Friday in Nassau - Bahamas

The Disney Dream arrived in Nassau at 9 AM Friday morning. We had a quiet crossing from Port Canaveral. In the morning before we stopped - Lulu and I had a wonderful breakfast - at 8 AM the buffet was virtually empty. But mainly we wanted to be first in line to try the giant flume ride. We settled for second :-) We rode the flume two times - the first time Lulu took a video of the ride. The only allow one raft at a time on the flume - so each ride takes one minute - then the next person or couple goes.

At 9:30 - the gang plank was down - it was quick and convenient to leave. Your credit card/room key allowed you to pass through the turnstile. We made a bee line to a McDonalds restaurant about 6 blocks away where we knew there was free Internet. No password was required to get online. We downloaded our mail and I uploaded the previous story to my web page.

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The Disney Dream is the largest and newest Disney ship - build 2011. It can hold 4500 people - I am wondering how many are on it - it does not seem crowded. This picture was taken at 2 PM when we returned to the ship for our lunch. Notice how quiet the pier is.

In downtown Nassau is the Straw Market. Basically it is a place selling trinkets to the tourists. We have seen 6 cruise ships in the port at one time today. At the gate to the city - you had to show your drivers license. Lulu bought a Christmas ornament - it took almost an hour to select it.

All the government buildings downtown are painted pink with white trim and green shutters. It would look funny back in Tallahassee - but here it looks great. One of lulu's favorites is Queen Victoria - here is a statue of her. The Bahamas are an independent country - but Britain ruled here for hundred of years. England outlaws slavery long before the USA - and many fugitives form US slavery came here.

In the background is the octagonal shaped National library. It is 3 floors tall - at one time it was a prison. The building and collection are both in state of poor repair. The main reason I am showing this picture is to show you how lovely Lulu looks. We were here 12 years ago on our way to Cuba (search my web page for the "cuba" story). She looks better now than then - maybe she was just scared she was going to Cuba.

The original Straw Market burned down in 2011. I marveled at the super structure of the new building. It has lots of thick beams and steel metal plates.

We took a walk inland and found the Graycliff Hotel about 12 blocks from the ship - up on a hill.

This is the Government House high on a hill. There is a statue to honor Christopher Columbus. He visited here on one of his 4 trips to America.

At the National Art Museum was this statue of the Serpent Maiden - the forerunner of the Mermaid.

I enjoyed this colorful museum painting of the black Madonna and Child.

Another famous painting at the National Art Museum is the Balcony House. Just a couple blocks away I stumbled onto the real Balcony House.

The Balcony House is a classic Bahama House. 

They were putting a new roof on this church. This is post and lentil construction - exactly the same configuration I used to build our cedar chalet in Tamaqua PA.

Suzukis are very popular here. I love these narrow tiny little vans. It has 6 individual seats - 2 - 2 -2 configuration. Seats are easily removed to make a cargo van. These vehicles are outlawed in the USA because they do not comply with our safety laws. Look how easily it fits in a parking space - it is less than 4 feet wide.

Colorful homes are the norm here. It is a relative poor country - per capita income is less than $3000 a year. Even government buildings were in need of paint - repairing rotted wood and leaky roofs. The pounding sun and rain speed up the weathering process. Most of the buildings have no heat or AC. Insulation is not common. Even in state buildings - the roof planks are not covered on the inside. Porches have steep slants because of the heavy storms.

This is the National Art Museum. At one time it was the home of an English Lord. It was high on a hill overlooking the harbor.

"Protect Ya Things" - I am not good at reading subtlety. I love direct signs like this. 

So far on this trip I have opened my wallet once - to pay for admission to the Art Museum - and I asked for the senior citizens rate which was $3 versus $5. The lady gave me change with 2 - Bahama One Dollar bills. I ended up giving them to two kids that were getting off another cruise ship.

After a late lunch - Lulu went up on the top deck to burn - believe me - the sun is very hot here now. I am a bit red. She is reading a book on her ipad. If you use wifi Internet on the ship - it is 75 cents a minute. If you can read this post on Friday - I opened the wallet and a few months flew out - and so did this story.