“Being on a boat that’s moving through the water, it’s so clear. Everything falls into place in terms of what’s important and what’s not.”
James Taylor
Have
you been to Nassau, Bahamas more than once and are looking for
something new to do? Well, we tried something new this time. Let
me tell you a little about it. My family booked through Viator a
private half day boat charter with Bahamas Land and Sea Tours that
promised great snorkeling and swimming with the turtles. Sounds
great doesn’t it? We had been to Nassau a few times before and
wanted to do something totally new. We figured this was a safe
alternative to a regular excursion without the crowds during the era
of Covid and it just sounded like fun.
Our
paperwork for the excursion said to meet the boat at the dock right
near where the cruise ship was parked and close to Senior Frogs
Restaurant. That was convenient as it was an easy walk from our
cruise ship. When we arrived, no boat was at the dock. Oh my, that
was scary. The men on the dock told us their first excursion must
have ran late and said they probably went to fill up the boats with
gas. That was a relief as there was another family saying they were
doing the same excursion and we thought that was odd since it was to
be a private excursion. So hearing boats was a relief. No worries
as the locals say, we were on ‘Bahama time’. We grabbed a drink
from Senior Frogs while waiting for our ride to arrive.
We
walked back to the dock when we saw a boat coming in fast. We got
excited thinking it was our boat. The driver got off the boat and
announced he was looking for the other group. Bummer. They loaded
up their group and took off. Shortly after they left, we saw another
small boat cruising in. That was our boat and yes, it was a small
boat. So our excursion was going to start about an hour after we
were scheduled to start. But remember, we were on ‘Bahama time’.
After we met Elvis, our Captain, we were helped onboard the boat and
got settled in. Now we were happy and ready to have some fun.
He
pushed off from the dock and took off, flying over the waves and out
of the port. He wanted to make up for lost time so we zoomed out
towards the open water. We felt the sea water spraying us as we
zipped by our cruise ship. My how small we felt passing that huge
ship since our small boat only could hold about eight people. The
ride was fun but if you are uncomfortable with small speed boats,
this excursion may not be for you. But if you enjoy them, this one
was super fun.
We
saw a small island with palm trees off in the distance and as we got
closer, I was thinking it looked familiar. I was wondering where I
may have seen it when Elvis pointed to the island and said that it
Gilligan’s Island. He said it is the island they filmed during
the intro to the show. Then he turned the boat and headed further
out to the snorkeling area. We slowed down and he said we are here.
He
stopped the boat and handed out snorkel masks and fins and off we
went to explore this area. As soon as we got into the water, we saw
the most beautiful fish imaginable and an amazing live coral reef.
It was stunning. The water was so clear that we could easily see to
the bottom of the ocean some 20 feet deep in places. The tropical
fish were so colorful and graceful swimming all around us. They
didn’t pay us any mind. We saw so many varieties that I had only
seen at fish stores or aquariums before. It was exciting seeing them
in their natural habitat. The girls even found a beautiful conch
shell that they brought to the service to show us and then put it
back.
Elvis
was the perfect Captain and host. He let us snorkel till we got
tired.. He told us he was training to be a ship captain. We wished
him well. We then headed to our next stop to swim with the
turtles. On the way, he offered us drink of Rum Punch. It was very
tasty. This was the perfect drink for a perfect day on the gorgeous
water in the beautiful Bahamas.
We
stopped at our next snorkeling sight and once again we got our
equipment back on again and jumped in. How blessed were we that
there was a large turtle swimming not far from us. How fascinating
it was watching this beautiful creature effortlessly gliding through
the water. We followed the turtle around watching him swim to the
bottom to eat and then up to the surface. We followed him till he
went out to deeper water. What a thrill.
Once
again, when we got out of the water, Elvis asked if we wanted another
drink of Rum Punch. We all said yes. It was nice having a drink
for the ride to Rose Island. He pulled up into a lovely cove with a
nice beach and we got off the boat. He asked if we wanted to go
for a walk and we were all in. We got off the boat and took a short
nature walk to an abandoned house up on a hill with amazing views.
The house looked like it had been abandoned for quite a while and was
thought to be owned by a possible drug runner. Along the trail we
saw many beautiful native plants and he pointed out a Dillie Tree.
As
we were walking around, I felt the effects of the Rum Punch and got
the giggles. I am a lightweight so it doesn’t take much to have
me feel the effects of the alcohol. I believe we were all pretty
happy by the time we got back to the ship. As the Bahamians would
say we could have been “Kerpunkle Up” meaning that we may have
gotten a little carried away. We got back onboard the cruise ship
with a half hour to spare before the all aboard.
We
had a great day with Elvis and had a blast. He was very nice and we
really enjoyed this excursion. We would do it again even with the
rough start. We had plenty of time on the water and felt like we had
a lot of time to get totally relaxed. “Well mudda sick!”- (Oh
my Gosh). What a day! Till next time. Bye for now.
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