Our Enchanted World: May 2011

Adventure in the Bahamas

Jola and I flew into Nassau from Calgary, to overnight at the British Colonial Hilton. This is not a great photo because I have snitched it from the web. My fav resident photographer is at home and although I have a small travelling Pentax my pics just do not come out as well as his. The Hilton has a fascinating history. I've been asked to massage a tired resort manager's shoulders, thus I will continue with telling you the fascinating history of the British Colonial Hilton tomorrow.
The Hilton is one of those old hotels with an intrigue all of its own. It is built on the site of the Old Fort of Nassau in the 19th century which was demolished in 1873, and of course has a history preceding this date, going back to 1666 when Nassau was known as Charles Town and lined with unsavoury taverns and brothels.
The Hotel was originally built in 1901 and then rebuilt in 1922 because of a fire, with a few owners in between, the most famous being Sir Harry Oakes. Entrepreneurship and intrigue finally ended in his murder, which has never been solved.
There is a 007 suite overlooking the ocean filled with James Bond memorabilia to keep a James Bond fan happily immersed until the wee hours of the morn. I wish we had known!

We spent a few hours at Atlantis. Built by Sol Kerzner of Sun City, Johannesburg fame, I am impressed by the scale of the hotel. It's classy and over the top and I enjoyed every minute I was there.
http://www.atlantis.com/default.aspx

We dined at Nobu where we paid an outrageous $75 on "snacks" but admittedly the snacks were tasty with a zen fusion. There is also an aquarium which is huge and fun to see so many diverse fish, particularly a few manta rays. I was astonished to see one with a double head or two eyes independently situated on either side of its head. It's like the one in this url

http://www.mantarayconservation.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=25&Itemid=27

Kim and Victoria, our cousins from New Zealand, met up with us at the Hilton and we all taxied to the airport together for our flights on Pineapple Air and Southern Air.

Victoria and Kim at Nassau Airport, ready to jump into Pineapple Air.

Service Desk - ready to call your name.

Jola - a 1st timer to the islands.

A crowd of guys on a fishing trip totally excited at their pending adventure.

Jola - the back seat is the best for a stupendous view of the islands below.

One of the many Bahamian islands in all its splendour.

Margaritas at the bar

I love getting to the bar at around 6pm for a happy hour special or my fav margarita. Just after 6pm the sun starts setting and the mysterious transformation of day into night envelops one in the screened bar. My next pix up are from Kim's collection of photos, as these are too, and will illustrate exactly what I mean. Here are Victoria and Ewa, newly re-acquainted cousins.

Danka, Victoria, Jola and Ewa with Shaddie creating margaritas supreme.

Through a glass darkly.

There have been some hilarious yarns being spun by our crowd.

Looking good, Margarita!

A Day in the Sun

The girls baking in the Bahamian sun.

Victoria - getting pickled.

The panoramic view to the south where there are private homes along the beach.

Ewa - dipping in the sun and sea after work hours. It's still hot at 6pm!

A shady spot under the gazebo.

On hummingbirds and a walk along the beach

Yesterday whilst out walking along the beach, I stopped under a grove of Causarina trees, the ones you see here, observing some rocks, when along came a hummingbird and hovered in front of me at eye level, hovering to the right and to the left. I couldn't believe my luck. I suspect it was attracted to my hat which has a pink stripe on it, but who knows. It was such a magnificent surprise and I am so delighted.

Out in the bay today, Kim went swimming and was suddenly aware of a rather large shadow moving swiftly below the surface of the water. Not quite sure what to make of it, she got out and asked a gardener who said: "Yes, ma'am, that shure be a lemon shark." She estimated 5 feet, but Ewa told us there was a sighting of a 7 footer out there today. Apparently they just swim around and never nibble people. It feels good to hear this as I can't do without my swims in this exquisite bay.