Diving - Pirates - Ardastra - Paradise Island
Thursday Morning
Another morning of thunderstorms. The weather clears by afternoon, but this morning was a doozy. Thunder, lightning, sideways rain.
After breakfast I waved bye-bye to the baby and ran back to the room for the last few things. By the time I came back the bus to Stuart Cove’s Dive Center was waiting and Zac had already handed young Alexander over to his babysitter, Dominique.
Our first dive was at Pumpkin Patch. Poor vis and strong current. My photos look like we were in a night dive. It was wonderful to breathe underwater though. We saw lots of lionfish. The reef was very healthy, full of colorful sponges and soft corals. The dive staff were great too, they had two guides and a photographer in the water with us. I was also impressed with the rental gear, everything looked new and well-maintained. Stuart Cove runs a quality operation.
The second dive was on the DC3. The airplane wreck was used in a movie then moved to this location. The water was blue and there was no current. Nice reef nearby, trumpetfish, arrowcrabs, queen and french anglefish. Zac spotted a hawksbill turtle which kept a wary eye on us. I believe turtle season is now closed. Distressing they are still legal to hunt at all.
Back at the dock we had veggie burgers for lunch while waiting for the bus back. I was pretty frantic to get back to my baby, didn’t realize there would be a 45-minute wait. Stuart Cove came out to the picnic area and chatted with guests waiting for the bus.
We were gone from 8-1 altogether. Lex was fine, loved Dominique, charmed all the hotel staff. He is such a sweet boy, making friends all over.
Thursday Afternoon
After we reclaimed the Bug we headed downtown on the jitney bus number 10 that stops at the Orange Hill sign. At the terminus you can see the Pirates of Nassau interactive museum. We took a sneak peek to make sure it wouldn’t be too scary for the baby before getting tickets and boarding the pirate ship Revenge. They have done a nice job with all the exhibits, but my favorite part was out in the courtyard. I love those painted backdrops where you stick your face through the hole to get your picture taken. Zac and Lex gamely smiled out from atop pirate bodies for me. We also had to get a pic with the pirate checking tickets outside the entrance. We bought our second souvenir, a Jolly Roger t-shirt for Lex. (The first was a Bahamian flag.)
Determined to pack a lot into the day we hopped on a jitney bus and headed for Ardastra. Bug thinks the bus rides are the best part of the trip. He is such a social baby. Everyone smiles at him. He has been called “Shorty” and “Big Man” and “Fat Boy.” But by far his most popular nickname is “Bright Eyes.” Strangers passing on the street say, “Hey Bright Eyes” as they go past.
He is interested in everything. Especially birds. At Ardastra he was frightened by the blue and gold macaws, but loved the peacocks and the flamingos. We stood in the arena with the marching flamingos, and he laughed as they nudged us with their bills. He also loved the lorikeets, we were there for feeding time and held a bowl of apple scraps for them.
At the fruit stand near the bus stop we bought mangos. The road was under construction or there was an accident and traffic was terribly backed up. Our bus driver avoided the snarl by driving on the side of the road, within microns of the cars in the proper lane. It was a little too exciting for Momma but baby thought it was a great adventure.
For dinner we had a repeat of the first night feast, but in the room because baby sacked out early. Big day. While Dada was getting our dinners to go he chatted with Swiss Rick at the front desk. He asked where in Canada we were from, and I thought that was the nicest compliment. American tourists have such a bad reputation.
Friday Morning
Wifi is out at Orange Hill, so all my blog posts have to stay in my phone until we have Internet access again. We only had four nights here and the last two on Paradise Island. Rick says we were kicked out because they were full up with Welsh rugby players. Bourne out by the athletic guys with nearly incomprehensible accents drinking beer at the pool at nine am and the Welsh flag hanging from the balcony next to ours.
We packed up, checked put and taxied to Paradise Island. A shangri-la on the former Hog Island just north of Nassau, connected by a toll bridge.
