Today we are in Nassau, Bahamas. It is the largest city, capital, and commercial center for the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. It was originally inhabited by pirates. It was Columbus' first landfall in the New World in 1492, although Spain never colonized the Bahamas. It became a Crown Colony when the British clamped down on piracy in 1718, but gained it's independence and became a Commonwealth in 1973.
This was an amazing early morning site to see. As we entered the narrow channel into Nassau we saw 3 other ships already in port. I figured we would pull into the empty spot directly in front of us. Oh, how wrong I was. Suddenly we could hear the engines working overtime and the ship slowly began to turn in a circle as we went around and around and finally backed into our spot. I should have watched the whole process to see just how close we came to the shore, but we needed to get to breakfast as we had an early morning tour to meet.
Some famous people have homes in Nassau. They actually live on Paradise Island, which is right next to Nassau. Our guide said you have to be a millionaire to live there. Well here we go...
Of course I was not taking notes, but as I recall this house belongs to Tom Cruise.
Not sure who this one belongs to, but look at the landscaping!
And here is Oprahs's house...
and one for her guests right next door.
This is ATLANTIS, defiantly looking like it is rising from the sea. It is also located on Paradise Island. The archway you see between the 2 buildings was Michael Jackson's suite and now rents for thousands of dollars a night with a 4 night minimum. Notice the dark clouds gathering in the sky.
We boarded a boat for our underwater adventure. It was kind of like being on the submarine ride at Disneyland, but everything was real here. We did see a shark and a sea turtle, but they were to quick to get a picture of.
The Disney Dream is the 3rd from the left. Remember, the captain backed her in, so you are seeing the back of the ship and...
We have now left our water tour and are on a bus tour of the city. Fun little short buses that even have seats that flop down so you can sit in the aisle. What an experience. Our first stop was Fort Fincastle which was built by Lord Dinsmore in 1793. It was built to protect the island from invaders, but no shot was ever fired in anger.
Here is the water tower and there is a set of stairs at the base called the Queen's Stairs. Our guide told us we were going to stop there so we could walk the stairs, but he drove right on past. I think he had his talk memorized and lost his place a few times and just started over as we heard some facts several times. The stop at the stairs must have been a time when he lost his place.
This is a small "Straw Market". The larger one is right downtown. It is made up of small booths where people sell their goods.
Columbus - yup this was his first stop in the New World.
Traffic again. The cars just seem to drive wherever they want. This is not a one way street.
Nassau is a place to buy diamonds. They even have a seminar on the ship giving you some pointers on where to shop and what to look for. You can't see it, but all the signs down this street were jewelry shops. Did I buy diamonds, no, I was more interested in seeing a Burger King here.
The ice cream machine is available until 11 at night. This made a fun afternoon snack after a busy day in Nassau. I would like to have explored a little more, but the ship won't wait for me.
Prime rib and it was HUGE and delicious. Sorry I messed the plate up before I took the picture. Mickey sundae for desert. Mmmmmm they feed us well on this cruise.
Night Night from our towel dog.
