Bahamas - Day 3 : Garden of the Groves

When we finally woke from our aloe-induced sleep, all of us were moving very gingerly. Upon seeing each member of our group groggily tiptoe into the living room and carefully sat themselves down, being sure not to touch their back to the couch cushions, we decided a day out of the sun would be imperative. We had a bit of a lazy morning, watching tv while Grace and I worked on blog posts and Chris and Dan caught up on some reading. 

Around 10:30, we decided it would be good for us to head down to breakfast at The Sea Grape. Coating ourselves in sunscreen and gingerly pulling on t-shirts, we stepped out into the hot Bahamian morning. Thankfully, the back half of our condo is in the shade during the morning, so we were able to stay out of the sun at least for a couple minutes. The little sun we did experience between our condo and The Seagrape was sweltering, and further convinced us that today needed to be out of the sun. Upon arriving at The Sea Grape, we were dismayed to find that the restaurant stopped serving breakfast at 10, and we could only eat at the outdoor restaurant, Coconuts. With our skin feeling the effects of yesterday's excursions, we wanted no part in dining outside. Instead, we all decided to head back to our room, shower, and head to Port Lucaya for an early lunch. 

While we were getting ready to go, Grace did a little research on what was available for us to do on the island that wouldn't involve too much sunlight. Unfortunately, the Bahamian Brewery is not open on weekends, so we were no able to take a tour that day. Upon looking at the caves at Lucayan National Park and Garden of the Groves, we decided that the Garden of the Groves looked like it was the most shaded. Grabbing our tennis shoes, cameras, and water bottles, we were all set for our excursion. After braving the heat of the sun, we cranked the AC in our rental car and headed toward Port Lucaya. We decided on lunch at Zorba's, a little Greek restaurant right in the marketplace. We each had a gyro burger with feta cheese and gyro meat, as well as french fries and a drink. 

After our lunch, we all hopped in the car to head to Garden of the Grove. Cruising down Midshipman Road, we got to see wide stretches of land coated in palm trees, Caribbean pines, bracken ferns, and various shrubs. Along the highway, we saw some of the dry brush fires that we saw from the plane. These fires are purposefully set in small doses to burn away the choking grasses that often stifle the growth of the Caribbean pine trees. 

 

Upon reaching the Garden of the Grove, we payed our entrance fee and proceeded into the main entry and the hanging garden. Immediately upon entering we made friends with a Bahamian duck, who followed us through the hanging garden and into the aviary where we saw a variety of red faced ducks and little tropical birds. The garden had a café available for patrons, complete with a dining deck where visitors can overlook small waterfalls while they dine.

Our group proceeded through the garden trails, climbing a set of stairs to the chapel overlooking the garden. After a brief photo stop, we decided to get out of the sun and follow the trail down the backside of the chapel hill, where we had a shaded view of various tropical flowers, trees, and wildlife. 

Toward the end of our excursion, we happened upon a row of local craftsmen selling paintings, sculptures, shirts, and more. We ended up in the shop of a Bahamian gentleman named Leslie, who sold paintings of beaches, boats, and tropical landscapes. I purchased a 4x10 painting of a row of white boats with colorful trim sitting on a white sandy beach beneath a bright blue sky. Leslie was also kind enough to include two bookmarks and a smaller print of an ocean scene with our purchase. Succumbing to the heat and humidity, we took a final stroll through the hibiscus gardens before climbing back into the car and blasting the air conditioning. 

 

 

We weren't quite ready to head back to the resort, so after leaving Garden of the Groves, we opted to take a drive down Grand Bahama Highway to the east end of the island. We did not end up seeing much other than a few homes and Caribbean pine forests, and decided to turn around at Bishop's Place. The view from Bishop's Place was beautiful, with the bright blue waters meeting the rocky shoreline that we were driving parallel to. While returning, we happened upon more of the small fires utilized to control the pine forests, and were able to get an up close look at the flames.

