Fun, Sun, Drinking, and Dancing! Part 2

On some Friday and Saturday nights a band or singer may perform on stage late at night. On the Friday night we went, the signer performed beautifully. However, when she asked my friend to dance, my friend Jessie who normally is the first one to dance had to shy away because she was too sunburned. We all called it an early night because we all felt the same. On Saturday, when we went we were all feeling better, we listened to the singer perform and danced the whole.

We walked between this place and Senor Frog and even were going to go to the Fluid Lounge which was too crowded so we headed back. We ended up staying until the placed closed 3:30am. Thank goodness our Hotel the British Colonial Hilton was on the same block. It was brutal catching the 6am flight the same morning but that’s the price of fun I guess.

When we went we walked around the shops and the restaurants which were a bit overpriced. We tried the casino. The Wheel of Fortune machine I like didn’t give anyone too much of a good payout when I was there. In fact I lost 40$ before leaving. We continued on to the Dig. We went around 7pm since several of my friends had told at this time and after you can go to the Dig without paying the $29 fee. You do not have a tour but you do get to see everything the tour would have taken you to by just walking around. I have to say the attention to detail at the dig was amazing. The Dig's has a system of interconnecting tunnels, underground rooms and chamber. These rooms are filled with ancient artifacts and stone carved hieroglyphics depicting the Lost City of Atlantis. I loved the jelly fish exhibit here. When we finished the dig and as we continued walking outside you could enjoy many lagoons and gardens.

For me Atlantis was nice for a visit but I wouldn’t want to stay here. It felt like Vegas or a Disneyland in the Caribbean, it was too busy. The Caribbean should be nice, relaxing, with a few people. I got the feeling you we closed in away from the natives and outside. I like walking around. The people who would enjoy staying here are people with children. Then, the family could enjoy the activities Atlantis offers for its guest such as sailing, paddle boats, aqua bikes, kayaks, glass bottom boats and the Discover Channel Activity zone for kids. There are activities for adults to enjoy such as a nightclub and a spa

Fort Fincastle was built in 1793 by Lord Dunmore. He named the castle after his second title Viscount Fincastle. It has several cannons which were built to protect all the ways the enemy could have made a landing. It had cannons to cover Hog Island (the now Paradise Island) as well as the town and the road to the east. These cannons never had to be fired. The fort provides a good lookout spot, since it was built on Bennet Hill and overlooks the town. The front of the fort is shaped like the bow of a ship and is made to look like a paddle-wheel steamer, which you can see on the Mississippi. The fort has not been carefully preserved and you have to watch out for broken glass on the sidewalks. The cannon are nicely intact. Truthfully, the fort is not much to look at but it is in the middle of the water tower and queen’s staircase so you may as well check it out while you are here since it is free. If the water tower is closed you can get some good shots of Nassau from here. Lots of cruise ship tours come here, you can listen in if you want to learn more on the history.

The fort and tower are located on Elizabeth Avenue, you can reach this fort by way of the Queen’s Staircase a few blocks up from the harbor on E Fort Fincastle. You can walk here from the harbor or the Hilton. I would suggest to take a cab up since you might not know your way around, then if it is still sunny out walk back down towards the harbor walk along the harbor to get to the straw market, Senor Frog’s and the Hilton.

Cable beach is just a few minutes away from downtown Nassau. You can hop on the #10 bus for $1 to get here.

There was one thing we missed doing. My friend Liz said that if we walked down a bit more we would probably find a beach party, which she went to a couple times when she came to Nassau last year. We missed doing this because we wanted to eat and check out other things

There are a variety of plants in the garden. It was nice to walk and see a waterway surrounded by plants. Be on the lookout for the national tree and flower. The Nation tree of the Bahamas called the lignum vitae can be found in 2 places. Look for it near the petting zoo and near the caimans exhibit. The yellow elder, the nation flower of the island can be found near the green gate by the exit.

The zoo exhibit animals from around the world including South America, Asia, Australia, Africa and the Caribbean. You can find various parrots, birds, flamingo, pigs, rabbits, lemurs, monkeys, jaguars and goats. Children will like the petting zoo. There are several animals that can only be found in the Bahamas that are displayed at the zoo. Watch for the Bahamian Parrot, the Bahamian rock Iguanas and the Bahamian boa Constrictors.

What the zoo is famous for its marching flamingos. In the 1950s, Hedley Edwards trained flamingos from southern Bahamas to march to his spoken commands. The first show was in 1957 and has been going on ever since. The flamingos were funny to watch. When I went it was mating season so some of the flamingos were not listening to the commands. When a few of the audience members participated the flamingo scared them when the flamingos butted their heads into them. Shows take place at 10:30am, 2pm, and 4pm.

Another feature I liked at the zoo was the Lory Parrot feeding which takes place at 11am, 1:30pm, and 3:30pm. You are given a slice of an apple and the parrot fly over to you and eat it. It was cool seeing the parrots do this. There were 2 types of parrots, one was green and multicolored and the other was read with blue. Both were very beautiful.

In 2001 a large fire destroyed Nassau's straw market. Today, the straw market is smaller in size and held in a large tent. There are many merchant with tables of items for sale in a small space. You can find handmade mats, baskets, fabrics, hats, jewelry, woodcarvings, and guava jellies. When here, I brought a straw Hello Kitty bag for one of my sisters. It does seem like many of the items probably imported from other countries and not natively made. There are a few vendors that make items in front of you, I would buy from these stalls if you are looking for authentic.

There are several tips to remember when shopping here. Do not pay the first price, the merchants are willing to bargain with you especially if you buy in bulk. Thursday is the best day to go since there is less cruise ship activity and merchants are more willing to bargain. Saturday and weekends in general are the worst days because there are more cruise ships and tourists. The market is open 9 am - 5 pm or later and is located on Downtown Bay Street. It is close to the harbor, the Hilton and Senor Frog's.