Bahamas Christmas 2022 - Day 7: Departure

It's always easier to leave on a day with mediocre weather; it was still cool (by Bahamian standards) and overcast this morning, but the sun was threatening to win the fight.

We were in no particular hurry to leave, as our flight wasn't until 2:30ish, so we got takeout breakfast from the News Cafe and ate in the suite. After packing up and checking out, we happened upon a taxi (who just dropped off incoming guests) out front of reception, and went to the airport.

There was no drama at the airport, beyond the usual security theater, and we were happy to discover that Nassau is one of the airports that has US CBP on the foreign side, so we wouldn't have to wait at customs back in Philadelphia.

The flight was uneventful and short, although it was about 40 minutes late so it was nearly 6 PM by the time we deplaned.

It's always a bit of a shock to step outside after a week of warm weather, and this time was no different. It was about 20 degrees out, but we weren't complaining; we got to miss the single-digits polar vortex over Christmas.

Bahamas Christmas 2022 - Day 6: Christmas

Christmas morning was much the same as the day before: windy, overcast, low 70s, and intermittent light rain.

After sleeping in (for me, anyway) and having breakfast in our kitchen, we gathered around an ipad for some FaceTime holiday greetings. Then, it was time for the (relatively new) tradition of a Christmas swim.

They were only slightly confused when we asked for beach towels at reception. While we waited, I sampled eggnog and had a cookie.

Over at the beach, the only signs of life were two kitesurfers on hydrofoils...

... and me. Nobody else was interested in partaking in this tradition.

Other people used the beach towels as blankets. Admittedly, it was quite windy.

We mostly lounged around the pool/beach area at the resort, trying to stay out of the wind. Some of the employees were wearing winter clothing and knit hats. As our waiter explained last night, this is as cold as it ever gets here, so it's really winter to them.

Over the course of a few hours, many other people emerged from their rooms to get some fresh air, try a hammock, play bean-bag toss, use the pools, etc.

We had an early dinner reservation at Capriccio, about a mile down the road (across the street from Sandals), and we decided to grab a bus ride there, so we got dressed up and left the resort around 2:45 PM.

Over the last 5 days or so, we'd been using two different routes from the resort out to the street, depending which side of the road we were aiming for. To get to the bus stop heading east, we would essentially go to the beach and then through the Blue Sail restaurant to the street. But today, they were closed and the gate was locked, so we ended up actually going via the beach. By that time, there were other people on the beach, too.

The restaurant had actually called, earlier in the day, to confirm our reservation and ask if we could be "early or on time", which we interpreted as "please don't be late". We had built in a large buffer in case we had to wait for a bus, or walk the mile or so, but ended up being about 30 minutes early. And then our table wasn't available yet, so we sat outside and waited. (The outside seating was closed, due to the weather.)

Dinner was excellent, and not just by "we're in the Caribbean" standards. It was truly a wonderful experience. If you're ever in the Cable Beach area and inexplicably need some fine Italian dining, definitely try Capriccio.

After dinner, the sun was just setting, so we decided to walk back to the resort instead of flagging down a bus. It was a lovely evening for a stroll, and we enjoyed the festive lights along the route.

Back at the resort, we did a few more FaceTime family visits, then spent a few hours finishing our adult beverage stockpile and playing card games.

I thought we might see or hear some celebration outside when Junkanoo started, late tonight, but Steve found this announcement on Twitter. I'd read elsewhere that it is going to be exceptionally festive this year, because it was canceled the two previous years due to the pandemic.

Tomorrow, we're checking out and heading to the airport for our return trip to the frigid tundra up north.

Bahamas Christmas 2022 - Day 5: Downtown Nassau, buses

After breakfast in our suite again, we packed for adventure and headed out for the day. Despite a (light) rain delay and a longer-than-expected wait for the bus, we were eastbound by 10 AM. The bus service here is... interesting. More on that later. There doesn't seem to be a map anywhere, but there is this official PDF listing all of the stops. 

We disembarked downtown, by the Straw Market, and wandered around Bay street for a while. Among the first things we saw were the Pirate Republic Brewing tap room, a construction-vehicle-related traffic jam that involved some horns, and a flotilla of cruise ships in the background.

Traffic flow was a bit hectic, what with it being Christmas Eve, and due to all of the preparations for Junkanoo on Boxing Day. Some sidewalks were already fenced off along a parade route, and grandstands had already been erected in several places.

I thought this might've been some impending grand reveal, but upon closer inspection... it appeared to be a building getting fumigated for termites.

Overwhelmed by the traffic and crowds of cruise-ship daytrippers, we escaped the busy area and started heading uphill.

I had no idea what this building was at the time, but a bit of research suggests it's the Nassau Public Library, which Google Maps summarizes as "18th-century jail converted to public library with prison cells holding books & colonial documents."

