Hi everyone,
We spent four nights in Nassau Yacht Haven marina, from last Saturday to Wednesday. Since then we've been at anchor around the Nassau area. But that's another story. We really enjoyed exploring Nassau.
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| Good to be here! |
Prior to entering the marina we anchored overnight just to the east. About 5m over sandy mud. Very good holding even with the tide swinging us regularly.
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| Nassau anchorage and marina locations |
On Saturday evening we went to the Poop Deck for dinner. Its above the marina office and has a nice view over the marina and the eastern channel. Good food but pricey - like everything here in the Bahamas.
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| Onward to food! |
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| Very nice food! |
On Sunday we did a reccy of Nassau, walking in from the marina. Our first priority was the US Embassy which we would be visiting on Monday. We had a nice chat with the local police and the US Marines on the gate. From there we walked to The Portrait Studio where we had 5cm*5cm 'passport' photos made, the final piece in the jigsaw of US visa requirements.
With the necessary stuff done we could explore Nassau more generally. The city is neat and tidy overall with the downtown area clearly targeting cruise ship visitors. There were at least two in town every day we were there. We did 20,000 steps that day.
On Monday we again walked into Nassau for our US visa interviews. It was like LAX arrival on a bad day, and I've done many of them. Two hours queueing, finger prints taken, then 20 minutes queueing, then 3-4 minutes having a cheerful conversation with the friendly visa lady. She didn't ask for any of our supporting material (ship registration, bank statement, house ownership proof etc). Then she said the magic words "your US visas are granted". What a relief!!! Always pays to dress up for officials.
From the embassy we walked to the waterfront where we had a good cheap lunch. Being this close to the US means appetisers and even bar snacks equate to a main courses for us. Then we did some more exploring. It was interesting to find huge Jimmy Buffet themed hotels - Margaritaville and One Particular Harbour. Love his songs. This time we took the bus back to our boutique hotel for US$1.25 each.
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| Sandy beaches (with cheap lunches) |
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| Nice pedestrian mall |
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| One of many well-kept churches |
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| Conches for the cruise liners |
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| Let's just say we bought a six-pack |
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| View across the eastern channel to Paradise Island |
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| Nassau Yacht Haven |
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| Our boutique hotel in Nassau Yacht Haven |
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| Nassau Yacht Haven |
On Tuesday we spent the day in Nassau visiting the museums. We started at the Heritage Museum.
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| Heritage Museum |
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| Slavery era |
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| Piracy era |
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| Modern era (almost) |
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| Ceremonial gear |
Next we visited the Art Gallery. Unfortunately photography isn't permitted inside. Well worth a visit.
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| Art Gallery |
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| One of several impressive pieces in the grounds |
We had lunch at the Smugglers restaurant in the pedestrian mall. Best beef nachoswe've ever had! And as a 'bar snack' they were a good price too. The Kalik Gold beer is much nicer than their basic brew.
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| Lunch! |
Next door was the Pirates of Nassau which we expected to be a bit 'kiddy'. It was really good.
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| OK, one of us was a bit 'kiddy' |
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| Aboard a pirate ship |
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| One of several dioramas |
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| One needs to have rules |
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| And we came away with booty! |
While in the marina we also reprovisioned daily at the Solomons Fresh Food Market supermarket. Apparently it's relatively expensive but it was close by and the produce was good.
On Tuesday afternoon we treated ourselves to happy hour margaritas at The Crew House, the marina's own bar/cafe. And we had a very nice 'bar snack' for dinner.
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| Margaritas! |
So now we're awaiting the return of our passports, hopefully with visas. Should be ready for collection in a few days.
Trust all's well where you are!
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