10 days in Nassau

10 days in Nassau

We had a great night’s sleep at anchor in Nassau harbor, but we found ourselves drifting a bit in the morning. The holding in Nassau harbor isn’t very good and we had heard this from a couple we had met at the Columbus day Regatta. They had spent a mostly horrible week in high winds at Nassau harbor. They told stories of barges breaking loose and sweeping through the harbor leaving some cruisers boatless. “Nothing you could do, it’s just luck-of-the-draw” they said. Now, I say "mostly horrible" because somehow they managed to conceive a child in-between all the action, but as a testament to the true gravity of the situation the child was named “Summer Storm”. A great story, I'm not making this up, and just to side track things a little, look up Summer Storm on You-tube. She happens to be a great singer.

Eva and Hadrian as we entered Atlantis marina.

As we had promised he kids, the very next morning we hailed Atlantis Marina on the radio and requested a slip. Entry to the water park was included in the cost of the marina. The kids were in heaven…at least for now.

The water park at Atlantis is world class, as good or better as any in Orlando “sans the lines”. We all ran from ride to ride, no waiting. I liked the “Lazy River” the best, you just sit in an inner tube, and let the current take you around the entire park.

The aquarium at Atlantis is just mesmerizing. It is about the size of a Walmart and viewed through an extensive maze of glass tunnels about 10 feet in diameter. The collection of specimens is amazing, mostly Caribbean sea life. You've got huge sharks and grouper, schools of 20 pound jacks, yellowtails, chubs…you name it!

Joaquin, Eva and Hadrian viewing the aquarium.

The aquarium at Atlantis.

Marie got Eva and Hadrian to pose for a picture before hitting the park.

 

Sometimes I think that these two really believe that they are royalty.

Atlantis Marina was really sweet, but while the rest of the Bahamas runs on island time, these guys didn’t get the memo. Their bills do come in a “New York minute”, and they were high. Yeah it was time to face reality and move to a cheaper marina while I did my monthly run to Honduras for a day. It actually takes me 2 days due to travel time. However, I managed to program in an overnight stay in Miami to catch-up on some shopping, so I would be away for 3 days. Ours friends Bill and Connie back home had recommended Nassau Harbor Marina just past the 2 big bridges that connect Atlantis to New Providence, at about half the price, it fit the bill. Nassau harbor was easy on us. We had water and power, and across the street we had a strip mall with movie rentals, Dairy Queen, Domino’s Pizza, and a grocery store. The next few days saw us exploring sights like the old forts that once defended Nassau from pirates. I was surprised at how small the forts were.

Fort Fincastle.

Fort Montague.

A carved marble plaque on Fort Montague.

We visited gardens, and a pirate museum, it was a well needed break for us. The days just drifted by, in an uneventful way that makes it hard to recollect or write about.

If Eva could only do this at will??

There was not too much clearance to spare as we passed under the bridges to Paradise Island.

It is time to leave the comforts of civilization and sail south to ports unknown