Grand Bahama Island

Well we have been at the Ocean Reef Resort and Marina on Grand Bahama Island since we arrived Tuesday, January 23. We are at the center of the island.  Now we have been exploring the island and we are exploring it by dinghy, by bus and by car.

We met up with friends of friends who own a condominium on the island. Gaston et Diane are great hosts.  They have a beautiful condominium with an amazing courtyard. They brought us to see some of the sights of the island. The beaches are truly beautiful with soft white sand.

There are many condominiums on the island and several have been destroyed by Mother Nature or simply abandoned. They don't seem to rebuild here. It is sad to see as it doesn't help their economy and it destroys the landscape.

We drove by the only castle in Bahama.  It is quite impressive on top of a hill. It is owned by a preacher who also owns Burger King, KFC and Wendy in Bahama.  He passed away while we were on the island. There are numerous churches here and the people are quite religious.  The hotel has no room service on Sunday, I presume so the employees can attend church.

Catholic church

We went to the famous Sands restaurant.  The floor is covered with four inches of sand. It is right on the beach. Lots of celebrity autographs on the walls.  They filmed Pirates of the Carribean on the water near here. We had a late lunch there and the fish and chips were delicious.

Diane and Gaston

4 inches of sand in the resto

At the pier were the Paradise Cruise ferry from Bahama to Riviera Beach stops.  We have been to both of its ports. It was docked beside us in Riviera Beach.  We saw it maneuver a tight turn on its departure from Port.

These pictures were taken when, we went to watch the sharks at Pier One Restaurant. They actually feed the sharks every night. We didn't feed them but we saw a big one and I was able to get a picture.

We had a delicious brunch at the Grand Bahama Lucayan hotel. Later we went to the Lucayan National Park. It's a 40 acre park with the longest charted underwater cave system. It was interesting to see.

We also went thru the motions to get a car ready for the road.  First, proof of insurance. Second, road test ($5.00 tip and they don't look at the car), Third, license plate (takes three days to obtain, but buy the boss a sandwich and it's expedited. We found this out, because our friend had a flat and he took the car to the garage.  He needed a part (it will take 2 weeks to arrive).  So we went back to his place, and he switched cars.  The other had no plates and no insurance.  Just after he got the plates, we were stopped by a road check.  Good timing.  We went to the car wash.  It is in a parking lot, 4 different groups at each corner.  They installed the plates, and washed the car for $12.  They were rewarded with a cold beer.

There are three types of license plates here. The bonded one only allows you on certain roads.

Limited road access

Yvon took a local fisherman by dinghy to fish.  This guy usually swims one mile into the ocean with his spear and his ice cooler tied to his ankle.  He had an easy day when Yvon took him out.

Meanwhile, I played bingo.  Not something I usually do, but fun once in a while. NOT.

Yvon went to the walk-in medical clinic. It was a four hour wait and $75. for the visit and $70. for the taxi rides. Hopefully now that he has antibiotics and ear drops he should be good for swimming with the sharks .

We have a weekly free diner at the resort. After they have games. Well I went on stage to do some line dancing. I'm not planning on doing the weekly karaoke but maybe Yvon will try it before we leave.

Meanwhile we are trying to stay in shape. Weekly aerobics class, walking, and swimming. We walked to the $2. Bar but the drinks are now $8. or that is the tourist price.  I was sitting there and this little girl Lélé came over and wanted me to pick her up. How could I say no to this cutie?

Given a marker so we can leave our mark.

New friend LeLe

We also dinghied to a weekly beach party. We had a nice dinner at Mandalay Bay before. It was delicious.

We are having fun, enjoying life and trying to stay young.  Who wants to age when you are busy playing.