Well, we finally left the Atlantis nest. The glitter is gone, though the glitz is not yet forgotten, and we indeed milked it to the last second. We spent yesterday morning doing the final loads of laundry, taking long hot showers, topping off water tanks, and then lounging at the pool just behind our boats (which clinched the ‘swim at least once in each of the dozen-plus pools in the resort’ goal) until we needed to shove off. This allowed for testing of the new snorkel masks (i.e. the lastest in the Storm Trooper Water Wear collection), and a little Sunday rest before reminding ourselves how to use our anchors and dinghies.
Once we settled into our new spots between Paradise and New Providence islands, seven of us went ashore to walk into Nassau. (Andy, meanwhile, went back to the finals of the Pure Silk LPGA tournament, where he spent the afternoon as a complete tourney groupie, loving every minute of it.)
From our dive marina bar/dinghy tie-up spot we walked through a worn and battered part of town to get to the Straw Market, and I was amazed at how quickly crumbling buildings, broken windows and graffitied walls turned into shiny, new Rolex and Cartier shops. We wandered through the market, were hounded by vendors, and eventually sat to have the girls’ hair braided. We then walked a bit further into the world of cruise ship terminal madness, and my goodness, the sights.. Let’s just say that I saw more than three leather superhero thong bikinis and stilettos, and walking through the hordes was an adventure. The cruise ship workers must love the subsequent returns from the port stops.
As we were walking back to the dinghy, one of the shop tenders came out to wag a sample in our faces. “Would you ladies like to have something beautiful?” the coifed woman asked us. “Uh, no, we need something rugged and affordable!” Lily responded. That’s my girl.
Today is back to routine, and school will begin after breakfast. It’s been going well so far, but we’ve also had decent wifi to intersperse the fun web-based modules that has kept the kids interested. Time will tell how well I can keep the excitement up! Lord knows that the ‘lure’ of needing to go to the grocery store this afternoon isn’t going to be the hook that draws them into action..
Tomorrow we’ll shove off early for a trip to Norman Island- until then!
