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

Bahamas My family and I traveled to the Bahamas years ago. The intention was to get away for a nice tropical, family vacation for a week. When we arrived, the weather was hot, sunny, and beautiful, but we had not gotten our baggage yet, so we lounged around by the pool, grabbed some lunch, etc. in the clothes that we had traveled in. we got our baggage, but the next week the weather was cloudy, the temperatures dropped into the 60s- low 70s, which is cold for a "tropical vacation"! We tried to tough it out. We lounged by the pools, rode jet skis, walked on the beach, did some shopping at local vendors, swam with dolphins, etc. I especially liked the "infinity pools", I think that's what they are called!...you know the ones that look ... read more

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

We arrived at West End Bahamas this morning at 6:20 am. We had to slow down to arrive in dawn light rather than dark. It was a somewhat difficult crossing, since there were confused seas for most of it. Wind direction and speed was ok, but it was a roller coaster ride. Clearing customs was easy and done with dispatch and cheer. Then a nap was in order since neither of us had managed any sleep through the night. AFter that, we rode bikes into the village,swam in the ocean, then the pool. The swim in the ocean was very reviving. It was just what I needed, since I was feeling over tired and over heated. We plan to leave here Saturday for the Freeport area, then make our way towards Nassau, in time for Xmas. ... read more