Nassau, New Providence

Sunset at West Bay, New Providence

 

After spending a wonderful day at the beach eating wonderful food and just being beach bums we made plans to go into downtown Nassau for a day. We decided the next morning would work just fine.

Along with Don and Gail we dinghied ashore and beached the Ernie T. The four of us dragged the dinghy well above the high water line and then used a cable to lock it to a post. We anticipated a 2 mile hike to the nearest bus stop, but a kind local offered all four of us a ride to the stop. Sweet!

We boarded the bus near Lyford Cay and were treated to a very scenic tour of the northern coastline. Once we arrived in Nassau we went directly to a BTC store to get Brenda's phone working again. As soon as that was accomplished we strolled to the Bearded Clam restaurant. The beers were cold and the Bahama Mama drinks were tasty. We each had great meals and the lively little spot entertained us. Gail loves to interact with anyone within talking distance. She was having a grand time getting people laughing and smiling. What a great lunch.

We needed to buy a replacement handheld VHF as ours had failed its first swimming lesson. It had snagged on a towel that Mike was retrieving from the dinghy (back in Highbourne) and flipped right into the water. It was not a good swimmer. Don and Mike took a "roadie" beer and headed off in search of a new VHF. The girls said they would love to stay right where they were until we returned. The boys jumped into a taxi and quickly found a marine supply store. They had two handheld VHF models to choose from and the decision was easy to make. One model boasted "Designed To Float", so that one won.

We returned to find the girls laughing and having a ball. They were pretty disappointed we came back so quickly. They were hoping to have a couple more hours at the Bearded Clam. We paid our bills and headed off to find the Watling Rum Distillery. After a scenic stroll we entered the old plantation building that is used for the distillery tours. The tour was almost laughable as it took 7 minutes and the tour guide's words were almost all unintelligible. We did hear him say "All right" about 100 times.

Watling Distillery

Steps to plantation building

Watling sampling room

 

We each purchased a bottle of the very good Amber rum and then tried a few of their mixed drinks. Gail of course ended up dancing with one of the bartenders. Eventually we wandered out and hiked along the interesting roads on our way back to the bus stop. We hopped the return bus and enjoyed another scenic ride. The 12B bus route takes you all the way across the island to Lyford Cay for $2.50 If you ask the driver he will take you the final couple of miles to Jaws Beach for an additional $2.50. After getting dropped off at the beach we boarded the Ernie T and got pretty well soaked as the incoming waves were breaking pretty good.

The next morning we planned to sail the 25 miles up to Chubb Cay, Berry Islands. We'll see how that goes.

 

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