How I Went to the Bahamas and Didn't get Sunburned

One word-
The weather.

The water in the ocean is supposed to be gently rolling. The palms are supposed to be gently wafting in the breeze.
Nope-not this time.
We had near gale force winds for the first three days we were there. I tried to wear some of my beachie skirts but in the best interest of preserving my modesty, I decided to forgo wearing them. Watching my skirt fly over my head is not a fun spectator sport. We got rained on a lot too.

But even though the weather was nasty, the place is GORGEOUS!

We stayed at the Atlantis Resort-yep, it looks just like in the commercials. We didn't stay in this building. We spent a day wandering around the resort.  We spent over 5 hours just walking the trails and we didn't even see all of it! They have shuttle buses taxiing people all over the resort. The whole place is over 400 acres!

They have an AMAZING salt water aquarium with sharks, stingrays, sea turtles and all sorts of assorted fishies. I don't know if you can tell, but the sting ray was HUGE and that grouper is one giant fish!

And uh yea.....there's lots and lots of money. This was one of the yachts "parked" in the marina. How 'bout your own private helicopter to take you to shore if you are bored out at sea?

We spent one day touring Nassau. It is definitely a third world country. This photo is a water pump where the locals in the "hood" can get their drinking water, cleaning water, etc. They may have no indoor plumbing in this neighborhood, but somebody sure drives a nice car!

But the people are all warm and friendly and I loved how sharp the police officers looked in their uniforms. This guy was directing traffic, and believe me, traffic was crazy. The use of the car horn is a requirement to get around I think. It is a warning, a greeting and a general, get out of the way sound. And because the country was under the jurisdiction of the UK, they all drive on the left side of the road.  A little disconcerting, the saying goes, "left side is right side, right side-suicide....." All the government buildings were painted pink and white, the police station was green and white and if it was another color, well it was a home or some other type of business.

 No words for this one.On the side of the Ministry of Health building.

We toured Fort Charlotte, a fort that took two years to build in preparation for an invasion and war with the French, which never happened.  The bottom photo is some graffiti that was scratched into the rock in 1850, something I thought was VERY cool.

 We saw the Queen's Staircase, built by slaves by hand in honor of Queen Victoria. There are 64 steps, one for each year of her reign.

 We went back to Nassau another day to buy souvenirs at the "Straw Market." The only way I can describe this is to compare it to going to Nogales or Tiajuana......nuff said.  This crazy guy was dressed up in a "Junkanoo" costume. Junkanoo is a celebratory parade they have every Christmas, New Year's and Mardi Gras time. This guy kept saying, "yeah baby" and assorted rubbish like that in my ear. Not sure he was all there in the head.

This one is for Amy. Queen Elizabeth's Jubilee year is being celebrated and there were photos of her life all around the Parliament building.

Another Junkanoo parade our last night. These people know how to Party Hearty.....

The original Bahama Mama......we were getting ready to go hit the "lazy river."  Ummmm not so lazy but really really fun.  It had finally warmed up by now.

Gorgeous view from our balcony. This is what it is SUPPOSED to be like....clear skies, clear waters, crazy turquoise blue and a gentle breeze.....

The End.
Perfectly lovely place.
Nice place to visit.
But home is best.