We decided to make one last stop at Port Lucaya before heading back to the resort. Feeling a bit peckish, but not wanting to have a large meal, we decided to order appetizers and drinks at last night's restaurant, Agave. We settled on the chipotle bbq pulled pork quesadillas, the nachos supremo, and coconut mojitos. Dan and Chris also had some spinach and queso dip before we headed out to get some ice cream. Stopping at Frank's once again, I got a non-dairy strawberry cone, Chris got cookie dough, and Grace got a vanilla cone.

Returning to Island Seas, we decided that the sun was down far enough for us to take a nice dip in the resort pool. After cooling ourselves off, we decided it would be fun to play a few of the lawn games that the resort provided. We started with shuffle board, with Dan and I playing versus Chris and Grace. We had a lot of fun in our friendly competition, and Dan and I won 5 games to Chris and Grace's 3 games. After shuffle board, we decided to play a few rounds of horseshoes, with Dan and I beating Chris and Grace 5 games to 0. Upon finishing our lawn games, we were feeling a little peckish again, so a few of us opted to go to the Sea Grape, where I had conch fritters, and Grace and Dan had french fries. Having settled our stomachs, we headed back to the room to relax before heading to bed. 

Bahamas - Day 2 : Snorkel & Sun Burn

The first day was such a busy day traveling, we all slept like babies; however we all woke up refreshed.  Expecting the weather to not be so great as the forcast was rain: Grace, Dan, and I decided to take a morning walk along the beach where we got some great pictures.  After our walk we discussed going to the beach to take advantage of the great weather while it lasted. After changing into our bathing suits, and applying sunscreen, we checked out some towels from the front desk and claimed our beach chairs on the beach.

Around 10, we started to feel a bit peckish so we headed to the resort restaurant called the Sea Grape for breakfast. There we ordered 2 eggs over easy 2 pancakes bacon & hashbrowns. After our delicious  breakfast, we head back down to the beach. It was during this time that Grace and I decided to go snorkeling again while Dan and Chris decided to stay on the beach to read and do some decompressing. 

After about an hour of snorkeling we returned to the beach to rejoin Dan and Chris. It was after a little bit of chit chat that we decided to head down to the Coconut Grill for a couple of libations. Dan got a classic mai tai, Grace got a classic margarita, and Chris and I got rum runners. The drinks were tasty but they were on the weak side and loaded with ice and juice. That experience was a bit of a let down on the part of the bar. 

 

Once our drinks were finished, we headed back down to the beach for a bit more R&R. After a bit of relaxing, Grace and I decided it was time to cool off in the water. While we were enjoying the bath-like water a small sea turtle swam by.  I managed to get a few pictures of the little guy, but sadly no great pictures. While much smaller than the turtles we saw in Hawaii, they were a very cool site to see right off the resort beach. 

We decided to head back to shore, where Grace and I went to investigate some of the suggested local activities. We learned that the horseback riding and jetski's were too expensive. However, we did learn that since we have a rental car, we could do most things with out paying for a resort-designed tour. 

We returned to our beach chairs to relax some more, and after about an hour of laying under a palm tree, we all decided too cool off with a refreshing dip in the ocean. It was during this dip that a sea turtle decided to come up to us again for a little visit. I did manage to get some real cool pictures of him this time. 

Leaving the ocean, we then headed to the pool area. It was here that we all noticed that we were starting to get some color. After spending all winter indoors we were all on the pale side, and the cool water of the pool gave us an indication that we were sunburnt. I personally believe it was the second time out in the water that finally caught up to us, as we all ended up getting a bit too much sun and thus ended up sunburnt. 

