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The Bahamas – Days 5 & 6

Hello everyone! Gonna keep today’s post short and sweet. It’s sunny and warm and nice outside, and I need to take advantage of it. Anyways, on Wednesday we went snorkeling out on this little cove just east of Paradise Island and Atlantis. Interesting that the one day I’ll be in the water for over an hour is the day that it gets cold and cloudy. Thank God for wet suits! Anyways, I discovered and swam through an old shipwreck from World War II, and I was able to see awesome things such as sea anemone, lobster, and stingray. Quite the site!

Getting things ready for the scuba excursion.

I look retarded in neoprene...just sayin

As for today, I woke up early to venture out on a fishing boat to do some deep sea fishing. Now, I’ve never been deep sea fishing before so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. Little did I know that fish are apparently hungry on Thursday mornings as they were biting like crazy. I was somehow the lucky, and worn out, soul who nabbed a 60 lb 53″ Mahi Mahi! Let me tell you, those suckers do NOT go down without a fight to the finish. My arm is still sore from trying to reel that thing in!

I might be smiling, but I was exhausted from fighting that big guy.

Me - 1, fish - 0. Barely.

And like I said, I wasn’t the only one to get some great catches. One kid even scored a 6ft marlin!

This was the "average" catch. No complaints here.

Ended the day on a marlin catch. Definitely a good ending.

Alright, time for me to catch some sun!

Jon

The Bahamas – Day 4

No boring case of the Mondays today. The day started off with the usual morning jog around the beach. Seriously, if I had a tropical beach in my backyard, I would be in much, much better shape. Until today, it’s just been a lot of exploring and walking around discovering what Nassau has to offer. Not anymore, as today had a lot of fun activities in store for me.

The “workday” began by meeting up with our group to gather up at the dock to meet with “Big Al.” We then headed out to a small island known as Discovery Island, which is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from the condo.

Boat ride to Discovery Island

As we came up on the island, we noticed a large ship that had run aground in the reefs just west of the island. Apparently, the ship that we saw was a cargo boat carrying a large variety of clothes, and on Christmas Day, it ran aground, split in half and spewed all of its colorful cargo across the western rocks of the island.

(left) The piles of clothes and the ship in the background. (right) If only I could find the other half.

Looking back at the beach that the condo is on.

Muggin'

The next fun activity for the day involved playing with stingrays. Yes, a stingray is what killed Steve Irwin, The Crocodile Hunter. No worries, though, my heart is taken and I don’t plan on giving to a pissed off stingray. Also, the stingrays have their barbs removed so that’s definitely a plus. In case you haven’t touched a stingray, they’re a weird texture on top, and a totally different texture on bottom. They’re also pretty friendly, so no worries about trying to chase the not-so-little suckers down.

His cousin is a croc-hunter murderer. He told me.

Feeding time.

The plan after the stingray pool was to go snorkeling, but the waters proved to be too choppy at the site, so that has been rescheduled. Instead, I decided to take a swim in the ocean and catch some sun…which my bright red skin now regrets doing. Ooops.

I promise, this isn't a postcard I stole from the airport.

Ah, this is the life!

Until tomorrow!

Jon

 

The Bahamas – Day 3

8:30 A.M.

It’s now Sunday. This is officially the beginning of the week of activities according to the condo/resort owners. Many of the other guests arrived yesterday and we have orientation in a few. I’ve started another day with another run (trying not to get too fat, which happens all too often on vacations), but this time I decided to bring my phone with me for some tunes and a quick camera. I must say my Droid Incredible has an absolutely fantastic camera! Check out the image below.

This is what I get to jog by every morning. No complaints here.

Although I have my phone with me, the roaming charges are not something I want to visit when I return home, so if I’ve missed a call, that would be why. I will try to check my email periodically, so if there’s an urgent issue, that would be the best way to contact me.

10:30 A.M.

