Evening of 59th day and Day 60. Lay days in Nassau
Evening of Day 59 After walking our feet off, we headed back to town and found that the ferry was not running. So we hailed a cab and we shared the ride with another couple. The cab driver dropped the first couple off first and took us down Umbrella Street which has brightly colored umbrellas suspended over the road. This area by the Gray Cliff Hotel is known for its chocolate and its distillery- which even makes its own moon shine!
Made it back to the marina safely with a quick stop at Dairy Queen. Bill was talking about ice cream and that piqued the interest of the cab driver, so we stopped for quick visit. We treated taxi driver and Bill bought two blizzards to have on board in our freezer. He is such a sucker for ice cream.
Finally made it back to the boat. But we did not stay long as Bill found us a great deal on a motel room which included the cost of tickets to Atlantis. So we packed our overnight bag and walked up the hill to the motel to check in. After a long hot shower, we both felt better and headed out to wander the marina and hotel at Atlantis. We could not believe the landscaping surrounding the hotel and we were even more amazed at the huge mega yachts in the marina.
We walked through the hotel which has several Chiluly glass sculptures as chandeliers, a casino, several restaurants, lots of swanky stores - Cartier, Gucci, etc. and one very large aquarium.
The decor is based on the theme of the lost city of Atlantis- lots of nautical items and references to Poseidon and sea serpents and creatures. The floors have inlayed tiles, walls with mosaics and stone sculptures. Very fancy.
Bill had to try out Poseidon's throne.
And we spent quite a bit of time watching the game fish which filled the aquarium that was about 12 feet tall and 120 feet long and 80-100 feet deep. Couldn't tell how wide it was - but the whole thing was massive. Lots of coral and rocks and the fish ranged from the smaller Angelfish and Surgeon fish to Tarpon, Snapper and Grouper to Rays and Sharks.
We ate a quick dinner at a pizza parlor in the Atlantis complex and waited til nine to experience the Junkanoo parade. Was quite a show with a parade of about fifty dancers and musicians all costumed. Everyone in the crowd was moving to the music - especially when they started "Sweet Caroline". The crowd appropriately joined in to help sing the chorus! Was lots of fun!
We wore ourselves out today so we went back to the motel room for a good nights sleep.
Day 60
Woke to another sunny day in Nassau. Had breakfast and then went to register at Atlantis and get our wrist bands for the water park. We then returned to the motel to check out and walked the two blocks to return our things to the boat.
On the boat we changed into our bathing suits and repacked our satchel to carry only the essentials into the Atlantis water park. Bill is all excited to experience the slides and pools and beaches in the park.
We entered the water park through a tunnel filled with artifacts of Atlantis and aquariums.
Leaving the tunnel you enter Atlantis proper. We walked through the grounds and pool area and were amazed at the landscaping and attention to details in the buildings. Wandering around the grounds, all 154 acres, reminds me of Disney.
There are four hotels, each with restaurants and shops and beach area and each hotel has a theme related to the sea- The Reef, The Cove, The Royal and The Reef. There is also a casino and performance hall at The Royal.
Next Bill tried the slides, with names like Leap of Faith, Challenger, The Abyss and The Falls. I was not up to slides called Leap of Faith!!!
Next we tried the Rapid River twice and enjoyed the tranquil spots and the rush of going through the rapids.
After having our fill of playing in the water, we walked back to the boat via the Coral Hotel. and enjoyed their shark tank and aquariums.
Having worn ourselves out yet again, we headed back to the boat to get ourselves cleaned up and fed and a good night rest!
Reflections on the Bahamas Over the past 10 weeks, we have traveled through Abaco, Eleuthera and Exuma Islands and enjoyed the hospitality of the Bahamian people. We have learned all about the islands, its unique geography - limestone, caves, blue holes and chalk cliffs; and colorful history-pirates and rum running, salt ponds and cotton plantations, boat building and wrecking/salvage. Traveling over 1300 miles through narrow cuts and wide bays to vast depths of ocean, we negotiated the islands and found safe harbors, calm coves for anchoring, bays filled with moorings and marinas large and small. This trip required us to pay close attention to the weather, the tides and currents as we traveled between and through the islands. The Bahamian people are warm and friendly, willing to give us rides, advice and directions, as well as some secret recipes!! We enjoyed hiking trails, walking the beaches, snorkeling the coral rocks and reefs, discovering ruins and ol...
Left Delaware City at 5:35am to be able to take advantage of the strong currents going with us while traversing Delaware River and Delaware Bay. The Delaware River goes south about 15 miles and flows into the Delaware Bay. As we travel south, New Jersey is to the east and Delaware is to our west. We are traveling just outside the shipping channel and are really moving at 10.9 knots. That is three knots faster than we normally travel, as the outgoing tides are pushing us along. Nice to have Mother Nature helps us save on fuel. The Delaware River is about 8 miles wide so there is plenty of room for the freighters and the pleasure boats. So far, we have not encountered any commercial traffic, but there is a large freighter behind us that will eventually pass us as they travel at 14 knots. The Delaware Bay proper varies from 23-29 miles wide and 26 miles long. There are five lighthouses on the Delaware marking the shipping channel. We went by Ship J...
We weighed anchor on a sunny 50 degree morning. So we put on our sweatshirts and drove from below as we left Frankfort. Going through Frankfort’s channel and breakwater we encountered a few intrepid fisherman and further along as we cleared the breakwater there must have been over a hundred fishing boats. Almost like playing bumper cars, but with boats. Had to negotiate a path between them as the fishing boats were all trolling fishing lines behind them. We were still seeing fishermen 4 miles south of Frankfort. These guys sure take their fishing tournaments seriously! The shoreline that we pass heading south are still sand dunes bluffs some as tall as 200 feet. As we travel, we pass the small town of Arcadia and Portage Lake, each situated on an inland lake which is connected to Lake Michigan by a dredged channel. Interesting to note that the dredged channels were originally small rivers connecting the inland lakes to Lake Michigan. As we passe...
