Nassau, Nassau, and more Nassau

Saturday (4/14/12) was pretty much a 'lost day'...it stormed just as predicted so we were pretty much sequestered to the boat.  The good news, we continued to plow through the 'library' of books we have on board.  I now have a stack to take to the laundry here at the marina to trade.  The bad news....we continue to learn all of our lessons the hard way.  We closed all the hatches this time before the rains came, and it flat poured with some mega gusts mixed in.  Even though we were ON the boat for this latest gully washer, by the time we went to turn in for bed, it was soaked- AGAIN.  It seems the hatch above our bed was not dogged down, and consequently the wind cracked the lid enough for the rain to blow through.  We were in the boat the whole afternoon and evening...and STILL ended up with a wet bed. I scrounged up some extra bedding, and we camped out on the settee's in the salon.  I was able to get an internet connection from the boat after 11:00pm, (because boaters are notoriously early to bed, early to rise) so I stayed up until 4:00am trying to upload pictures to previous blog posts.  

By Sunday (4/15/12) though it still looked stormy, and there was a continued howling wind, we had boat fever (not as in "I want to buy a new boat", but like cabin fever, only different!) so we decided we needed to go for a walk and do some exploring.  I mean, people vacation in Nassau, surely there's things to see and do, right?  We hoofed it a good three miles to the downtown area on West Bay St. (we are up on the east end of the island).  Four cruise ships were in town, so it was a carnival like atmosphere, with lots of pasty white people with bright red sunburns milling about spending lots of money.  We went in search of the Queen's Staircase, the Water Tower and Fort Finncastle.  They were easy to spot as the fort is built on the highest spot on the island....which meant hoofing it uphill...both ways....in the hot sun.  Well, it was hot, but very little sun.  The view from 'up top' clearly showed the storms were out to sea.  I was very glad to not be out in that mess.

Donnie is down by the cannon, and you can see the cruise ships out in the
channel.  You can also see the threatening skies...there was some crazy
wind gusts in those clouds, too.  BIG wind.

Though it was the smallest fort I have ever seen, it was really very cool.
It is shaped like the bow of a ship.  There once stood a tall mast in the center,
where Lord Dunsmore would run signal flags up it to communicate with
the other five forts on the island.  Pretty ingenius, actually. 

When we got back, Matt and Karie had also just returned from a trek of their own over to Paradise Island.  They went and saw the aquarium at Atlantis, which we had already done our first time through here about three weeks ago.  In the late afternoon, Donnie borrowed Matt's tool to make some repairs to the snaps on our dodger.  The storms Saturday night just about blew it to bits.  I have to do some more sewing with fishing line in an attempt to hold it together just to get us home.  Let's see, so far we need a new jibsail, a new dodger, and likely a new roller furling just for starters next season.  It's only money....

Matt and Karie invited us to dinner on their boat, and it was honestly the best meal we have had this whole trip- restaurants included.  Matt grilled steaks and chicken that were marinated, and he also grilled a huge basket of fresh vegetables- peppers, squash, asparagus, etc., that was also marinated.  Oh. My. Goodness.  What a wonderful meal.  I made garlic cheese biscuits and chocolate chip cookies for dessert.  We ate ourselves silly.

Donnie met Carl on a neighboring sailboat, who was playing his electric guitar- through his cockpit speakers!  I'm talking jazz guitar...amazing stuff.  He's played professionally all of his life, and it shows.  Donnie talked him into setting up by the pool after dinner to entertain the marina.  He, in turn, asked Donnie to join in with him.  That was very kind of him to do, to let Donnie play with the Big Kid :)

To say that Donnie enjoyed himself, would be a huge understatement.
The guys played and sang for almost three hours.  It was lots of fun.

This morning (4/16/12) we got up and decided to walk to the eastern end of the island, to Fort Montague.  After our six mile hike yesterday, we weren't so much in the mood for a repeat.  We made it to the fort, (you couldn't go in this one), walked along the beach, through a park, and back to the marina.  We sorted through our books to return to the laundry, and I decided to wash everything up today.  We each started a new book by the pool in between loads.  When Matt and Karie got back,  I found out we should have gone about a mile further.  There was a botanical gardens down by the Queen's College that was gorgeous, they said.  Since we are stuck here through tomorrow, I am hoping I can talk my hubby into heading that way.  I must say, being back in a bigger city, with noisy traffic, dirty streets, and sirens at all hours of the night has been an assault to the senses.  We had become accustomed to uninhabited islands, (or barely habited) with pristine beaches and crystal clear water.  This has been kind of a letdown being stuck here, for sure. Matt, on the other hand, wants to go sailing tomorrow "just so he can rest."  Karie has worn him out walking the last two days!  Karie says sge doesn't want to sail because we can't sail anywhere we need to be :)  We may send the boys out sailing and we'll just hang by the pool.  The winds are still clocking out of the N N/W, so the front has not moved all the way through.  The seas are running 4-6ft, which likely means higher than that, and winds from the north are no good for us- that's the direction we need to go, naturally.  It is supposed to continue to blow tomorrow, and hopefully it will blow itself out and turn back into easterlies.  Then we're good to go.

This afternoon was a rousing game of dominoes and snacks, then I fixed dinner for us all tonight, spaghetti, salad, and 'pizza rolls' made with pepperoni and string cheese wrapped in cresent rolls, dusted with garlic butter, then dipped in marinara.  (My daughter Emily taught me this one, and they are delicious :)  Afterwards we shared alot of laughs about our childhoods.  I also decided to cut the sappodilla I bought at the market on Friday when we got here.  The lady said it needed about three days to ripen. (I showed a picture of a sappodilla in a previous post)  It supposedly has the texture like an apple or pear, and when ripe, it has a brown sugar flavor.  Bahamians love them or hate them.  I should have known better when Karie told me a starving homeless man was trying to sell them some off the street today.  He's starving and homeless, and even he wouldn't eat them.  Suffice it to say that I also am on Team Hate.  OMG- that was, by far, the worst thing I ever put in my mouth.  It immediately dried my entire mouth out....like alum powder or something equally as awful.  It gives me shivers just reliving the moment.  I do not recommend trying the fruit of a sappodilla tree....EVER.  Not even on a bet.

Since the internet seems to be working reasonably well, I'm going to try and upload the rest of the pictures from this trip.  Again, the next few posts may be out of order, but I promise, you'll see some beautiful  i'land t'ings.  G'nite, y'all!