#1 - Three Days to get to Paradise
It is hard to believe that so much can happen in just three days. Day one found me going to the township office to get the taxi that was going to take me to the airport hotel. It was to arrive at 8:05. I had taken it many times in the past and suddenly at 8:20 I suddenly felt panic as I declared to Ray, "They have forgotten me!!!" A quick call brought the trauma under control, they were running late. They had called 3 times on my old land line, canceled in June, and all was good. Life lesson....changing providers can be life changing.....
All checked into Four Points Sheridan where I always stay before a trip as I can see the airport from the hotel and in a pinch I could walk or crawl that far to get on my flight. I had a delightful lunch with two friends I taught with at Caledon East and then supper with my girls Melanie and Kahia. Lovely relaxing times.
Ray and I always joke about being sure to have $20 for two Starbuck coffees when we get to the airport. I was really parched so asked for anything tall cold and refreshing and this is what I got!!! Good grief. Short bitter cold and bearable
.
And now we come to the sad part of my story. This is Ray's empty seat. This is where he is supposed to be sitting but alas he is not. Max our King Shepherd was diagnosed last January with a tumor beside his right lung and we were told he probably would not make it out of June. It is now mid Nov. and he lives on. I had wanted to get someone to stay at the house with him as we have done before but Ray felt strongly that when Max passes he wants to be with him. I hope Ray will be able to join me in the Bahamas by the time I leave at the end of January and if not hopefully he will join me in Toronto and then we will fly to Mexico together for Feb. and March. I have to admit this feels weird being here on my own.....
Lunch of the plane....I ordered the deli boxes hoping for a shoe box and getting a jewelry box.
Meet Anthony, my travel companion to Nassau. What a delight he was with this amazing attitude to life. We shared many laughs and some intense conversation. It was great.
Going through customs in Nassau, I was asked if I was coming to work with all of my luggage and length of stay. Took me longer than normal to pass but I did eventually.
I forgot to mention that I was patted down at Pearson which didn't surprise me as I always am. I didn't take off my jewelry before hand as experience has told me that that doesn't matter. Anyway the woman asked me to empty my pockets. Grabbed my phone and walked back to get it xrayed as maybe I had a weapon inside of it. I boarded the little buggy to take me to my gate and then realized I didn't have my phone. Back I went with a beating heart to find it. I passed a bin with probably 6 phones in it and next was a bin with just one.....mine. That was the first time I lost my phone the second time was when I got off of the plane in Nassau and left my phone and passport in the front pocket. Oh I was doing so well traveling solo!!!
I have learnt over the years that when arriving in a strange city my best friend is going to be my taxi driver and this time proved my point. Tyrone was at my service. We did the usual chat and when he told me that the Marriott was just before downtown we negotiated a price for a downtown tour. He knew every building and lots of history, not that that is my thing, but it was well worth the expenditure and when the hotel called him the next morning to take me back to the airport he was there in a flash. He gave me a souvenirs of the island. Lol. I tip that well!!
Tyrone stopped or slowed down when I wanted to take pics. I loved the murals that were throughout the city. Gorgeous art work.
Such fun. This has to put a smile on your face...
Saturday night I had a date with a lovely young man that I hadn't seen in 3 years and I was looking forward to catching up. We were to meet at 6. By 6:30 he hadn't arrived so I ordered some conch soup as I was starving. Might as well start on the conch as I know I'm going to be eating lots of it for the next two and a half months!!!
At 7 I stopped one of the bartenders and asked her if being late was cultural. That gave her a laugh but then she went on to tell me absolutely. I said, "He just messaged me that he is 5 minutes away." "Oh baby, he ain't no 5 minutes away. He going to be at least another 45 minutes." At 7:30 I returned to my room thinking, "Well, that was interesting."
Most of you know that I never post ordinary food but when I ordered orange juice and it arrived in a can I had to. I am in the Caribbean and orange juice comes in a can? You have to be kidding me!!! If this were Mexico I would be waiting 30 minutes for my orange juice as someone was in the kitchen squeezing it.
Heading back to the airport. This shows the two things the tourists want....coconuts and conch shells. Tourism is the number one industry in the Caribbean.
Fish Fries are a big deal here in Nassau. In Freeport, Grand Bahama Island they are once or twice a week but here it is daily. There are streets lined with these restaurants mostly for the tourists.
Lots of public beaches along the ocean side. The way it should be. The locals believe it is way too cold to go into the ocean right now. I hope to get my feet wet. That maybe my excursion for tomorrow.
LOL So here we are on Western Air heading to Freeport from Nassau. Pretty laid back I'd say. One seat on the left and two on the right. Maybe 40 people all together. Maybe 4 white people. This is feeling better. The flight was 25 minutes. Slowly up and then slowly down.
I'm not a plane window picture taker but oh my these waters were fascinating.
I see it. I see it. Grand Bahama Island with its turquoise water, sandy beaches and lovely people.
Grand Bahama Island has a lot of canals eventually leading to the ocean. Lots of people can live on the water.....
Approximately 4 years ago, maybe 5, hurricane Dorian hit the Caribbean and did major damage to Grand Bahama including the airport. As a result, only Sunwing flies here direct from Toronto and no thanks not going to be me. Since tourism is so important I think putting some cash into the airport might prove to be brilliant. This shows you the state of the runways.
When landing it is so casual. Walk off the plane, across the runway, enter the building, here comes the luggage, grab your bag and out of the door. Now, again, I needed help getting my bags out of the building into the shade. The heat always hits you like a train. I don't think I mentioned that I had a roll of US $10 in my pocket that I liberally distributed to everyone who helped me and there were lots of angels in my path getting me here.
I initially can't see Jerrisma and feel panic as my tired brain can't think well. I can't phone her as my phone doesn't work here. I don't have her number written down and forget it is in my phone but then I see her!!!
She wants me to drive right away. I'm concentrating on getting the next breath and keeping my eyes open. I drive half a block and quit. Did I mention they drive on the left here? We go to Jerrisma's daughter's salon where my rental car is waiting. A honda something. This lovely young man loads my stuff into the back seat and I follow Shelese, Jerrisma's daughter to the grocery store. I whisk around throwing anything that doesn't need cooking into the buggy.
Now to find where I am going to live. Found the street. Can't find the building. Ah, across the hwy. Found the building, can't find the combo for the lock. Neighbour gets the combo. Open the trunk to get out groceries, lid falls onto my head. Not sure about concussion. Finally get everything in and sit at the dining room table for a long time simply breathing....I have arrived.
This was my breakfast on the first morning in my new home. I think it has all of the food categories....
This is one of two pics of the canal at the back of my building.
My unit is the one in the corner with the door and to the left. It is two bedrooms and two baths. Very nice. The landlady from Cleveland, Ohio is a delight. Her property manager came over the first night with a bottle of red wine. He was a delight. He called me baby about 6 times and my Canadian feminist had to be put on permanent hold for the culture I am in. I told him I would like to go fishing and he said, "I can take you fishing I have a boat and my brother and I are going diving and I'll bring you some lobsters." Wow, this is going to work out just fine!!!
Well, that's about it for now. As you know, I usually write on Mondays. Stay tuned. Share. Thanks for reading my epistle.
I'm going to drive today, around the corner to the grocery store and back home. Nothing too adventurous.
Stay safe and be blessed!!!
Val
Comments
Post a Comment