Blogs from Freeport, Grand Bahama, Bahamas, Central America Caribbean - page 3

Arrival at Freeport on Grand Bahama Island was again early in the morning. We booked a Carnival shore excursion for Freeport that would include the Garden of the Groves botanical gardens and the Lucaya marketplace. Upon arriving at the gangway at 8:00 a.m., we discovered the weather had taken a turn. Nassau had been beautiful and sunny. It was now pouring rain at Freeport! Not to be discouraged, we grabbed jackets, disembarked, and assembled for the tour. Our excursion went off as planned despite the rain. (Aquatic and other excursions had been canceled.) But, as we learned, Grand Bahama is dependent on ample rainfall for drinking water. The tour bus took us along the main Queen's Highway through the industrial and commercial parts of Freeport. Past the tourist area of Port Lucaya the country opens up ... read more

Happy Christmas Eve and Happy Holidays one and all. Although we have been under a large cold front here, we have done some exploring. We asked directions to the local shopping area that was not the tourist area. Directions given were go west....we did that walking for about five miles. We finally found a bus stop and took the bus. Our mission was to find a replacement for our bodum. The glass bit has broken, we are nearly out of filters for our single cup brewer!! Coffee is very important for our mornings. We found the recommended hardware....no joy. It is an odd thing but no grocery store we have been in sells filters, the hardware sells regular coffee makers, but no filters ( either permanent or paper), and no percolators. Very odd indeed. surely people ... read more

Life in Ocean Reef - 2009 We are now safely tied to a slip in the “Ocean Reef” resort near the town of Lucaya on the south coast of Grand Bahama island. We crossed over from Lake Worth (Palm Beach) Florida on Monday the 30th of November. The trip across the Gulf Stream is always a bit exciting. The gulf stream is a river of water that is about 30 miles wide and moves from south to north at anywhere from 1.5 to 4.0 knots. Since we are moving from west to east it is necessary to cross this current to reach the Bahamas. We left Vero Beach and traveled down the ICW to get a little farther south before attempting our crossing. We spent the first night in a very picturesque place called “Manatee Pocket”. ... read more

Spending 6 winter months down south on the boat, and 6 summer months at home in Guelph seems to be working well, and so here we are looking forward to our 3rd winter of retirement on the boat. This summer our family grew again, with our second grandchild, Gavin Jeffrey Nicholson being born September 24th. As all of you know that have experienced being grandparents, another grandchild is an incredible experience, and so much joy to look forward to. This year I left earlier than Sharon for the boat, leaving October 13th, visiting our friends Ron and Jenny Huibers in Chalotte NC, and arriving at the boat October 14th. Sharon flew down a week later, giving her another week to help Dawn with Ella, and Gavin. We kept the boat again this summer in St.Marys Georgia. ... read more

The sea is so blue on this cruise. I know it's because we are in deep water. I really like it though. It's one of those blues that sucks you in. Out of the corner of your eye it's almost black, and you only get the impression of blue, but it catches your eye and forces you to inspect it further. And, upon doing so, you realize that it's actually a kaleidoscope of the most beautiful blues you've ever seen. Mysterious. Sometimes dark. Sometimes light and constantly beautiful. I really want to jump into this water! But, if I did, how would I get back into the ship? That whole, "man overboard" concept seems like a bad idea. Consequently, so does the "stranded in the ocean" idea. But the water is so blue... and it calls ... read more