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Published: September 7th 2007
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Land Ho!
First drink on the island, at the bar where multiply films have been shot. 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 I've ever seen.
After checking in and changing into our swim suits, we spent most of the day either in the water, which Sam called
Cheating
The sand is really clean and doesn't hurt your feet, the water is so clear that when you're neck-deep you can still see your toes on the ground, and it's 80 degrees. This is like cheating.
Considering that today we saw on CNN that 10 beaches in New Jersey were closed because medical waste was washing up on shore, I can't say that I disagree with him. I'm more
Goombay Smash!
Taking a break from walking around the resort, waiting for check-in time. shocked that the beach that I'm walking on, the surf I'm playing in, is actually connected to that brown, waste-filled beach called Asbury Park where I spent so many summers.
The water park at Atlantis is something else worth experiencing. From the well-known Mayan Temple and its "Leap of Faith" slide (as well as the lesser-known racing slides on the opposite side of the temple - I won!) to the rapids river tube rides and Abyss slide (which may be the coolest - you go through a tube completely in the dark, and about halfway through, it gets really bright for about five seconds. Just when you think the ride is over, open your eyes, and get ready to take a breath, you get shot back into darkness before being spit into a beautiful underground lagoon. The end of the ride looks like a giant cave, but the walls have cut-outs where you can look into giant aquariums, so you really feel like you're in the wilderness).
We spent most of the afternoon running around like kids, getting off one slide and racing back up to the top, then finished the day with the craziest tube river ride
Bond, Sam Bond
Sitting where a few Bond films have been shot, enjoying a real Mojito. I've ever been on (Wildwater Kingdom has got nothing on this thing). You float around a man-made river that runs almost the entire length of the resort (plan on spending at least an hour on this thing to make a full rotation and experience all the twists, turns and waves, and end up back by your stuff). Parts of the river are relaxing, but others feature wave makers that shoot five foot waves at the rafters, raising us in the air and actually dumping some riders off their rafts. fake rock formations create whirlpools, waves, bumps and twists in the river, and current makers pull you along at quite a clip. One of the coolest features is that there are two mechanical ramps that carry riders, right on their rafts, to the top of the "Power Tower" and shoot them down two very cool, very fast water slides, which dump you right back in the rapids river!
OK, so we're talking now four hours of running around and riding the slides. On our trek back across the resort (which, by the way, is like two miles long, with the water slides and rides at one end and our room
Paradise Beach
Ahhh, the beautiful Bahamian beaches... at the opposite end in the Beach Tower - so it really is a trek, not a stroll, not a walk), we checked out the predator lagoon, sea turtles, numerous aquariums, and The Dig - a simulation of what Atlantis' remains would look like now, submerged underwater, half in rubble and covered with coral and living organisms. Very cool.
After being suckered into spending $33 a person on lunch that consisted of summer sausage, BAD stuffed crab shells, some pasta and plantains (TRAVEL TIP: Unless you are going to one of Atlantis' signature restaurants - MESA Grill, Nobu, D'Angelo's Steakhouse, Fathoms, etc - skip the resort and make your way into downtown Nassau to eat. All food on the island is expensive - they pay a 52% tariff on ALL imported items, so even milk costs $6.99 a gallon for residents - but you'll find better deals and MUCH better cuisine than on the resorts' lesser known dining spots.), we headed into Nassau to check out the Poop Deck Restaurant, which is right on the Hurricane Hole Marina, where the fishing ships dock.
The Poop Deck had incredible views, being right on the harbor, and given their westward-facing
Views
The view from our hotel room dining deck where we got to enjoy our first Caribbean sunset over more rum drinks and amazing seafood:
I ate a huge and very tasty rock lobster tail, and Sam tried the Seafood Lover's Delight, which consisted of cracked conch, grouper fingers and fried shrimp. Our waiter recommended that Sam try a Kalik beer, the local beer of the Bahamas, and he was very impressed. I stuck to my Goombay Smash rum drinks, which taste like the beach.
You can check out their site and menu here:
http://www.thepoopdeckrestaurants.com/Poop_Deck_Yacht_Haven_Marina.html
After dinner, we got to chatting with our waiter (TRAVEL TIP: Talk up your server/bartender. They're local and chances are they'll be able to point you in the direction of at least one off the beaten path spot wherever you are.), who told us we had to check out the Fish Fry on Arawack Cay (Ear-wak Key). He also snagged us a map of the island, pointed out the tourist-y destinations that were worth the investment, and told us that the best thing we could do is just wander the city of Nassau and look around.
Back at the resort, we tried our
Another View
View from our hotel room luck in the casinos. As usual, poor Sam lost about $75 at the blackjack tables, but I won about $90 playing slots, so we ended up ahead after our first night. We stuck around to hear the drawing for the $100,000 giveaway, but didn't win.
It's now about 1 a.m. and it's time for bed. We're getting up early tomorrow morning to head into Nassau, hit the Straw Market and walk around town. We hope to be on the first ferry into town, which leaves at 9 am, and we're going to grab some breakfast before that. More to come tomorrow!
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