The Colors of Nassau

I had too many pictures I wanted to post of Nassau yesterday which made the post too long and probably boring, so I saved some for today. We were traveling with our “Quilter’s Eyes” wide open, remember?

After we finished walking the area of the Queen’s Staircase, we headed over to the fort.

The pic to the left is Fort Fincastle, Nassau Bahamas, overlooking the town from Bennet's Hill. It was built by Lord Dunmore, about 1793 who named it after his second title, Viscount Fincastle.

In a letter to the Secretary of State of February 17, 1794, he describes it as "a battery upon a hill in this island to the Eastwards of the Government House mounting two 24 pounders, two 32 pounder Carronades, two 12 pounders, and one Howitzer, which not only covers the Battery in Hog Island (Paradise Island) but all the Town and Road to the Eastward where the enemy might probably have effected a landing."

In other words, when it comes to men and guns ((and cannons!)) Size Matters! LOL!

On our walk to the fort, we passed interesting island graffiti such as this:

Isn’t this eye catching? Thinking in terms of Quilters Colors here….I loved seeing this!

Stall after stall of “Bahamian” merchandise…all probably made in China! LOL! But again, look at those colors! Pink and blue and yellow and orange and green and turquoise….

I had to laugh at the displays of hats that come with “dred locks” attached! I thought about getting one for Jeff ((For all of about 5 seconds!)) and decided against it. No sense in giving him any ideas on what to do with his hair!

Looking over the wall of the fort, we could see our ships in the distance. This fort was key in watching over the port in the early days!

Love this pic of Lori posing with a cardboard cut out soldier! It was a bit cooler inside the fort than it was on the outside. Those limestone walls are THICK!

One thing that nearly cracked me up also was……there are “tour guides” who will try to rope you into joining their tours….give you a bit of history on the place, and then charge you $1.00. They are not employed by anyone, just self-appointed tour guides! At one point as this gentleman was trying to round up a bunch of tourists and was waving at us to join him I said “It’s okay, I’ve been here before” and we kept walking.

If you go….and you haven’t had the tour before, prepare to take lots of $1.00 bills. And it’s worth it. But I had had the tour before, and I was out of $1.00 bills!

Other colorful buildings. This one looks SO tropical to me, and it was fun to see how they made the most out of the hill it was built on. It was a restaurant I believe. Love the shutters on the upper level.

I loved the mustard yellow of this one against the red roof…and look at that blue blue sky!

This one caught my eye! It’s a Masonic Lodge! My dad is a Mason, and the history goes way back. I took this pic because I knew my dad would get a big kick out of it…and yes, look at that mustard yellow next to the pepto bismol pink building next door!

I love buildings! I thought these just looked SO different from anywhere I’ve ever been. Some look almost old world European, and some? A style all their own! The pepto building next to a paler shell pink with balconies and those interesting arches and columns at the bottom.

By this time we were starving, needed a bathroom, a cool place to sit indoors with a/c and something to eat…and drink!

And yes, I have a penchant for photographing my food--Especially when it is this yummy! Conch Fritters--mmmm~ Crab Cakes! Onion Rings…and the cole slaw was differently spiced than I’ve had elsewhere too. None of that mayonaisse-y sauce like you get here in the states. It was YUM!!

We didn’t go in, we were about out of time, needing to be back on the ship at 1:30….but I would have liked to go into this museum. Maybe next time?

Just look at this beautiful aqua blue water! How is it possible that I was lucky enough to be in this place? I kept having pinch me moments all day long. I kept saying to Lori: “Hey! We are on a cruise!” And “Hey! We are in NASSAU!” Pinch me Pinch me!

In the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, there were still 5 large ships in port the day we were there. Can you find ours? Look for the blue/red whale tail on the top! It’s the second from the right of the pic…..the FARTHEST to the left? That’s that Gigantic Oasis of the Seas. Nassau COUNTS on tourism for its economy. I’m sure by now, a week later…that all the debris is just about gone and things are back in full swing, bringing island flavor to all who visit!

Cheers!