USA Trip – Day 19 : First time in the Bahamas

A bit of a gloomy start to the day but I’m sure the clouds (and misty rain) will all blow away.

For breakfast we headed to the Solarium. It was a great choice. It was nice and quiet, easy to get a table, and the food selections better than I had expected.

By 9am we had docked in Nassau, Bahamas. We had a bit of drama here as Athena’s scooter had been moved during the night (from outside their room) and we hadn’t been able to get it returned yet. When we were about the leave the boat we realized how big a walk Athena would have – and wouldn’t be able to make due to pain. We spotted a wheelchair and asked if we could use that to get the exit. We were told yes and someone wheeled Athena off the ship, only to be told at the bottom of the gangway that it couldn’t be taken any further. So it was back on the ship and Kevin (who had just returned from fetching the kids passports) had to go in search of the scooter so we could take that with us. Ended up being the best thing as Athena would have had to miss out on things without it.

Finally at 9.30am we were in Nassau and met with our tour guide, Nick from Cheryl’s Bahama Taxi & Tours, and we were on our way (once Kevin and Nick managed to get the scooter in the vechicle).

Our first stop was the Ardastra Zoo.

Where we saw lots of cute birds and animals…

and lots of lovely plants and flowers…

This amazing flower is growing out the truck of another tree.

But the main star of the show (and the reason we were here) was to see the flamingo show.

The flamingos have been trained to march and it was so fun watching them parade around the arena (in which we were the only viewers). I don’t know why but I thought flamingos were a lot bigger than they are.

Such beautiful birds. Anyone who knows me knows I have been a big flamingo lover for years.

We were even allowed to go into the arena and be a part of the flock.

After the show the birds are free to wander around the zoo so we had to visit some more with my favourite bird.

And, of course, I had to take a selfie :-).

We all loved the visit here. Not sure if you noticed I was wearing my flamingo top in honor of the occasion. And I got the cutest soft flamingo to remember my time with the flamingos.

Our next stop was the Pirate Museum.

I already knew not to expect a lot here (due to mixed reviews) but Athena and Christy really enjoyed the visit.

Time to buy some local chocolates. I think these might have to be the most beautiful chocolates I’ve ever seen.

And the wall and steps outside were handcarved by slaves in the 1600s.

Photo opp with a pirate.

And a local policeman guiding traffic.

We then drove over to see the Atlantis resort. Looks amazing. Hope I get to see inside (or maybe even stay there) one day.

This poor tree was knocked over in the recent hurricane.

We stopped for lunch at these little shacks.

Run by locals who have gone and caught conch and fish that morning.

I requested a vegetarian meal. When this salad came I thought that was it. It was a little spicy for me but I managed to eat about half and was satisfied.

Then they bought out this. The rice was amazing (I’d already eaten some of Athenas and still ate all this) and the plantain really yummy. Great to try some local foods.

Kevin and Athena shared fish and conch.

And then ordered a bowl of plantain after trying (and loving) mine.

If you’re wondering about Christy, she had two packets of crisps, as there was nothing on the menu she would eat (though she did try the plantain).

There was some more sightseeing on the way back to the ship. And Athena decided to get their hair braided by Peggy (who had talked to us upon our arrival). Not the best photo to show it off but it really suits them.

We were running almost late by this time so I snapped a quick photo to show the size of Oasis of the Seas and then Christy and I were offered a ride back to the ship (which was very nice even though the guy was grumpy with so many people running “late”).

But we were back on board by the time of 2.30pm and got to enjoy sailaway at 3pm.

Looking down into Central park.

Tonight was formal night. We didn’t bring any “formal” clothes but still made an effort to get a little dressed up.

Tonight I had corn fritters…

and mashed potatoes and veggies (as the one vegetarian option wasn’t very appealing).

We were too tired to stay up for tonights show (unfortunately i booked all late shows when in fact we were finished with dinner in time for the early show), so it was back to our cabin and off to bed.

Save