Beautiful Bahamas

Bahamas deserves more than one day. On our Florida trip, we took a small overnight cruise from Fort Lauderdale; sleeping on the way, spending the day in Nassau and sleeping on the way back. Two nights and a day.
Bahamas was that small piece of paradise I had been yearning for since leaving Cayman. Granted, the 'cruise ship' (if you can call it that) was more than a little sketchy - a blast from the past...a step back in time. And for some reason everyone seemed to have a strange obsession with bingo. The pool was half full and I really thought it was some kind of joke.
Thankfully I managed to find my own little spot in one of the worn ancient red couches at the end of the ship, looking onto the ocean through the salt water stained window. I'm not big on reading (it puts me to sleep), but Ocean Star was my book of choice that completely engrossed my attention for that journey through the ocean depths.
Despite my advice on avoiding cruise ship outings, the 'rents booked one anyway. Luckily we were a smaller ship and so it wasn't as crowded as the chock-full cruise ships that endlessly heap into Georgetown, Cayman. Those unsuspecting tourists book shore trips in packed to the brim pontoons which I've witnessed are a bad vacation waiting to happen (my co-worker Shane and I saw one of these unfortunate vessels tip over with a boat full at Stingray City). Anyway, we embarked on our snorkel trip, passing celebrity homes along the Paradise Island shoreline. It was medicine to once again be fully submerged and rest at the bottom of the ocean floor with sand between my fingers. The snorkeling was a little disappointing and in no way compared to the crystal waters of the East End trip Shane and I used to lead every week. But I love that underwater world, melting into oblivion.
From there, we came across a fish fry and enjoyed a good Caribbean meal. The 'rents found the heat murderous but I had no complaints. We parted ways, and I headed straight to the beach. On the way I made friends with some cricket players, and then a man at the beach named Living Stone. After intriguing conversation, he offered a short tour of the island. It cut into my beach time, but it was great to see a little of what the island had to offer, with some great Bahamian hospitality. Mom and dad tried conk for the first time (gotta love those fattening conk fritters!), and I tried raw conk for the first time (it was interesting, as my sisters would say). All this, a goodbye mango gift, and we were headed back to the boat of disheartening reality. The pics depict the curious and odd 'towel dog' that the cruise ship staff left on my bed, the marketplace, the beautiful waters, Queen's staircase, and Atlantis Resort at Paradise Islands.