NAVIGATING NASSAU

As I lay in my little bed high in the rafters, the sound of the ocean waves told me it was time to investigate that outdoor shower. Darn near fell out of the thing when I first arose; forgot about the heighth and the stepping stool. As Paul often says, "She'll learn!"

With soap and towel in hand, I went down steps and into my cave-like structure. Now that was what I would call an "awakening"!! First of all, it was rather chilly as winds swept under the hut. Walls did not touch the ground; there was perhaps twelve inches of open daylight all around. The shower head was small; water dribbled from two or three openings; the lock on the door was rusted and wouldn't connect to the opposite side ... I took my soap and towel, unused, and went back to my room.

Paul knocked on my door to go to breakfast. When I related the news, he suggested I go upstairs and use their shower ... which I did ... ahhh, the wonderful feeling of hot, hot water washing away the goosebumps.

Breakfast at the lodge ... set menu of basic early morning meals ... very good eggs benedict. We went out front to wait for our taxi ... destination, city of Nassau.

The ride was a long one. The driver was very informative, explaining sites and how to get to tourist attractions. He showed us a mansion and grounds where a Bond movie was shot. The route was not scenic ... any homes were seemingly surrounded by stucco fences of various pink or yellow colors; so you couldn't see the ocean except a glimpse through squat palm trees. As we drew closer to downtown Nassau, however, things perked up a might ...

Large, well-known resorts, such as Sandals, began to appear. Once again, we were not treated to the gorgeous views advertised in magazines. The road winds behind the hotels, which are all constructed with ocean-front entrances; thus a picture of parking lots, tourists retrieving their luggage, pet owners walking their dogs. Those cement walls kept even that scant peek at a minimum.

Downtown Nassau ... highly congested ... old stone buildings in various states of disrepair ... no traffic lights. Traffic was directed by persons in full British dress uniforms - white trousers with red stripe down the side, short navy blue jackets with gold buttons and epaulet adornments, navy blue "guard-type" hats and white gloves ... very stately, almost like London's changing of the guard. Our taxi dropped us off at the Straw Market ...

The Straw Market is difficult to describe ... located on a corner in a warehouse-type, crumbly stone building; part of it was inside, part in areas with no roof or ceiling. Bahamaian crafters displayed their wares
row by row right next to each other, not even "elbow" space in between. If you stopped to look at any one item, you were practically attacked! "You lika dis." "I tell you how much." "Cheap. We bargain." They kept following you! Scary ! There were scads of souvenir items with the required "Nassau" logo; handcarved woods, some of which you see in most vacation areas. Many crafters were weaving fans, placemats, etc. out of local straws, palm leaves and fibers and some were carving larger pieces out of nice woods. Very interesting, but you had to know what you wanted and search it out. It's a permanent place; most of the occupants probably come every day; it's their livelihood.

Down the street was a museum on slavery. We stopped in. It was very small ... only one very large room. A few glass cases held actual artifacts found in the Southern states and in Africa ... mostly the iron chains and branding irons used to keep them in captivity ... interesting. We left and went in search of The Pirate Cove.

Aigh, matey!! Nicely done, this little attraction; but we were hoping for a little info on actual pirates and their exploits in the area in days gone by. Was more like a Disney show for kids ... dark passages, beautiful mannequins, nice ship-side lore, pieces from actual treasures, etc. Enjoyable, but we were getting hungry. Time to find a place to eat.

Vivian knew of a place that had fresh fish and good seafood salads and was well-known ... we decided to give it a go. Called "Twin Brothers", it was a typical Florida open-air seafaring type restaurant with a host informing us that we could pick our fish from the cooler and they would prepare it to order. We took a pass because we had reservatons for a deluxe dinner in early evening and didn't want to over-indulge at lunch. The place is a noted Bahaman eatery, but not too impressive from outward appearance. It was crowded and we wanted to sit outdoors; we were seated upstairs on an open porch. We ordered a seafood sampler plate and side salads; the girls had their own conch fritters and seafood fingerlings.

To make a long story briefer ... half the order came, wrong salad dressing,
and the waitress was serving full orders to people who arrived after us.
When she finally came to see what "else" we wanted, she said she had forgotten the other items. She gave us our bill with everything on it plus tip. Needless to say, a mild tussle began, the manager said to take things off and left the building. Even the head honcho didn't want to deal with such inept behavior. Always somethng!!

We then bartered with a raggedy taxi driver about taking us home ... he wanted a much higher fare than other drivers and his van was rather unkempt ... Vivian talked her Cuban street talk; we decided to take it, but had to crawl over seats because the door wouldn't open all the way. We griped the entire way back to Compass Point; but the night was to be one of the finer aspects of our stay. Just could not wait ...

We scattered to our individual abodes and made preparations for the evening ... wait 'til you hear!

Marma