Kalik Kalik
So it's now day 4 of the Bahamas. I've had a good time, but I wouldn't particularly recommend this island to anyone.

I guess we technically left 5 days ago. But we arrived in Nassau (on New Providence) at night, and we didn't really do anything that night. I was pretty pooped, because I had to connect. Going back to school from here, I get to do two connections! Yayyyyy.

The first two days were spent mostly on the beach. I've been putting on block, but the progress on my tan has been pleasing. We spent those first three nights at the Sheraton Cable Beach, which was pretty ridiculous (in a bad way). Rooms were over $100/night, and everything at the resort was overpriced. And sort of subpar was the fact that at 11 in the morning, they were out of towels. The island is full of tourists right now (mostly families), but they need to get on top of that shit. You're a beach hotel, and you're telling people to come back later for towels. COME ON.

But the entire island has proven generally expensive. Food, in particular. The seafood entrees tend to be over $20. And cabs charge a pre-determined fare, plus significant fees for luggage and more bodies than two (even though all cabs are essentially mini-vans).

After the Sheraton, we went to Orange Hill, which is maybe a little more "motel"-like. Most of the rooms circle the pool, with rooms opening to the outdoors. And it's not directly on the beach. But I'm actually enjoying it a lot more than the Sheraton. It's family-run, and the proprietors are friendly, interesting people. They have a small restaurant in the main building that serves pretty good food, at more reasonable prices. Last night, we had a rum cake that I want to get the recipe for. The rooms aren't as nice as the Sheraton, but they are serviceable. And again, the proprietors are good people. My brother and sister-in-law's luggage got lost on the way to the Bahamas (still missing!), and this hotel offered them a ride to the airport (to look through the unclaimed luggage), so they wouldn't have to get a $15 cab for the five minute ride.

Most of the service (i.e. food service) on the island is terrible. Checks take an hour to come to your table. If the server asks if you're ready to order, YOU ORDER, because he/she is not going to come back any time soon.

One of the best things here though, is that the Bahamian dollar is pegged to the US dollar, and the two are used interchangeably.

I spent the last two mornings diving, and I'm determined to get a dive log back in Chicago and start recording my dives, so one day I can take more advanced classes. The dives were nice--a fair amount of fish--but the big life and coral are lacking a little. The best thing about the vacation so far is probably the diving. For each of our second dives, they've dropped us at a wreck and let us explore, instead of just leading. Today, my brother and I wandered to the Atlantic wall--the freedom was awesome.

I think everything that one dreams about re:the ability to fly is what you find with scuba diving. You slowly sail over and past all kinds of interesting formations and interesting fish. You can hover as high or as close as you want. The water dampens all sounds, so you're mostly left with the sound of your breathing and the rushing bubbles. You're with people, but it can be very solitary. It's an expensive hobby, but it satisfies my exploratory nature in a way that nothing else does. Sure, people have been there before, but maybe they haven't checked the exact crevice you're peering into. And even if they have, the contents of the crevice have certainly changed in the interim.

So I guess today's lesson is that scuba diving is awesome, and New Providence, Bahamas, is okay but not notable.
- posted by roger @ 6:36 PM (0) comments