Semester at Sea 2008: A Voyage of Discovery: August 2008

Inside the Prince George Wharf

I'm sitting here typing this in our hotel with the Democratic National Convention on in the background. Everywhere we go it seems to be on. When we arrived yesterday our taxi driver spoke of the excitement he had for Barack Obama and today when we returned to our hotel the DNC was playing on the tv's at the bar while some local boys swam in the pool singing a song about Barack Obama. It's crazy to actually see how large of an impact the U.S. has outside our country lines. I mean, I am in the Bahamas right? I'm still trying to understand what this place is all about. Parts of it, like the Straw Market, are somewhat depressing. The entire place is devoted to selling goods to tourists. I've never really been out of the country to see how other people view Americans. The impression I get from parts of Nassau is that we're all just gigantic consumers. I'm not sure how I feel about being associated with that generalization. It'll be interesting to see how this view of Americans fluctuates as we travel to and from different areas of the world. Ok, ok enough about that right?

Bacardi store in downtown Nassau

Today we started the day by going back downtown. We stopped at the Bacardi store and Audra bought a few bottles of local rum. Turns out that's the cheapest souvenir we could find. They insisted we sample it. I figured coconut flavor wouldn't be too bad, but geez! I opted out of sampling the pineapple and banana flavors. Even the traditional rum cake we got seemed strong. Isn't that stuff supposed to bake out when you cook it? I must just be more of a virgin strawberry daiquiri type of girl!

Queen's Staircase

At the Bacardi store they gave us directions to the Queen's Staircase, a sight high on my list of places to visit. The stairs were created by slaves in the late 18th century to serve as a safe route to Fort Fincastle for British troops. Over 65 of them were carved out of limestone with only basic hand tools. Known as the Queen's Staircase it was dedicated to the reign of Queen Victoria.

From the top of the stairs we were able to make our way over to Fort Fincastle. The fort was built on the highest part of the island to serve as a lookout point. It was never actually attacked but it is outfitted with some pretty gnarly canons! Here's the view from the top..

At the bottom of the Fort, as expected, there were a bunch of vendors selling purses, bracelets, fans, pretty much anything you could imagine. We skipped over that but there was a guy selling pina coladas in the corner that I paid a visit to. I told him I didn't want a pina coloda but just to drink the coconut water. He asked if I was American because I probably wouldn't like it if I was. Apparently only people from the Caribbean do that but I went for it anyways. Audra and mom thought it was gross but I actually liked it. Then again I've always had a weak spot for coconut.

Unfortunately my coconut didn't hit the spot fully so we headed to the local "fish fry" for dinner. I apologize for lack of images but seriously, this place was good! I got the grouper fish with macaroni, peas and rice and plantains. MMMM. I'm not sure why I never eat plantains in Arizona, they are absolutely delicious! I'm pretty sure my favorite thing about traveling will be the food. I can't wait to be pretend like I'm Anthony Bourdain! I'll let you guys know how it goes..

Yesterday was the beginning of my travels with Semester at Sea. The ship doesn't sail until Friday but my mom, sister and I decided to come down a few days early and enjoy some Bahamian hospitality. We left on an overnight flight from AZ and spent the next 9 hours en route to Nassau. It still hasn't hit me what I am about to embark on. The past few months have been a whirlwind of things; packing, paperwork, shots, financial aid, class equivalencies and working as much as possible. I never imagined I would be able to be apart of a program like this and am full of anticipation for what's in store. Hopefully through this blog I'll be able to share my travel experiences with all of you and keep everyone informed on what I'm up to.

Saying goodbye at the airport

Here are some pictures of my first day in Nassau. We got in around noon and just spent the day settling into the hotel room. We walked around downtown a bit but are planning on returning in the morning to explore some more. Audra and I had more than one group of Bahamians call us Charlie's Angels, we're still trying to figure that one out..