at shopping

I was hoping for another sculpture when we ventured into the town.

The Scam: They tell you the necklace is free and thank you for coming to the island

The Reality: They then ask you for a small donation to a charity (a charity which they do not name but its for children)

The fallout: I looked at the guy and say, “That’s how it goes? I’m not interested, take it off.”

“Okay,” he said and removed it. The next one we met I said, “I’ve already heard that song and dance, not interested.”

We went through a few shops. I’m not a shopper so my shopping mostly revolves around finding interesting things that match my taste for decorations. I have several tapestries from Japan for instance and I got my wooden knife owl from Freeport. I wanted another wooden carving and I braved the thickness of the crowd looking for one.

The first place we went was a t-shirt shop where the shirts turn a color in the sunlight. They were cute but nothing really struck my fancy. Next, we went to the straw market. We pushed through the people. The shop keepers are not as aggressive. I wanted some type of wooden bead necklace, but there were so many people it was not worth the aggravation. Plus, many items had made in china labels on them. I wanted the real thing.

We found the sculptures but I was disappointed. The one who had the most interesting items mostly had walking sticks and giant fish. He did have some almost completed turtles but nothing was lacquered. If the turtles had detail I would have grabbed one. As they were, I was not impressed enough to spend my money in it.

I almost got a painting, but nothing struck me as what I really wanted. We decided to walk along the pier back to the ship. On the way back, I found more items that almost got me but not quite. There were painted rocks, and conch shells, starfish and more. Yet, none of them said take me home they just whispered that they would be clutter and attract dust. I did find one lady selling italian ice. She had fruit punch, apple, and I think cherry. It was hot and I love italian ice. I got one in fruit punch and then spent the rest of the walk directing people to her stand as they asked me, “WHERE DID YOU GET THAT” with great excitement.

Here, I discovered one of the buildings we had trotted through on the way to the segway tour was the port control area. We wound up in line and found out that we needed our photo ID as well as our ship card. We had no photo ID with us. We figured that they’d let us on since the ships check us as well and we did have valid ship cards. As we stood in line i passed a sign that said, ‘Jet Skis’. I stopped and asked for a price (70 dollars) and times (until four pm). “We’re doing that after lunch,” I told my husband.

Once we made it to the check point, they looked at our sail and sign cards and waved us through. The guy had more fun making fun of my name with rhymes then anything else. Off we went to the ship for lunch, our photo Ids and plans to change into swimsuits to go and jet ski.

Segways are Amazing

I will never laugh at a Segway again. Instead, I will be consumed by a jealous lust and it will take every ounce of my self control not to knock the operator off and SegwayJack his ride.

When we woke up we had already docked in Nassau. Room service was cereal, coffee, hot tea, and smoked salmon with fruit plates. We ate and woke up. We had slept exceptionally well. We are also not morning people. A note had been slipped under our door that said that we were going to leave port early.

From Bahamas - 2011

Early was midnight instead of seven am. This did not bother us. I’m sure those that planned to party the night away would be frustrated. Considering that there was a category two hurricane forty eight hours away and headed straight for the island, I was not going to complain. Instead, I was going to enjoy the fantastic weather and beautiful scenery and the fact that I was in the Caribbean. I’m a pessimist by nature but I was determined to have a great time and absorb the beauty of my vacation. I didn’t want to be one of those people that complained about everything.

I was a bit frustrated about where to go for the excursion again. This time, we were about twenty minutes early and the little huts were right outside of the ship on the pier. We waited under the Carnival Hut. There were Royal Caribbean huts and Disney Huts as well. As we watched, the Majesty of the Seas came into dock and I got several nice shots of her. A Norwegian Cruise Ship was right beside us. The Fantasy and the Fascination were docked nose to tail. Later, another Royal Caribbean ship came in. In the end, there were six ships in port.

From Bahamas - 2011

From Bahamas - 2011

From Bahamas - 2011

We waited for a bit and a snorkeling trip came and went. I’ve learned that the excursions leave on time and I will try not to be thirty minutes early anymore. However, some people managed to get turned around. A snorkel trip had left about ten minutes before. I was debating how I wished we had plotted in another snorkel trip when a group appeared. I heard them say, “Where is everyone for snorkeling?” and chatting among themselves.

I turned around and said, “One just left for catamaran snorkeling.”

“That is what we had.” The group was six people. The three husbands went to the carnival employee who was kind of organizing everything. The women stayed by all huffy. A moment later one of the men came back and said, “They just left.”

“You can catch them around the other side,” said the Carnival employee. “That is where they leave from and they would not yet be gone.”

“We just came from there!” The men exclaimed. “We got directed over there and when we got there they sent us here. Now you want to send us back?”

“You can catch them.”

“I can’t walk anymore,” said one of the women. “We’ll just go shopping and you three go.”

“We want a refund,” said one of the men.

“We don’t provide refunds for this situation, Sir,” said the employee. “Its in your excursion contract.”

One woman makes a huffy sigh and goes, “Michael, take care of it.”

At that time our guide showed up. The husband and I retreated from that group to pick up our wavers and such. As we headed out, we caught up with the group who was not going to snorkle and were very pissed.

Our guide led us through some buildings, down some streets, and eventually to a cab. She chatted out instructions about paying attention to our Segways, our wheels, and that our driver would be ‘Reggie’ and that ‘Reggie’ would drop us back off so not to ride with anyone else. She was chatting with Reggie the entire time on a walkie talkie. Our group was only four people, total, so we moved fast and found ourselves in a hot taxi driven by Reggie who didn’t believe in opening windows or running the air conditioning.

It was about eight minutes to the Segway place. Reggie was a very aggressive driver and we clung to the vehicle. The Segway place was behind a tattered building with a narrow and full parking lot. We were dropped off and kind of wandered over, puzzled. However, things improved quickly.

The orientation talk was about 5 minutes while we got on helmets, elbow and knee pads. They gave us a bottle of water to put in the bag on the Segway. Since our group was so small, we each got someone to work with us through the first uncertain moments of using a Segway. It took me about two minutes to relax and enjoy it. The husband, about ten. It is easy, it is fun, and it was incredible.

They let us play around their field for about fifteen minutes. They have a little obstacle course they ran us over that mimicked various terrain surfaces we would deal with as well as obstacle avoidance. Obstacles include each other. That was fun. I can envision myself jousting on these.

They took our pictures. Pictures were available after for 15 dollars for one and 20 for two. Cheaper then prices on the ship, that.

The tour was fun. We went through town, pass the free beaches, shops, dining, and headed to some of the inner island areas. We got some history and some of the local vibe. We then played in a field, did some race obstacle courses, and headed back. We had a fantastic time. I want a Segway like nothing else. I will now, always look for Segway tours when I go places. Its a great time, you cover a lot of area and don’t worry about sore feet. Our guide was fantastic. We tipped him.

From Bahamas - 2011

From Bahamas - 2011

When we got back, Reggie was in a bit of a panic. He almost dragged us back into the van. We managed to buy our pictures and tip our guide before we were in the hot van and headed back to the ship.

This is where the experience loses a bit of shine for me. Reggie drove like a mad creature, screamed and honked at people, muttered and cursed, and finally dumped us about four blocks away from where we were supposed to be because traffic was to heavy.

Whatever. Screw Reggie. Segways rock.

From Bahamas - 2011