With our new rosy complexions, we decided to get out of the sun and head indoors to shower and get ready for dinner. At the suggestion of the resort activities director, we headed for Lucayan Harbour to Pier 1 to watch them feed the sharks. Unfortunately, we couldn't find it, and headed back to the Port Lucaya Marketplace for dinner instead. We decided on a pseudo-Mexican restaurant called Agave, where we all got the steak fajitas, cooked in a chipotle bbq sauce. Afterwards, we went for another ice cream cone at Frank's, where I indulged in a rich and creamy coconut pineapple cone.  

Tired and sunburnt, we headed back to the resort to relax and apply some aloe vera.  It was while putting the aloe on that we realized just how sunburnt we had gotten. Grace and I had the trademark 'T' shaped sunburn you encounter from a long day of snorkeling. Chris was burnt on the shoulders and forehead, while Dan's sunburn was mostly located on the backs of his legs.

Covered in aloe vera, we all went to bed. 

Bahamas - Day 1 : Travel Day

Located just 56 miles off the shores of the United States is the island of Grand Bahama. It is the 4th largest of over 700 islands and 2400 cay's that make up the Bahamas. Its capital is Freeport and is the second largest city in the Bahamas.  It is also our destination for this years group trip and will serve as our playground for over a week.  While visiting, we selected the Island Seas Resort as a place to call home.

Our trip started early in the morning with a 6:00 AM departure out of Bradley International Airport in Hartford, Ct via Delta aboard a MD-88 Mexico Air partner plane. That meant we left the house at 3:45 AM in the morning. Barely awake and sleepy eyed we made it on the plane and settled in for the 2 hours and 25 minute flight. Being the longest leg of our trip we all took a short cat nap. We arrived in a rainy Atlanta at terminal B and took the Plane Train to the international terminal E. Having arrived 25 minutes early we had just a little extra time to grab a bite to eat before our next flight. 

After that short layover we boarded our next Delta flight aboard a CRJ900 for the just over of 1 hour flight to Freeport. As we got close the Grand Bahamas we hit some turbulence but on the whole it was a smooth flight.  We arrived at 12:45 PM. After clearing customs and getting the first stamp in my new passport we headed to Hertz to pickup our rental car. 

It was a painful process as it became very clear we were now on Island Time. Once the 45 minutes of paperwork was done we made our way to the car, a silver Nissan March. I had to google it too. We packed out bags in the tiny trunk and drove away heading for Island Seas Resort. Driving on the left side of the road, as is norm in the Bahamas, was a bit unnerving .  What struck us most was the obvious run down condition of most houses and buildings. Thankfully after passing through the gates of our resort we weren't disappointed. After a quick check in we settled into our room with a view for our weeks stay. 

 

Hot and sweaty from traveling we all decided to take a walk on the beach and perhaps a a dip in the pool. Once on the beach with our feet in the cool Caribbean waters we were all feeling refreshed. As we walked along the beach another resort guest began throwing bread in the water. It didn't take long to figure out why as tons of fish began circling around our feet. Having my Nikon AW110 with me it took its first dive in clear Caribbean waters to capture a picture of the translucent fish. 

I decided given the beautiful weather and the less then stellar forcast that I wasn't going to waste the opportunity to snorkel. While Chris relaxed on one of the many Beach chairs; Dan, Grace, and I grabbed our gear and mad our way into the waters in front of our resort. 

 

The water was clear and the bottom was a sandy with patches of sea grass providing homes to spiny sea urchins. We explored but saw few fish and decided maybe further down the beach near the rocky outcropping we might have more luck. As the three of us walked the beach we collected some sea shells, coral and natural sea sponges. With us all getting a bit pink we returned to our room to shower and relax before dinner. 

For dinner we headed down to the Port Lucayan Marketplace and picked Molly Malone's where we  enjoyed some frozen drinks and fish & chips. Afterwards we enjoyed ice cream at Santorini deli. I picked the coconut ice cream, Grace had espressos chip, while Dan and Chris had chocolate chip cookie dough. Having gotten up at 3:30 traveling 2 legs to get here and spent a few hours snorkeling. We were all tired and headed back to the resort and to bed to get some rest.