My first visit to the Bahamas was a private island owned by the MSC cruise line. It was a little island costing 400 million dollars to convert a trade island to a little paradise haven. The waters were clear, the sand on one side was soft and rocky on the other. A lighthouse dominated the island and gave it a dramatic backdrop. There were many birds and iguanas spotted on this day trip. I sunbathed and swam like always getting burnt in the process. It took barely an hour to walk all the way around the island. My sister decided to stay on board as it was too hot. I was happy to be by myself.
The next day we arrived in Nassau the island of New Providence Bahamas. Now this island is lively and colourful and relies on tourism. We were one of three cruise ships in port today so I expected it to be super busy. Not so as the tourists didn’t venture past the port area. I immediately headed to the Queen’s staircase which was a site of historic interest. The staircase was built for Queen Victoria for her visit to the Bahamas. My sister actually wanted to follow me on this excursion. I was waiting for her to turn back at the staircase but she persevered to the fort and then throughout downtown looking at the colonial architecture. She was also interested in shopping going in and out of many clothes shops and following my advice, getting the freebies on offer from the jewellery stores. I enjoyed the free rum cakes and cocktails. I indulged her as I knew I had seen what I wanted and apart from finding WiFi I was happy to go along. She eventually bought her bathing top and was hungry to try local food. Why not got to an Irish bar for some conch fritters and a margarita? I followed for the poor WiFi while she ate and drank. I never buy food when on a cruise as it is a waste of money as I already had a big breakfast and lunch would be on the ship. It was a waste money but my sister is happy to do this. $28 later for some oily dough she headed back to the ship. I walked further to the local beach which was jam packed. I managed to find better WiFi on the street outside the colonial hotel. After checking out a couple of museums I went back to the ship but not before getting on the wrong ship. I walked away sheepishly while the security guy said I wasn’t the only one today.
That was my short visit to the Bahamas. Then we were back again the following week as our Bermuda cruise was cancelled. I'm not saying no to another week in the Bahamas for free as I managed to get my money back for the Bermuda cruise. Woo hoo!