 After my morning run and shower, I headed over to the main lounge for orientation for a rundown of the events and activities that are available for the week. The crew that works here is fantastic. They are extremely friendly, laid back, and if there’s an issue, they’re quick to resolve the problem without question. To me, that’s an important aspect of choosing a vacation spot. I don’t want to be hampered with trying to deal with the hotel/condo/resort aspect of things. I just want to arrive, have a good time, and if I need anything, be able to get it within reason.

“Big Al” as he likes to be called has some pretty big jokes.

Anyways, I decided to opt for an all-day snorkeling boat trip for tomorrow (Monday), a land excursion/tour Tuesday (not my choice, but everyone’s gotta get their fun in), a hand-fishing/snorkeling/island getaway on Wednesday, and my favorite…deep-sea fishing on Thursday. The evenings are open for all of these days, except Tuesday in which I’ll venture down to the “Fish Fry” to check out some of the local seafood joints and get a good taste of Bahamian crab, lobster, conch, and fish. Oh, one thing I forgot to mention about this orientation… I received a free shoulder and back massage from the local masseuse. Score.

1:00 P.M.

 I grabbed a small lunch (read: sammich) before heading out to explore Paradise Island and the Atlantis resort that sits upon it. A quick hop on the #10 bus takes me back to downtown Nassau (it’s a $1.25 per ride, an extreme bargain compared to a taxi), and after another stop for a cold beer at the duty free liquor store, I hop on the ferry to shuttle me over to Paradise Island. Everyone in Nassau has a great sense of humor, and our ferry guide, Otis, is no different. He’s witty, sarcastic, and funny…which means we got along great.

Atlantis resort and casino. That middle balcony goes for $25,000/night. What a steal.

Walking toward Atlantis, I was greeted by the most expensive harbor I have ever seen in my life. Every single yacht that was tied up was well into the seven- to eight-figure range. I have a secret love for boating, so I was more excited to see these than I was to see the resort itself.

I think I should raise my rates to afford one of these. How about two million per wedding? No? Okay, fine.

 The Atlantis has a small casino inside of its property that is open to the public (obviously). Not being much of a gambler, I dropped five bucks into the penny and nickel slots. Smart choice…here’s what I ended up leaving with.

I would not recommend choosing me as your gambling buddy.

After walking around the resort, I realized that unless you’re a guest at the actual hotel, the place is kind of boring. There’s the casino, some restaurants, and some fancy jewelry shops (where I drooled over some $3,000 Tag Heuer watches…mmm), but that’s really about it. I walked back to the ferry, listened to Otis shoot off some more witty comments, and bussed back to the condo to relax and catch some sand and sun.

 Hopefully, tomorrow will prove to be much more exciting snorkeling. I don’t have a waterproof camera with me, so I won’t have any underwater photos. I will, however, still bring my gear with me on the boat, so hopefully I’ll be able to snap up some good images from above sea level.

Until next time,

Jon

Bahamas Days 1 & 2

I’ll admit, I’ve never been to The Bahamas before. Actually, I’ve never even been to the Caribbean come to think of it, so obviously I was pretty excited to be spending my spring break in Nassau. While I’ve heard from many friends about the things that are available in The Bahamas, I was still pretty unsure of what lay ahead for me. But that didn’t stop me from exploring. This post along with the ones to follow will outline the interesting adventures I come across during this week of fun, sun, and sand. Please follow along!

Note: Some paragraphs are in present tense, and some are in past tense. This is due to whether I wrote the section after the fact or during the event on my Android. Sorry for any confusion.

7:30 A.M.

The trip begins…early…very early. I’ve been upright since 4:30 and I still think I’m asleep. My flight will be taking me from the amazing Indianapolis International Airport (IND) to Orlando International Airport (MCO) and finally to Nassau International Airport (NAS).  Going through security, I realized how crazy spring break week is compared to normal weekends. On early morning flights, the lines to check through security are short, if not non-existent. However, this morning had two lines winding three rows deep each.

