8:30 A.M.
It’s now Sunday. This is officially the beginning of the week of activities according to the condo/resort owners. Many of the other guests arrived yesterday and we have orientation in a few. I’ve started another day with another run (trying not to get too fat, which happens all too often on vacations), but this time I decided to bring my phone with me for some tunes and a quick camera. I must say my Droid Incredible has an absolutely fantastic camera! Check out the image below.
This is what I get to jog by every morning. No complaints here.
Although I have my phone with me, the roaming charges are not something I want to visit when I return home, so if I’ve missed a call, that would be why. I will try to check my email periodically, so if there’s an urgent issue, that would be the best way to contact me.
10:30 A.M.
After my morning run and shower, I headed over to the main lounge for orientation for a rundown of the events and activities that are available for the week. The crew that works here is fantastic. They are extremely friendly, laid back, and if there’s an issue, they’re quick to resolve the problem without question. To me, that’s an important aspect of choosing a vacation spot. I don’t want to be hampered with trying to deal with the hotel/condo/resort aspect of things. I just want to arrive, have a good time, and if I need anything, be able to get it within reason.
“Big Al” as he likes to be called has some pretty big jokes.
Anyways, I decided to opt for an all-day snorkeling boat trip for tomorrow (Monday), a land excursion/tour Tuesday (not my choice, but everyone’s gotta get their fun in), a hand-fishing/snorkeling/island getaway on Wednesday, and my favorite…deep-sea fishing on Thursday. The evenings are open for all of these days, except Tuesday in which I’ll venture down to the “Fish Fry” to check out some of the local seafood joints and get a good taste of Bahamian crab, lobster, conch, and fish. Oh, one thing I forgot to mention about this orientation… I received a free shoulder and back massage from the local masseuse. Score.
1:00 P.M.
I grabbed a small lunch (read: sammich) before heading out to explore Paradise Island and the Atlantis resort that sits upon it. A quick hop on the #10 bus takes me back to downtown Nassau (it’s a $1.25 per ride, an extreme bargain compared to a taxi), and after another stop for a cold beer at the duty free liquor store, I hop on the ferry to shuttle me over to Paradise Island. Everyone in Nassau has a great sense of humor, and our ferry guide, Otis, is no different. He’s witty, sarcastic, and funny…which means we got along great.
Atlantis resort and casino. That middle balcony goes for $25,000/night. What a steal.
Walking toward Atlantis, I was greeted by the most expensive harbor I have ever seen in my life. Every single yacht that was tied up was well into the seven- to eight-figure range. I have a secret love for boating, so I was more excited to see these than I was to see the resort itself.
I think I should raise my rates to afford one of these. How about two million per wedding? No? Okay, fine.
The Atlantis has a small casino inside of its property that is open to the public (obviously). Not being much of a gambler, I dropped five bucks into the penny and nickel slots. Smart choice…here’s what I ended up leaving with.
I would not recommend choosing me as your gambling buddy.
After walking around the resort, I realized that unless you’re a guest at the actual hotel, the place is kind of boring. There’s the casino, some restaurants, and some fancy jewelry shops (where I drooled over some $3,000 Tag Heuer watches…mmm), but that’s really about it. I walked back to the ferry, listened to Otis shoot off some more witty comments, and bussed back to the condo to relax and catch some sand and sun.
Hopefully, tomorrow will prove to be much more exciting snorkeling. I don’t have a waterproof camera with me, so I won’t have any underwater photos. I will, however, still bring my gear with me on the boat, so hopefully I’ll be able to snap up some good images from above sea level.
Until next time,
Jon
