Laziness As An Art FormIt's been a week since we got back from Grand Bahama Island. Since then I've survived a week back in the pressure cooker and the mother of all colds. Now, as my "tan" begins to peel, I've got a little time to put down some of my thoughts about the trip. I thought about doing it chronologically, but each day pretty much ran into another, so I'll just give some observations about different aspects of the trip. First off, the weather the first half of the week was stormy, so that pretty much cancelled any outdoor pursuits until Thursday. Unless you wanted to gamble in the casino, there is nothing else to do on that island. Across from our hotel, The Westin at Our Lucaya, was the Port Lucaya Marketplace, a collection of tourist trap shops selling straw goods that were probably made in Korea. Local culture here is none existent, unless you count the ritual that having a personal conversation at work takes precedence over customer service. Just try to get anybody's attention in a restaurant. If you do, you get treated to another Bahamian custom of sighing and eye rolling. A case in point, before the trip I had looked forward to dining in a local restaurant called The Fatman's Nephew. That's Bahamian waitressing. They don't like to take The rest of the week was sunny, but very very windy. It was very unpleasant sitting out at the pool. Bahamian music? All that came blasting out of the pool bar all day long was the same rap song, over and over and over. One day, out of boredom, we visited the International Bazaar in Freeport. They should call it bizarre. There's nothing but kitschy junk crap. As far as Freeport goes, there's no there there. I went diving one day with UNEXSO which seemed to be run as a very lax outfit. From I'd been to the Bahamas before, Nassau and Paradise Island, about 20 years ago and it was nothing like this. We didn't want to go there again because I didn't want to go to a place that built up. Mistake! I've been all around the Caribbean and to 3 different islands in Hawaii over the years. I'd visit any of those places in a New York minute. But don't waste your time with Grand Bahama. My advice: just like Old Chef said in Apocalypse Now, "don't get off the boat." I actually felt good getting on that Beechcraft 1900 for the flight back to Miami. I don't want to leave the impression that I didn't enjoy the time off. I was nice to get out of the cold dreary northeast for a week. I got to smoke a few Cubans with my rum and my wife got some sexy cornrows in her hair (Bo Derek eat your heart out) There were some interesting performances in Count Basie Square every night that were free. I also found a drink, Pusser's Painkiller, that will knock you on your ass. But for the amount of money I shelled out, I could've done alot better at many other places. File under Travel. 3:21:45 PM ![]() |
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