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Published: February 9th 2016
Our Ship Docked at Nassau
Royal Caribbean's ship next to ours Wake up, wake up! We debark this morning to visit Nassau AFTER we eat breakfast. You need all the strength you can muster up for this walking adventure. Cory and I find it amusing to say this is our 3rd visit to Nassau since this is just our 3rd cruise. We feel like experienced island hoppers. We know the routine. We know the route. Carolyn and Bill have joined our party which makes us an entourage of 8. Well, 8 1/2 counting Lulu cause she's so small. We were advised by the ship not to venture out from the tourist areas......danger: high crime. Welcome to Nassau, everyone!
We pushed and shoved our way through the pack of persistent local tour barkers. We know our way and get ourselves up to the Main Street. Hasn't changed a bit. Still lined with jewelry, liquor and t-shirt stores. Cory bought a Cuban Cigar for our neighbor, Mike....he's keeping an eye on our RV while we are traveling. We watched the man roll it and he said the tobacco was from Cuba. Mike will have to tell us if it is a knock- off.
Carolyn was anxious to visit jewelry stores and perhaps
pick up a few trinkets. Sandy was the perfect sidekick as she is a knowledgeable gem pro. Me.....I'm good at dickering. Carolyn said she was good, too.....but she just hasn't been around Cory and me and our hobby of collecting and the skill needed to get your very best price. Smart Sam has that wheeler-dealer skill, too. Carolyn found several babbles she liked. The last item she had her eyes on were beautiful diamond earrings. Not knowing real vs fake diamonds, I tend to think more knock-off than truly the real thing in these foreign shops. Skilled Sandy checked them with a loop and saw carbon in one chip. Real? The original price for these bangles were $34---- too much $$. We started the dance. Eventually, with some back and forth juggling, the salesman came down to 24. I said 20, he said 23. I told Carolyn if she plunked down 22 on the counter, he would probably take it. She hemmed and hawed, agreed it was a descent price but moved on. I thought it was a good price and almost bought a pair for myself but didn't. As we moseyed down the bumpy sidewalk....the ladies chattered about the
earrings and the cost. In my head, I was seriously talking $22 dollars....WRONG, very WRONG! They were $22,000.00 plus. Are you kidding me? Just plunk that down on the counter, Carolyn! Right! Jeepers. What a dreamer I am. So far off! Had I realized that, I would have dickered him down to at least $15,000 for her. So much for me and jewelry bartering. I am only a costume jewelry gal ....bright, fancy and lots of fake bling and I'm happy.
Our day was proving to be fun and festive. Lulu loved her photo opportunities and took advantage of everyone. STOP! Halt! The tide has changed. A devastating incident has happened. Earlier, in one of the jewelry shops, Carole had shown Sandy & me her beautiful necklace that one of her children had just given to her this past Christmas. It has the birthstones of six of her grandchildren on it. She cherished and loved it. Standing at one of the cross walks, she felt for this necklace. OMG....the chain had broken and the pendent was gone! Tragedy! Sadness! Anguish! Heartache! Panic.....the hunt began. She felt around herself .....she had the broken chain but that was all.
Lulu loves men
All kinds of men We headed back to the jewelry store we knew she had it last. Our eyes focused downward as we rolled them back and forth, searching each and every crevice and hole in the bumpy, grungy, bricked sidewalk. This had to be the real needle in the haystack. Bits of litter started to catch our eyes only to end up being dirty trash. Carol and I made it to the jewelry store. There was a bench just inside for her to sit on and start the probing. I was sure it had to have dropped down in her bra. Shielding her best I could, she thoroughly fondled herself all around her breasts as though doing a breast exam. Doctors would be proud of her expertise. I'm sure the passer-byers questioned our activity as I was leaning over her while she work her hands like radar probes under her shirt. Nothing! Rats! We cannot give up though! I told Carole she needed to go in a restroom and take off her shirt and bra cause maybe it was caught on the fabric somewhere untouched by her careful, manipulating fingers. She hesitated but agreed. She knew where the restroom was (in the Straw
Cuban Cigar Roller
Lulu hangs on an elephant. Atlantis in the distance Market) because she and George had gone there earlier. Cory came out from his straw market search and joined us. We made our path through this congested, ceiling to floor, wall to wall, jungle of shirts, baskets, hats, towels, dolls, etc. etc. Each owner almost begging you to buy something...anything. Phew! It was a rugged trek. Made it to the restrooms located completely in the back of the huge vault of colorful "stuff." Carole went into the very tight, confining stall and stripped. Rats....nothing. Oh, dear. Sometimes life is not fair. Locals asked us if we had lost something as we were crouching and peering under all the sloppy, occupied stall doors--- looking just like perverts. Carole explained her loss. Just shrug responses. We came out of the bathroom. George was seated with Cory. Carole sadly bemoans her plight with George. They share their sadness and stress with tearful eyes. A local lady vendor is seated next to us. She sells little, wooden, walking turtles that she demonstrates in front of your feet as you pass her by. Cute but dangerous if you trip over the crawly thing. Overhearing our desperate and difficult conversation, she inquires about our loss. Carole
