Paradise found.......or lost ?

Life in the Big City...

Mayaguana,  Long Island, Cat Island, Eleuthera............as we bash our way northwest in very contrary winds we've become accustomed to the southern and central Bahamas offering much the same thing.......a whole lotta nothing. No food, no people- zero. Some breathtaking scenery, but not much going on.

To get to our new luxury accommodations in Miami (the Miami Beach Marina in South Beach), the next stop needed to be Nassau. We decided to splurge and stay in the Atlantis marina. The fact that our mast might not fit under the two bridges between us and cheaper marinas made the decision easier. We definitely were not ready for the sensory overload of Paradise Island.

It started with our arrival. You have to radio the harbor control just to enter the bay. Why ? The channel through the bay is about 50 ft. wide because of the cruise ships. One misunderstanding with a mega-yacht going the other way and it's game over for L'ORIENT.  So that was quite stressful.

With a mega resort situated next to no less than 5 cruise ships, this place has a crazy number of people. Twenty six restaurants..........not including the Dunkin Donuts we found. I was so overcome by emotion in line that I could barely blurt out our order through the tears of joy filling my eyes......."one dozen doughnuts please.......sniffle, sniffle". Our first doughnuts since Fall 2011.

We've gone from having entire beaches to ourselves to fighting cruise ship tourists for chairs by the pool. And kids............thousands of screaming, running, splashing, crying kids everywhere. Dads drinking Buds at 10:15 AM, moms chasing strays and stragglers. Teen boys punching each other to impress teen girls (whose parents apparently don't regulate the age-appropriateness of swim attire). It brings back memories of family vacations I cherished at the Jersey Shore in the 1970s. Except the prices.

Kirstin's margarita(s) last night ? $15 a pop. My chardonnay ? $10 per very small glass. At about $5 per chicken wing, I made sure to suck the marrow right out of the little guy. We haven't lost the cruiser's cheapskate mentality. Tonight we are eating at the Quiznos to make up for what happened last night at the restaurant.

Six weeks ago we were scuba diving with rays and all kinds of cool fish..........here at Paradise Island the fish are all in huge tanks on display........including some scary predators we're glad they don't have in Bonaire (sawfish, sharks, etc.). It's kind of a metaphor for us.......playtime is almost over. I guess the metaphor ends with me eating a tuna sub at Subway at O'Hare Airport doing business travel again.

Anyway, tomorrow we leave for a place called Chub Cay..........positioning us for our last Bahamas stop in Bimini. We are now only 157 miles from Miami and closing in fast. These frequent changes of scenery are disorienting to say the least.............it's getting tangibly colder as well. I wore khakis to a restaurant last night........with shoes (first time in 13 months). This is all getting weird. More to come.