Fun, Sun, Drinking, and Dancing! Part 2

The Flamingo café has been described as ‘a little bit of Havana in downtown Nassau.’ Inside there is a bar area and some tables with chair. It is a small place where you can relax and sit and have a drink. Try a Mojito if you haven’t had one before. They are good but not like the great ones I had in Barcelona, Spain where they crush the mint leaves in. We went back here to party all 3 nights we were here. They play a mixture of Cuban and Spanish music. Outside there is a stage that you can dance on. That’s what we did the first night we were there. Be warned they do tend to play the same CD over and over and some nights the crowd isn’t there.

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.

We went to Atlantis to visit the property and see what everyone was talking about. We took a 10 minute cab ride over to the hotel from Nassau. Sol Kerzner built an amazing hotel, he spared no detail to make everyone believe this was the real Atlantis. The marine exhibits, the Chihuly glass, the sculptures, and lagoons were amazing. This resort has over 2000 rooms in three main Towers: the Beach Towers, Coral Towers and Royal Towers. It is considered the largest island resort in the world.

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

The water tower, which also serves as a lighthouse, is shaped like a white saltshaker. It stands 126 feet high and it 216 feet above sea level. From it you may see a 360 degree view of Nassau and Paradise Island. It cost 50 cents to take the elevator up or you could climb a circular staircase. I unfortunately could not go up the water tower since it was closed the day I went. I walked down to the fort which is near the base of the water tower.

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 was an unnamed beach until 1907 when it became the landing point for the Trans-Atlantic cable. The cable connected The Bahamas to mainland America in Florida. Today, a myriad of upscale resorts line it. The Nassau Beach Hotel, Radisson Cable Beach Resort, Breezes, Sandals, Nassau Marriott and the Crystal Palace are located here. It's the ultimate playground for fun in the sun. It’s what we came to the Bahamas for. There are long white sandy beaches and crystal clear waters. The sand is a bit course but there are no rock and garbage in it. If you are no staying at a cable beach hotel do not worry, the beach space is public. There are plenty of lounge chairs and thatched-palm umbrellas for shade. Just pull up a chair and soak up the sun. We stayed by the beach area near the Crystal Palace. You can see little fish in the clear waters, so you can snorkel pretty close to shore if you wanted to. There are companies that offer other water activities such as para-sailing and diving. After hours in the sun and water, we had a drink at the bar/pool at the Breezes. Non-Guest can purchase there drinks here. We purchased a drink from here before heading off to eat.

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

Ardastra means striving towards the star. The Garden was created in 1937 by a Jamaican Botanist, Hedley Edward who trained his famous flamingos. In 1982, a local purchased it and the zoo was born. In the 1990s, a conservation center was born. Here, they exhibit and breed endemic Bahamian animals.

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 the 1940's the sponge industry came to a close in the Bahamas. The locals searched for another way to make a living. Women started painting and decorating dried palm and plant leaves to create baskets, bags and dolls. Thus, the straw market was born and soon more women began to make these items for tourists.

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.