Blogs from Paradise Island, Nassau, Bahamas, Central America Caribbean - page 3

Mom & Lee signed onto the Liberty yesterday and I love having them here. Seeing them emphasizes to me how much has happened in the time I’ve been away. It feels like a long time ago, last fall when I was home and living in Toronto. Already I feel lighted, happier, more energized than I have since my transfer. This morning we were in Nassau, Bahamas. Mom, Lee & I went on a “Harbour Cruise” and tour of the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island.. There wasn’t much to the Harbour Cruise - I think I learned more on the water taxi when I was here last year. But being on an official tour, we got to see a lot more of the resort than when I’d come on my own last year with friends. We were ... read more

We touched down at Nassau's tiny international airport at noon today. It's Sammy's first trip to these beautiful islands, and my second (although the first trip was consumed mostly with work, and the two days I spent there were hardly enough to find my way around even downtown Nassau). Fighting my urge to create a daily, minute-by-minute itinerary, I have agreed to Sam's request that we just "relax and wing it" for the duration of the stay. Because we arrived too early to check in, we spent a few hours touring Atlantis' resort grounds and made our way to a bar at the water's edge that we realized was the location for scenes in After the Sunset and Die Another Day . The beaches are inpeccable and the water is this most beautiful shade or turquoise ... read more

Today we were in the Bahamas and it was a brilliant day. A big group of us (me, Brooks, Brian, Marlize, Samantha, Kevin, Darnell, Jason & Ben) took the water taxi from Nasssau across to Paradise Island. We cruised past the yoga centre I’d looked at doing my teacher training at. Had I spent this year in Toronto, I likely would have saved to go there this past February. As we passed, the guide pointed it out and said how there they “don’t drink, smoke, eat meat or have any nookie-nookie”. Of course everyone laughs and shakes their heads as though they’re crazy and I just thought how much I’d love to be there. So crazy to be right there in front of where I could have been, but living in such a different environment instead. ... read more

When we woke up early on Friday morning to catch the shuttle to Valle Nevado ski resort outside of Santiago, we were a bit salty. It isn't that Santiago is the worst place in the world or anything. But when the rain sticks you in a place for longer than you need, and you know you missed a chance to be somewhere you might not ever get to again, it's hard to look on the bright side. We hadn't skiied in several years (one of the biggest drawbacks to living in the midwest), and were happy to be going to do something. But our enthusiasm dimmed for a while during the trek. First of all, the resort is only 60 km or so away, and the books and resorts use this number to mislead you. The ... read more

Day 2! I was awake bright and early (who wouldn’t be?), so I went out on our balcony for a couple minutes. It was warm outside with a nice breeze and you could see the entire property as the sun rose. Then I went back inside and finished my first sketch. Then my aunt and uncle woke up and I quickly changed and got my stuff together for the day. We decided to go to the Waters Edge restaurant for a buffet style breakfast. It is located in the coral towers part of the hotel and is right next to the lagoon pool and an artificial shark lagoon. The food was pretty good for a breakfast meal. After that, we walked to the entrance to the hotel to find directions to the ferry terminal, where we ... read more