05/01/04

One's first view of Nassau is the entry into the port.  The entry into the port of Nassau gives one the definite impression of money.  Between all the yachts  in the water to the residences on the land, the place screamed of money.

It was beginning to rain when we got off the ship in Nassau. To make matters worse, we made it all the way down the pier before we discovered that our shore excursion had been cancelled due to equipment failure.

At this point we had all but decided to just do a little shopping and then go back to the ship when we met an individual who was drumming up business for his tour through the city. I was a bit suspicious at first but with several other people already in his line and an offer that we would not have to pay if we did not enjoy the tour, we decided to go for it.

To make a long story short (and since it is obvious that we are still here), we had a great time.  "Big T" as the tour operator addressed himself is definitely a character with definite opinions on the islands and an interesting point of view.  He also seems to have connections as we found out when he took us to Atlantis.  It was definitely not the standard tour since we were taken through both good and bad neighborhoods to see how Nassau really is (the bad neighborhoods really were no worse than similar neighborhoods in the states) and given some interesting viewpoints like "those houses are all owned by foreigners.  The natives know that if you build a house there, it will be destroyed in a good hurricane." (!)

Big T took us to one of the forts that defended the island.  It is amazing how such a small structure could be considered to be a major protection.  Just a few rooms, a few canons, and a few dedicated soldiers.  The stairs were very narrow and there were air plants growing in every single crack in the stone.

Near the fort was a little open air market with some fantastic prices.  Big T said that the vendors (who were in part some of his relatives) had the best prices in town.  It sure looked that way.

Our final stop was the Atlantis resort. 

Big T spoke to one of the employees out front, and the next thing we knew we were inside and getting a nice view of the main areas including the casino and the aquarium.  Since three of the people in the party had to get back to their Carnival ship for an early departure, Big T offered to let us tour Atlantis for an extra hour while he took the others back to their ship, then he would come back and get us.  No problem, at that point we had still not paid him and he had not asked for any money.  The resort is every bit as over the top as the best hotels in Vegas.  In many ways it was better.  The giant aquarium had some magnificent specimens of fish and it was interesting watching yachts tie up right outside the main door.  Big yachts!  The architecture was great as these pictures illustrate.

The aquarium is quite large and is well stocked with fish.  As these pictures show, the aquarium provides a relatively natural environment for the inhabitants and all appeared to be in good health.  The sharks were exceptionally impressive.  The little guy in the right-most picture had established a residence in the overhang provided by the window.  Floating upside down he was more than happy to stay in his spot despite all the tourist walking by and all the cameras being used to photograph him.

An hour later, he was back, we got to our ship in plenty of time,  and had a good experience of a shore excursion outside the realm of the ship.  Fascinating and well worth the price he was asking.  We will definitely do something like this on our next cruise.  And if anyone sees a large, black individual offering a tour of the island, feel free to take him up on the offer.  It is a great experience.