The Bahamas

Hello from them there Bahamas in that there Carribean!
We're blogging slightly out of sync here, as a lil' issue with computer compatibility stops us from showing you what Hawaii, San Francisco and Las Vegas were like, but only for a little while.

Here's some photies.


little Sculpture park on the south-western coastline of New Providence Island, where we spent all our time. Any kind of tranquil effect of harmony and reflection is shattered by the harbours, power stations and industrial plants that're just next door to it. There are a load of bells with long pull-ropes suspended in the branches of the trees, which were good fun.
Some of the idustrial stuff that's trying to spoil the mood, as mentioned:

There's a chance that this is probably the most remarkable cliff in the Bahamas, as the islands are not volcanic or owt, but naturally swamp, based on a tiny bit of limestone, and are mostly completely flat.

Lyford Cay Beach, a family beach the locals use instead of the ones next to the megabucks hotels full of Americans, on the other side of the island:

From the way the shoreline curves around as you can see here, the water for a good distance out is just like a natural swimming pool.

Me sucking down on the island brew, Kalik:

Pronounced 'Klik', after the sound of the cowbells rung by everybody in street carnivals in the new year - the 'Junkanoo'... Who knew drinking yourself into a happy stupor could be so educational?
Seriously though, when Tim and I were here two years ago me saw that Junkanoo was no small 'ting, different competing troupes rehearse for it all year round, and those alone are impressive enough/

I painted a picture at the request of our cousin Christine, who we stayed with. Me at work:

(I'll do a art-themed update soon of all the stuff I got upto in a bit more detail, as if anybody's interested...)

Flash b'stad's houses:

They're everywhere the riff-raff aren't. Makes you sick, almost.

We went on a day-trip to nearby Rose Island, and saw this:

Yep, that's pretty much a cartoon tropical island with one palm tree on it. Only it's real.

On the way back:


Christine and Sean are members of the Nassau Lawn(?) Tennis Club, which is apparently roughly the second-oldest tennis club in the world, after somewhere in India:

Not that you'd think it from this photo. All the other members are Real Life Really Rich People...

Christine left her bag at the club that night, so didn't have any keys to get into her house with. So Tim Broke In through a window.

Watch your houses readers, he's seemed to be strangely good at it.

'Atlantis', the megabucks hotel resort casino:

Dwarfing everything else, it's got a sister resort in Dubai in the centre of some reclaimed land that's in the shape of a giant palm tree. I kid you not.
The funny thing is that though it's a mini Las Vegas, Bahamian citizens aren't allowed to gamble. Only tourists are.

Paradise Island, the small island that's got 'Atlantis' on, more or less part of New Providence thanks to two road bridges tall enough for cruise ships to go through:

This is the view out over the marina from where we had lunch before going scuba diving...
Messing around with Tim's Sunglasses while we waited for our food to turn up:


Guava Duff for pud!


Roaring off to go scuba diving:

You can see the cruise ship-sized bridge in the background.
The diving was good and all, and there were plenty of fish - Tim spotted a Sea Turtle - but the visibilty wasn't perfect like it was when we became certified Open Water Scuba Divers here two years ago...

We're off to Ireland now, we'll clear the update backlog as soon as we can.

Thanks for reading,

- Lee.