explains the circumstance of her anguish and frustration. The lady says "wait a minute" and heads to a lidded garbage can next to our bench. She says she watched a lady pick up something small just outside the bathroom and place it on top of this can and walk away. Carole and George follow her as she hands Carole something. WHAT? Are you Kidding? It can't be..but it is! It is Carole's pendent. Unbelievable. It's a miracle. Hallelujah! God lives! Everything is right in this world. We are speechless. There is no way in he_l we could ever recover this precious, priceless heirloom. But we did! Persistence paid off. We were truly in the right place at the right time. The stars were aligned. Our appreciation and gratitude smothered this little local lady. George slipped her a monetary donation. Carole and "Turtle Lady" provided one of my best photo opp's with Lulu. Smiles galore. Glee & Glory. What a ride of emotions. Happiness radiated enormously outside this rugged restroom. The sun was shining brightly as we plowed our way back through this maze of picturesque, claustrophobic "stuff". Once back in fresh air, we found Sandy who had been continually walking
a million steps back and forth, searching the crumby sidewalks. She shared in the joy & glee of our little group. Sam, Carolyn and Bill had already headed back to the ship. The rest us now skipped along merrily singing a happy tune and wishing the surrounding people a "howdy-do". We were all feeling the glory burn. We love happy endings and because Carole and George are such good people, we certainly had one! You get what you give! They got back their goodness and their just deserves. Hooray!
We made it in time for a late lunch. Carole said she thought she would need a slug of Crown Royal to drown her sorrows but instead it could now be a celebratory slug. Yippee! Afternoon took some of us back to our room for a recuperative session....me, for one. I wrote one of these blogs until my eyes could no longer focus and I found myself writing in a bizarre, foreign tongue. A nap ensued. I seldom take naps cause for me, I need at least eight hours. Otherwise, I am a real mess when I wake up. I was the mess as expected but managed to get myself
Back to the ship
Our room is the first window on right of the six bottom windows in gear and join the party gang in the dinning room. I wasn't super hungry so kind of picked at my meal. I need to eat like this on a regular basis. Our dinning experience was made more pleasant by the entertainment provided by our servers. Charlene joined them in their dance routine. Nice job, Charlene! You're hired!
We decided to look at our pictures...hoping somehow they had changed for the better.... Nope. Still only worthy of a carnival's sideshow entrance. After much pressure by Cory, I finally made one choice and tossed away about one hundred. We had it reduced to a 5x7 size hoping it will be harder to visualize instead of being right in your face big time.
Cory and I broke from our pals and headed to the casino. Cory had played in the casino another night and fortunately won some mulla on the crap table (our only saving grace). It's good to be with Mr.Lucky. The slot machine was a real challenge though. Several little buttons to push to activate your card and then other buttons to transfer any winnings onto it. From there, more buttons to push to use that money you
Lulu on rat rope
Carole points to their room had put on the card. Too confusing for me so after my lesson and initial transfer, I just used cash from my pocket to play. It didn't take long to lose it all so no worry about trying to figure out the button deal. I like it better when you can win a little chunk change so after a perfect loosing nite, decided I didn't like this casino at all. Not a Winner-Not a Winner.
Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. When Cory had been on the crap table the other night, his name got placed in a prize drawing pot. Mr. Lucky's name was drawn for the $500 cash prize. They called out his name, over and over. We were at one of the dirty comedy club shows so he missed out. Rats! Double Rats! Friends had tried to locate him when they heard his name being called but they didn't know where we were. Win a few; lose a few! So we lost out on $500. Such is life. Mr. Lucky went both ways this nite: from lucky to not lucky. We just have to suck it up! After all our slot machine donations, our stateroom
was more welcoming than ever. We were safe from temptation. We had our towel animal to play with. Sweet dreams. Yeah, right!
PS: Just in case you missed a couple of my housekeeping comments. If the photos are too small, just tap on them and they will enlarge on a separate page. Remember to continue to scroll completely to the very bottom of the page or you will miss half the pictures. After the text ends, there is an area of ads, our picture and other jabber.....scroll below all that and you will see the remainder of photos. This blog has 15 pictures in it. ?
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