 Despite this, I have to give major props to the men and women working for the TSA at Indianapolis International. One, they moved us through the lines and through security in quick fashion. And two, they have never given me grief for bringing my camera bag along with my carry-on. It’s a little something I learned from renowned photographer Chase Jarvis. Another tip of his is to always bring a printout of the TSA carry-on rules and regulations just in case an issue does arise (http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/editorial_1248.shtm).

(left) No plane ride is complete without Luigi. (right) They may say Recaro, but they definitely don’t feel like them.

3:30 P.M.

 When we finally landed in Nassau, we hitched a cab to our destination, a condo a little west of the main strip of downtown Nassau. It was pretty nice not to be amongst a huge crowd of tourists at Sandals, Beaches, the Sheraton, etc. Also, we had a small strip of beach that is nearly uninhabited for some good rest and relaxation…something I was definitely looking forward to. The only downside is the fact that to get to shopping and the nightlife, it’s a bus ride by day or an expensive cab ride by night. P.S. – remember that everything must be shipped into The Bahamas, even drinking water. That means everything, and I mean everything, is much more expensive.

Everyone’s on the wrong side of the road!

 

Day 2 – 8:00 A.M.

 After a quiet night of unpacking, grabbing dinner at a local sports bar, and picking up groceries, I started out my morning with a run around the condo complex and out and around the beach. I can definitely say this was the most enjoyable jog I’ve had in months. Why? I loved it because the runs I’ve had in the recent months have all taken place on boring treadmills while watching college hoops or reruns of House. It was nice again to be able to breathe fresh air and actually run toward a specific destination.

9:30 A.M.

 I had just completed a successful run, and we were heading off to downtown Nassau for some shopping, a bit of cultural enlightenment, and lunch. When you arrive to downtown Nassau, you realize that the entire town is catered to tourists coming off of the cruise boats which are docked along the port within walking distance. I was halfway expecting more Bahamian businesses and commercial districts, but instead I was greeted with shop after shop trying to sell jewelry, handbags, and key chains.

I was, however, able to find what is essentially the town hall of Nassau.

We poked around for a while, checking out the various shops and such. I’m not much of a souvenir person, so I wasn’t really finding much. However, one store did catch my eye…duty-free alcohol! Not only were the prices somehow cheaper than the United States (okay, so not everything is more expensive), but you could buy and individual bottle of beer, and brown-bag it as you walk around town. Win.

Now THIS is how you do sightseeing/shopping!

Sipping on the Heineken started piquing my desires for some lunch, so I headed over to Señor Frogs. The atmosphere is great, everyone is happy (read: drunk), the food is awesome, and the drinks are even better!

When offered “The Yard” you take it. Also, disregard the chunk bitten out of the taco. I couldn’t resist. :)

The rest of the day consisted of tanning and relaxing. The rest of the week will be much more adventurous. Check back later for more!

Oops, day 1 and I'm already burnt.

Jon

The Bahamas – The Final Days | Jon Brewer Photography - […] you haven’t been following, here’s the previous days’ posts as well: Days 1 & 2 Day 3 Day 4 Days 5 & […]

The Bahamas

In just a few short (well, it feels long) days, I will be jet-setting to the sandy beaches of the Caribbean to Nassau, The Bahamas. While I’ve traveled quite a bit recently within the confines of these great United States, it’s been several years since I’ve been able to escape our borders for more distant locations. It’s funny, because when I was younger it was like clockwork that every few years my family and I would make a big 2-3 week summer trip out of the country. I’ve been all over Europe, to South Korea, and to Alaska (I know it’s not a foreign country, but it’s still quite the plane ride), and recently I’ve really been meaning to get out again. So this is just a teaser to let you know to check back next week for updates from The Bahamas. Of course, I’ll have some camera gear with me to capture the wonderful scenery, so look out for some great photos, too!

Jon

Cruise ships at sunset in Nassau

Cruise ships at sunset in Nassau, Photo Credit: Google Images

Anonymous - This looks incredibly familiar and identical to one someone I know just wrote! Copy cat!