Some things we’ve experienced thus far I could have predicted. Others I would have hoped would happen. Some, there is no way I could have called. The children are boat kids. They have the same issues as all of the other kids do. They fight, they get tired, they break. Same as at home. Same as everyone. One difference is they are bound to this plan (often this lack of a plan) we have and quite literally trapped on board. The wealth of experience and learning is immeasurable. They are incredibly pliable and flexible and malleable. Che, Gherty and Quinn have busied themselves studying slime on pilings, bugs in gardens, birds eating French fries at restaurants, crabs fighting. They don’t need Disneyland to be engaged. They are exactly the kind of kids I had hoped to raise (even when they yell at me). But they are kids and so, because of our soft sides and love for them, Kelly and I did something I NEVER EVER would have planned or raised my hand for. We sailed from Eleuthera Island across the Northeast Providence Channel to Nassau, Paradise Island, Atlantis Resort and Marina for an over the, over the top 4th of July waterpark carnival, casino, aquarium festival of intensity! Kelly finagled a slip at the most bizarre marina I’ve ever encountered docked under a giant pink stucco dome adorned with enormous bronze swordfish modeled in the late Star Wars Tatooine / Florida Boca style. This marina actually doesn’t accept yachts under 50 feet in length so lucky us…I think. We are the only sailboat. Again. Again. Again. There are hundreds of millions of dollars of enormous, gaudy, shiny, multistory megayachts here. Each with its own quarter million dollar plus “tender” usually a 40 foot cigarette boat with several thousand horsepower outboards strapped to the stern (or as powerboaters call it “the back”). Gherty asked why motorboat people always have matching shirts with a picture of their boat on them. I explained that these were crew whose jobs it is to constantly hose and scrub.
Needless to say we are again fish out of water (I know, funny) but this time…wow.
We got the kids to the waterpark on the 4th in the morning and had a very fun time, I will admit, doing the exact opposite of what we set out to do on this trip. We spent most of the day on tubes in an enormous lazy river with rapids, huge surging waves, conveyor belts elevating us to large winding slides in total blackness. Fun. Obnoxious but fun.
Quinn and Gherty worked up the nerve to take the “Leap of Faith” slide which literally drops you 5 stories nearly straight down into a clear tube through a giant shark tank. Che wasn’t keen. Imagine that! 8 dollar bottles of water. My Mom texted back that we were having a very American 4th of July. I agree.
An over the top fireworks show and truly obnoxious carnival with games of skill, face painting and sugar was had at sundown followed by a torturous “walk” carrying Quinn through a casino (yes, really) to the hotel front where we could have our dockhand shuttle us the 3Ž4 mile through the marina to where the little boats are kept. It was very cool to see Charleston Architectural Glass handmade mirror all over the place – in the mall with Versace, Rolex, etc. of course – but nice to see.
No arguments about bed time tonight. Kids sleeping, parents sleeping. America. Hell yeah.
Now we’re at a major turning point in this adventure. We’ve sailed well west of where we had planned. There’s not much out here but more turquoise banks strewn with rocks and coral heads. We had planned to see the entirety of the Exuma chain and continue south. I love my wife. We don’t fight, we rarely disagree. We both looked at each other when discussing our next move and agreed that we have seen the Bahamas. They have run their course for us. Many will take issue with this I know and I am certain there is a bounty of sights and experiences waiting down there. Thing is….we aren’t on vacation. Everyone we encounter here is or works to ensure you are. Beautiful water and beaches are just that. We have seen resorts, poverty, people living their lives comfortably and quietly but we’ve not felt a culture. Kelly and I aren’t even sure what we expected or is missing necessarily. Just that we feel a month in the Bahamas is enough and if we need badly to be neck deep in sport fishing boats and mega yachts from east coast Florida we know where to go next time. I’m pretty sure there must be none left in Florida right now since they’re all here (I’m smiling since we all know THAT’S not true).
Impass. Madame Geneva style. We have warrantee issues needing to be addressed on the boat and need to be in a major port to have them worked on. Nothing too serious but certainly a few that I’m not feeling comfortable doing a long ocean transit without fixing first. So we’re waiting in Nassau for a day to hear back from the company and decide if we are Miami bound or if they have another idea. Jimmy Cliff described “sitting here in limbo” with a groovy Caribbean reggae sound. Seems more than appropriate. There haven’t been too many times in my life where I could say I have literally no idea where we are going. We’ll add this to the list of new experiences.
Stay tuned. Much love. Happy Indepedence Day!
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2 Comments
“Hail Atlantis!”
– Donovan
Head to Puerto Rico (Borique), my friends. Still part of ‘Murica, but definitely an opportunity to experience something different from the Bahamas. Head to the center of the island (Cordilera, El Yunque) or Vieke (Vieqas). Montserrat or Jamaica is another option. Little known fact – for much of Montserrat & Jamaica’s modern history, Irish was the predominant language. Cromwell & his goons (and many English Kings/Parliaments thereafter) used to purge Ireland by selling the Irish to the plantations in Barbados, Montserrat & Jamaica…lots of interesting history there. And, who knows, you may even stumble across a genuine “She’been”….
Mama, mama, many worlds I’ve come since I first left home!
Love you man. Nuff said