2001 - 5/14 - 5/17 - Nassau

Nassau Harbor

When I woke up, there was Nassau – WOW! I’ve only been to Nassau on a cruise ship. As I grabbed the camera I heard Wayne say, “OK, now get the dock lines ready”. Why not just hit me with a stick already! Everything looks so different since the last time I was here, especially Paradise Island. I was so excited.  Wayne advised the harbormaster of our arrival and requested permission to enter. He called Nassau Yacht Haven for a slip.  We topped off with 89 gallons of fuel for $150 and were docked by 4:30. The boat was filthy; salt and blood everywhere  -UGH. I was pretty worn out but was glad to be not moving. I was sitting on the dock attempting to plug the electric into the shore power unit when a voice said, “no electric in that socket”. This was not what I wanted to hear at that moment. That's how we met George Handel and his mate, Elaine on their 44’ DeFever, sun deck cruiser. Wayne always talks about a DeFever 48 and, of course, was already lusting after this boat.We four just ‘clicked’. George is a retired airline pilot from Cape Cod and Elaine is a widow whose husband was in the restaurant business in Florida.George had been having a problem with his windless and Wayne helped him fix it. I’d already put my vote in for ‘not cooking tonight’ when George invited us to join them at a nearby Chinese restaurant. While there, we met the owners of the Berry Island Club. They were stocking up and heading back. We hope to stop there on our

Multiple marinas in Nassau

way back.It was a lovely evening. We discovered that we have lots in common; George and Elaine aren’t married either and he docks MESSIAH, behind her house too. Elaine likes to dance and party, George doesn’t. She didn’t feel she could do anything right on his boat…and so on. I would have liked to have spent more time with them but, unfortunately, they were heading home to the states.Tuesday, 5/15 Rather nice, warm & sunny; the wind is down a bit.

Paradise Island as seen from Fort Fincastle, Nassau

Nassau is the capital and most highly populated city of the Bahamas.  The island is 27 miles long by 7 miles wide.  162,000 people live here.  There are now two bridges to Paradise Island and the new Atlantis Resort.  Downtown Bay St. and the Prince George Wharf area has undergone considerable renovation however the straw market seems unchanged.  We were about a mile East of the downtown area in the marina district. Nassau is the capital and most highly populated city of the Bahamas. The island is 27 miles long by 7 miles wide. 162,000 people live here. There are now two bridges to Paradise Island and the new Atlantis Resort. Downtown Bay St. and the Prince George Wharf area has undergone considerable renovation however the straw market seems unchanged. We were about a mile East of the downtown area in the marina district.We spent the entire day cleaning BLUE MAX. I mean we really cleaned her. We were only going to stay 2-4 nights but on the first day we didn’t get in until 4:30 and the second day was spent cleaning which meant we would only have one day to see all of Nassau and Paradise Island.We decided to stay a few extra days. (who says whining doesn’t work)  George and Elaine came over for dinner – Dolphin and Chinese leftovers from the night before. Elaine made a yummy Key Lime pie. Very nice evening. 5/16 - Nice sunny day. I picked up some tourist maps & guidebooks.

11th Grade students

Wayne found an ad for a guided walking tour. ($5) We walked to town and made it just in time to meet the 11:00 tour with Vernita Humes. She talked us through the history of slavery in the Bahamas & the evolution of their government.

The Cathedral in Nassau

 We actually sat in the Superior Court room and walked through their Cathedral, the “mother church” of the Bahamas.

Governor's House

Thanks to Wayne’s idea, I got to see and learn things I’ve never known even after visiting many times.We ended up at Colombian Emeralds where everyone got a soda and I lusted after all the nice jewelry.

300 year old Cotton Silk Tree

We stopped at Mangoes, an upstairs restaurant and bar for a late lunch. An old building with a small, intimate porch, great old French doors and lots of carved wood. It had been the Seaman’s chapel in the last century. Unfortunately, they were waiting for the gas man so they only had cold sandwiches but more importantly, they had 2 for 1 rum drinks. We split a club sandwich and had a very pleasant conversation with Ian, the bartender, who lives on his boat not far from where we were docked.

Winnie, Sassy & cruise ship torista

YIKES !!...It’s time for happy hour already. Every liquor store in the tourist are has a tasting bar using teeny weenie cups. So that's where we headed. In no time we were toasted and became ‘best friends’ with the staff at Arcade Liquors.  Patrick Johnson (AKA Sassy) was pouring and we really had a great time.  Wayne promised Sassy some Dolphin if he’d stop by the boat.

Winnie & Sassy

This was certainly a different day from anything I've ever experienced before & I loved it!! Gimme more!!

Sunset over the Twin bridges

Thursday, 5/17   A beautiful day. Sadly, we said good-bye to George and Elaine. I saw an ad in the tourist newspaper to ‘tour’ the Harbor side Time-Share properties at Atlantis and, in doing so, receive a $75 voucher that could be used in Atlantis.  We made reservations for Friday and decided that we would use $50 for the guided tour of “the Digs” and $25 for lunch or drinks.We attempted to catch a bus to town but got on the wrong one and ended up going out to Marathon Rd. where there is a large shopping area and a round about route through a variety of neighborhoods. The bus driver was a maniac; he drove excessively fast and played loud obnoxious music. What a ride - I had a ball, Wayne had white knuckles. We were trying to get to the Queen’s steps but missed it by a few blocks. Wayne said "at least we were off that damn bus". The Queen's Steps were carved out of Limestone and built by the slaves to honor Queen Victoria for her help in a abolition of slavery. We came across the very old & quaint hospital that I remembered seeing years before. They even have a nursing school. It had changed dramatically; new building for CT scans, outpatient services and an Oncology unit etc.We ate lunch out of the back of a woman’s car. Delicious chicken, potato salad, Cole slaw, rice and corn.I had an interesting conversation with a nurse’s aid.  She guessed the RN's were making about $1005 a month.  While there, along came Sassy! He and his cousin, Wayne, gave us a ride to the Queen's Steps then got us a local guide to

Bottom of the Queen's Steps

At the Top of the steps

to explain the history of the steps and fort. He surprised me by giving me a bottle of my favorite coconut rum from the store. He was working on his dad’s property next to the Queen’s steps and getting ready to open a restaurant on the property. Sassy is also a ‘chef’.  We set a time for them to come to the boat to pick up the Dolphin. 
We walked back downtown & stopped at McDonalds to get their special straws. The bus ride back to the marina was more civilized, he didn’t even run any red lights.