We also got a glimpse of the new US embassy that's currently being erected. It's rather hideous, and enormous.

Our ultimate destination was one of only a handful of "tourist attractions" in Nassau: Fort Fincastle. The road leading up to and around it was lined with the usual collection of street vendors pushing tchotchkes, shirts, and drinks, with the added twist of tropical fruits and cocktails.

The fort itself is not that impressive, but the entrance fee was only $3 (and inexplicably included a cold bottle of water), so we went in for a look around.

It was unclear that we were getting a guided tour, in that it wasn't really offered as an "option" so much as something we were subjected to. Also, it didn't look like everyone who went in got a tour. It was brief and somewhat interesting, if mildly confusing.

The view from the top of the fort would be quite good on a clear day, extrapolating from the fact that it was decent on an overcast one. I see conflicting information about it being the highest point on the island, depending whether you count the height of the fort and/or the water tower.

Speaking of the water tower, it only gets 3 out of 5 stars on Tripadvisor (which says it's the highest point on the island, at 126 feet).

I'm fairly certain this cruise ship in the distance is taller.

Apropos of nothing, I thought this guy was a tour guide at first, but we concluded he was just an abnormally well-dressed tourist.

On our walk back down the hill, this guy was making extensive use of his wireless microphone and PA system, announcing his various offerings, including drinks and wifi.

Instead of walking down the back of the hill, the way we had ascended, we took the shortcut down the Queen's Staircase (another one of the few proper "tourist attractions").

This literal escape route brought us out by the hospital, so we walked back downhill towards the chaos of downtown.

Sabrina and Jeanne took a shortcut through a hedge. I'm not sure what really happened, here.

The local police were out in force, doing crowd control. I believe this is called a "chariot", in law enforcement circles.

Back at the Straw Market, we did a brief bit of shopping, by which point it was approaching noon and we were all feeling a bit snacky.

Recalling that there was a nearby source of refreshment, we popped into the Pirate Republic taproom for a drink, some nachos, and a few pretzels.

After recharging there for about an hour, we ventured forth to continue our tour of downtown. But first, Steve and I stopped to get walking daiquiris, in case it was a long time between stops. 

Jeanne wanted to get back to her roots at the Irish pub, but we talked her out of it. (If you don't know why a "Shenanigans" sign is funny, you should watch Super Troopers.)

Longtime readers will know I love strange signs. I honestly don't know if this was serious of intentionally funny, from context.

Along the way to our next destination, we tried to stop at the Drawbridge (cafe?), but they weren't really open, or something like that. It was confusing, but I liked the literal drawbridge to get in.

Next door was some sort of winery and/or art co-op (called Heritage Village) that also had a bar window. This sign raised more questions than it answered, but I already had a walking daiquiri.

Our actual destination was the John Watlings rum distillery, which was just past the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas.

We didn't go in, but I wandered into the courtyard briefly. If it had actually been raining, it might've turned into an "art gallery" kind of day.

I have no idea what the context of this bronze(?)... sculpture? was, but I'd love to find out.

Finally, we made it to the John Watlings (rum) distillery, which is the 3rd tourist attraction of today's adventure.

We opted for the self-guided tour, which took all of 4 minutes, as it's not a very large facility.

Now done with the tour, we head back into the main building, where the bar is, for some rum flights and frozen cocktails.

We all agreed that the rum was better than we expected. The free samples of piña colada were very effective, too.

After about an hour there, the distillery tasting room was starting to get crowded and loud, so we moved along, heading back downhill towards where we started our downtown tour today.

Not wanting to return to the bustle of the commercial area, we walked west on Bay street until we found a bus stop, and waited (im)patiently for a ride.

While our bus trip this morning had been quite uneventful, the return trip had a bit more character. The side door was open the entire time, and the driver was in a considerable rush. He was very good at apexing the turns through the roundabouts, for example, and made liberal use of the horn.

We made it back to the suite around 3:30 PM, which gave us just over an hour to clean up and get ready for dinner.

Our Christmas Eve night out was at the Cocoplum bistro, which is a solid 7 miles / 15 minute drive west of here. Being freshly confident in our ability to navigate the bus system here, we opted to take the (#12) bus to the restaurant, knowing that we'd have to get a taxi for the return trip. We left ourselves 45 minutes to get there, including walking to the bus stop, waiting some unknown amount of time for a bus, etc.

This (3rd) bus ride of the day was just as exciting as the previous one, because it was literally the same bus and driver. We needed all of those allotted minutes, because he stopped at a gas station to put some diesel in the bus. (But only ~6 gallons, at almost $6/gallon.)

Dinner was excellent, and the waiter was amazing. He was also happy to call a taxi for us, when we were done.

The weather isn't looking promising again, tomorrow (Christmas). I'm not sure what the plan is, other than early dinner at a (much closer) restaurant, over by the middle of the Cable Beach area.