PeaceWalker Blog

First night on the boat was a blast! Ended up hanging out w/the crew. We went to a local place they called 'the fish fry' (catchy I know). And what a place it was! We were the only non-locals. It was like one of those bazaars you roll into overseas. People everywhere! Music blaring! Motorcycles and cars rolling through the crowd. Fish shacks lined up back to back along the water. A crazy place! We went to 'Sonny's', a favorite of the sailors.  Sonny and his wife are in their 70's or 80's and are down there everyday selling their specialty conch delights! He was very proud of his place and was a wonderful host! After grabbing a bite to eat and a drink or two we headed to a soccer game. The rest of the night went by quickly. A great start to my travels! The water here is so beautiful! Shades of bluest blue and greenest green... unbelievable! We set sail for a few hours. It certainly is a beautiful sight seeing the ship under full sail! 8.5 knots,...

By this time, I see that my plan wasn't going quite as I... well, planned. After checking in on the boat, I head to the local convenience store to buy some provisions before getting back on the boat later that afternoon. I forget it's Sunday, so the place is closed, however Othello (I assume the owner) lets me in anyway and lets me grab what I need. Nice guy. I notice that all the stores here have thick iron bars on all of the doors and windows. The gas station is equipped with bulletproof glass... Hmmm... Although that isn't really any different than many of the places not too far from my place at home, none the less, it makes me more aware that I look like a tourist, complete w/backpack. At least I'm not toting around a bunch of luggage! I tip Othello for letting me in his store when it was closed (he didn't have to do that!). Feeling the pings of hunger, I realized I haven't had anything to eat all day. So, I ask Othello where there was a good place ...

Graffiti painted sign just outside of tourist district in downtown Nassau, Bahamas For those who don't know me yet, I'll tell you that one of the things I've wanted to do since I first saw a Windjammer Brochure in 2000 is one of these Barefoot Cruises ! It was something that I'd dream about, much like a Buffet song, it would help out during times of work stress. A fantasy outlet! Time came and went and before I knew it it was 2016! Yep, 16 years later. A lot happened in the middle of those years (as all years!), but in June, I finally said screw it, I'm going! I just had a decent sized contract come in. I was doing alright on bills and I had enough in my bank account to put a down payment down on the trip. I'll tell ya folks, hadn't I paid that down payment, I wouldn't have gone. Yet another year would have passes by. So what's a barefoot cruise? Great question! A barefoot cruise is a trip on a small sailing ship (in this case a 125' twin ...

Local Nassau artist making and selling his work on the beach right across from my hotel Hilton, my cabby takes me through the winding back streets of Nassau. Immediately I notice something odd. I never realized that they drive on the left side of the road here. Who would've thunk?! Along the way I ask Hilton if the surfing is good in the Bahamas. "No, not good. Beautiful reefs, but water too shallow, mon." He says in that cool laid back island accent. Good to know, so I guess I won't be learning how to surf here. That would explain why I never see any huge Bahama surf spots in the magazines. Ok, I'll have to stick to swimming, snorkeling, kayaking and swinging off the Tarzan swing rigged to one of the masts.  After a half hour or so of the twisting and turning we finally pull up to the the El Greco. Much like on-line dating, the picture that they post on hotels.com looks much different than what I saw before me. The 1988 prom pic gave way to 2017. ...

 On the Liberty Clipper after climbing to the top of the main mast.   (My palms still sweating & heart beating out of my chest!) Traveling solo is interesting... I flew into Nassau about 3:30 pm yesterday. Grabbed a cab to my hotel ( the El Greco ). My cabbie, Hilton, was nice. Hilton has eight kids and drives 7 days a week (to support them I suppose). He says he has been to every State in the Union, China and Europe. I have to give it to him, he looked way too young to have eight kids ranging in age from 8 to 21! He gave me his card as I asked him all of the usual questions I ask cabbies, bartenders, waitstaff and locals I run into when I'm traveling:You know where all of the strip clubs are and how I can get my hands on some drugs and hookers? ...Just kidding I don't go to strip clubs... (Now come on, no, I'm not being serious about any of it... let it go!) All kidding aside, the questions I typically ask are: Where are the good places to go? (Eat, See...