The Harbour Club sits just across the street from a shopping center that includes a hardware store, Radio Shack, Starbucks (with wifi), KFC, a drug store, a bank, a liquor store, a modern grocery store, a home store, and more. Anyone from the U.S. would be comforted by the familiar array of stores, compromised only by the requirement to be ‘buzzed into’ some retail stores, including the liquor store and any store selling electronic equipment. Apparently, these steel barred stores are at risk of robbery and you have to press a door bell and be visually checked out before entering. The whole process seems at odds with the sense of safety you feel otherwise. None of our several visits to Nassau have caused us any safety concern. The string of islands that make up the Exumas are nearly devoid of provisioning sources (including potable water). What you bring is what you have until you reach Staniel Cay, about a 2 day sail. So, the shopping center and other supporting infrastructure provide a welcome and last opportunity to stock up.
Nassau presents a unique and contrasting picture of the Bahamas. This is the primary Bahamas destination for cruise ships and the streets are filled with tourists from all over the world. Most, however, see only the Disney-like Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island and the old colonial section across the harbor; home to Government House, Straw Market and picturesque Bay Street. As you stroll down this busy retail palisade with its colonial two-story balconied buildings, you have your choice of high end jewelry (from Cartier and the like), fine LLadro porcelain figurines, Cuban cigars and duty free rum. The winding, covered Straw Market offers a combination of native crafts items and the usual cheap made-in- china tourist offerings of t-shirts, carved wooden knick-knacks, shell & bead bracelets and baseball caps.
Government House Nassau
Busy Bay Street
Obama T-Shirts at the Straw Market
Two blocks over presents a more subdued picture. Quiet streets, rundown shops, weather beaten homes give an impression not of hopeless poverty but certainly not affluence in the U.S. sense (poverty being relative). You see few, if any, panhandlers or homeless (certainly not like Providence RI where I was approached daily on my way to and from the office and saw people sleeping outside routinely in all weather). And, you definitively don’t get a sense of ghetto with its palpable, barely suppressed anger. On our last visit, Pat and I took the public bus (fare, $1.25) and toured the island. The crowded bus gave us a chance to meet and talk with several locals (nothing like obviously not knowing what you’re doing to bring out the best in others) and see how most of the island lives. The general impression we got was one of a generally good natured, unobtrusively friendly people, joking with each other, and complaining about the same things we all complain about: prices, weather, government, “kids today”. When asked about crime, we got variations on one of two responses: there is no crime or all crime is committed by illegal immigrants, i.e., Haitians. Although most cruisers avoid stopping here if they can, we've always enjoyed our visits with its services and interesting contrasts.
So, with the weather window firmly closed for at least a day (a passing front brought strong SE winds putting it right on our nose for reaching the Exumas), Pat and I introduced Ken to Nassau. After checking emails at Starbucks and doing some shopping, we took the bus downtown. We toured the Straw Market where Ken skillfully bargained for T-Shirts (I think they were “buy 2 @ $5/each and get one free”. Ken got them down to 3 for $10). Coming out of the Straw Market we needed to find a restroom and found ourselves seated at Senor Frog’s Mexican Restaurant, on the waterfront. After we ordered drinks, cruise ship passengers filled the Karaoke infused air with something less than a sober rendition of “Light My Fire” or something like it. We looked at each other and quickly agreed that this was one Bahamian experience we could do without. We finished our drinks, left and walked one block over to a less touristy place and had a wonderful lunch of fresh red snapper, peas & rice, and salad for $10 (probably the best meal bargain in the Bahamas – my beer at Frogs alone was $5).
We spent the rest of the day finalizing our preparation for heading to the Exumas. Ken met an Australian couple on a boat on the next dock that entered the harbor just after us. They were surprised at the warm welcome they received by Harbour Control compared to that which they overheard on the radio when we entered. The admittedly short, commanding tone taken with us contrasted sharply with the “Welcome, welcome to our island, what can we do for you!” that they experienced (we were boarded by two officials in a process that took over an hour while they weren’t boarded at all and were given an end dock – easier docking Vs our less convenient head-in slip in which another boat was already parked). Not that anyone was hostile (I wouldn’t have even commented on our treatment if not pointed out), just that, I guess, familiarity with Americans breeds something less than warmth. Mostly, our experience with officialdom and Nassau retail service personnel could be characterized as “manner of fact”. Still, our Nassau visit enabled us to fill our larder and we went to bed early to catch a slack tide for our exit to our next stop. The forecast made our departure look doable but probably not comfortable. If we didn’t leave tomorrow, however, we faced getting stuck in Nassau for several days. Ominously, most of our fellow cruisers planned on waiting.
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