VACATION VARIANCE

My goodness, how time flies!! Unbeknownst to most everyone, this week has been a little different. Instead of sitting poolside, reading and waiting for that Sunday breakfast, a surprise trip had been planned ... a flight to the Bahamas!! O-oh, how exciting ...

Early Wednesday morning, Paul, Larry and I plus "three ladies across the yard" (Mary, Vivian and her daughter, Gabrielle) loaded P & L's truck with luggage and took off for the airport. There we boarded a small, crop-duster-type plane for Nassau - total time about one hour.

Upon landing, we hurried through the small airport in search of a taxi ... most transportation here seems to be vans with native Bahamaian drivers. (The vans themselves can be in varying degrees of "fitness".) We all piled in and Vivian sat in front as co-pilot; she had been to this particular resort before and knew the ropes.) She informed the driver that we needed to make two stops ... liquor store and grocery store (and without saying, the driver seemed to know which was the top priority!)

After purchasing a couple bottles of wine, soft drinks, Patron tequilla, Bacardi rum and various tropical delectables, we went to the grocery store. There, we bought fresh fruit, chips and snacks. Laden with bags, we re-entered the taxi and traveled to our resort.

Aproximately fifteen minutes later, we arrived at Compass Point. our home for the rest of the week. A beach community billed as a resort, but not of the Sandals or Atlantis variety, we were taken to our huts ... aptly named ...

Compass Point is a collection of brightly-painted, irregularly-shaped, randomly-spaced dwellings sitting atop weathered pilings. Part of the hut fits into the rocky landscape and the section over the pilings forms a roof over a picnic area complete with table, benches, cobblestone floors ... a locked cupboard built into one rocky wall houses plates, plasticware, a few pans, and ice buckets. Especially nice since all the goodies could be stored in one place instead of carrying back and forth. Everything is oceanside ... a wide cobblestone walk leads from the lodge and winds through the area. Now for our individual abodes ...

Paul & Larry had a large hut with full bath & shower, TV, microwave,small safe, closet, large dresser, desk, multiple lights ... all rough woods (even the shower flooring was wooden slats) wicker chair & lamp shades ... very tropical. Wooden stairs led up to their room and the picnic space was below. Now, my hut ...

The attendant was showing us our space (the girls were sharing a hut about three doors down the path from us) and she turned to me and said, "This is your room" and "This is your toilet" and "This is your shower" ...
I really thought she was giving me a choice; but my room was small ... nothing but a bed and TV ... and everything else was outside, in a separate
area (the toilet and basin were in a room under P & L's room). A stepping stone or two away was an outdoor shower, cobblestone floor ... just a wooden hut ... I asked her if this was really where I was to take my showers (it can get cool with that ocean breeze) and she smiled and nodded. More on this later ... (seemed rustic but appealing) ...

We unpacked, met outside, ate a few snacks and toasted to our arrival. We roamed the vicinity and went to rest before dinner at the lodge. The wind was building into gale-like proportions and a chill was in the air. Just oceanic turmoil ... a storm had hit other islands, but so far we were okay.

Before the ladies arrived, Paul, Larry and I had a drink at the bar ... and on the big TV ... Bulls vs Atlanta Hawks. When we moved to our table, the TV in the room at the end was on something else ... the waiter heard us talking and changed it for me ... we were out on a deck but I could see into the inside room. Unfortunately, the Bulls lost by one point ...

Dinner was delicious ... I had fresh grouper. We planned to meet for early breakfast and go into Nassau the next morning. Around 10:30 pm or so, we retired to our separate rooms ... news comes on at 11:00 pm in these parts (same as Florida) so I caught up on a few happenings and turned out the lights. I climbed into bed for an anticipated night's sleep ... and I mean that literally. The beds are on a high platform and you have to use a stool to get in or pole vault! Don't think Karen will be making reservations here ... the rest of you would laugh, wonder and call it a night!!

As has been said before, tomorrow is another day ...

Marma