Bahamas Spring Break 2018
In regular fashion, after a decent-sized trip I feel it’s necessary to set aside a little time and internet space for immortalizing the memories and events. This past week, I and 5 of my fraternity brothers from DU @ GT (Zach, Phil, Andy, Joe, and Nowack) set sail from Miami for a 3.5 day, 4 night trip through the Bahamas. We visited 2 islands — Grand Bahama Island and New Providence — and spent 1 full day on the ship. While we certainly indulged in the all-you-can-drink and all-you-can-eat benefits of the cruise, I was really happy with what we accomplished while on the islands, and fulfilled my need for exploration and meeting new people. It was a fantastic week.
For the sake of not getting too deep into the details and attempting to avoid my ramble-prone paragraphs, I intend to keep this to bullet-point lists only of the highlights of each night and day.
Sunday, March 18
- Driving 6 hrs. from ATL to Orlando
- Downtown Disney in the evening (Legostore, bar watching March Madness to $20 pitchers of Bud Light)
- 6 guys fitting into $60 motel with 2 double beds (resident trash panda)
Monday, March 19
We drove the final 3 hours to Miami, boarded the cruise at 3 PM, and spent the evening cruising through the open seas and exploring the ship.
- Finding the countless bars and buffets (favorites developed — Mojito Bar outside the casino, open-air bar at back of ship on Deck 11)
- Massive dinner #1 (the beginning of an era; multiple appetizers, multiple entrees, and, of course, multiple desserts — I ate it all)
- Endless craps at the casino (I lost $100, Zach lost $250, Joe made $200; the striped-shirt USC guy w/ his iconic mouth-straw)
Tuesday, March 20
We arrived on Grand Bahama Island for a day of exploration at 9 AM and were back on the cruise for a night of food, drinks, and casinos around 4 PM.
- Renting motor scooters and buzzing 45 mph through town and across the island (Hawaiian shirts, total freedom, surrounded by Bahamian palm trees forever, getting lost constantly but it not mattering)
- Lucayan National Park (Ben’s Cave w/ the bats and crystal clear water, Gold Rock Beach w/ the perfect water & sandbar with great white egret, walking through magroves)
- Friendliness of locals (constantly asking if we needed help, 3 kind guys in the neighborhood)
- More endless craps at night (I made $10!!), comedy w/ Eddie Clark, ending the night with Crown & Sour at the Karaoke Bar
Wednesday, March 21
We arrived to Nassau on New Providence Island at 9 AM and returned to the cruise after a hugely successful day at 5:15 PM.
- Two British forts (Fincastle and Charlotte) and the impressive Queen’s Staircase
- Wandering through the town and along the tourist beaches
- Negotiating taxi price from original $60 to $20 for the knowledgeable and entertaining SimplyDave to drive us across the island (we managed to even score a full tour out of it, rather than simple taxi drive — not bad!)
- Clifton Heritage National Park (passive aggression w/ Carla; Snorkel, Flipper, Johnston, & Jaws beaches; ruins of slave plantation; swimming w/ Joe to the underwater statue from adjacent beach — amazing!!)
- Wandering through Nassau more, from John Watling’s Distillery to the cigar-making shop, and chocolatier (great pina colada tastings, amazing 66.7% ABV rum, sugarcane gluten-free vodka, interesting fans, great street art, man smoking cigar while rolling cigar)
- Basketball, more craps (I lost my last $60), sooo much food, drinking more Crown & Sour while smoking cigars
Thursday, March 22
We were supposed to reach our final island at 9 AM, but the seas were too rough, so we stayed on the boat all day — no problem because the third island was just going to be a beach & chill day!
- Struggling at General Trivia, doing alright at Pictionary, and winning Wonders of the World Trivia (still think Catacombs of Kom Kom didn’t deserve to be included)
- Boundless mojitos of every type, mudslides (on the rocks), G&T’s, pina coladas, Miami Vice’s
- Talking to countless ship workers and learning about thoughts on their jobs (they were grateful, got to travel, money was better than at home, sending $$ home to family)
- Nan & Pyae from Myanmar, Raymond from Sichuan in China, Juan from Peru, so many more from India & elsewhere
Friday, March 23
We got off the boat and through customs and whatnot by 9:30 PM, then drove the long and tiresome 11 hour drive (we chose the longer toll-road evading route) back to Atlanta.
Overall, it was a fantastic trip with an awesome group of guys. I got to truly explore the islands of Grand Bahama and New Providence (highlights being the scooters and the underwater sculpture) and had tons of relaxing and fun time on the boat (the endless food & drink was revolutionary). It was a perfect balance, and a fantastic Spring Break.
