This was the day we were probably both the most excited about. We have been settled in one spot for a long time (for us) now and we were thrilled to be visiting a new place that we thought might be so very different than where we were. We discussed what we wanted to do since we only had one day here and wanted to make good use of it, and decided not to do commercial things like Atlantis or things that would limit our exposure to what this place was like by doing things like boat tours.
When we got off the boat, Nathan somehow got sucked into talking to a local vendor immediately even though I told him the "no eye contact-no slowing down and definitely don't smile at them" rule. Actually I do know how he got sucked in the more I think about it-the guy had goods that Nathan was interested in. No, not that. Although he did tell us where we could buy that if interested. He was offering a scooter rental. Nathan looked giddy at the idea. Nathan rarely does giddy so I could not say no. Ok, let's do it! So we ditched our plans and rented a scooter for the day.
There were some pros and cons to this idea. The cons hit me after we were on the scooter and then panicked me for the next half an hour while I figured out what to do about them. Nathan got to ignore this because he is not the expedition planner-he leaves the details of those plans to me-so he got to enjoy the scenery while I worked. The cons we did ok navigating and many we can avoid completely the next time we do it because we will know better. I can honestly say we did not feel unsafe or completely unequipped at any point and time. Any more so than we would if we were in some of the larger cities in Florida at least. Probably the biggest downside to this plan was people drive like they are in downtown Miami. If you've driven there, it was pretty much just like that. With lots and lots and lots of roundabouts thrown in for extra fun!
Little side note: Roundabouts are not Nathan's friend. Neither are 4-Way stops. He is an excellent driver until he hits either one of those and then he is a bit more Rainman-ish than I am comfortable with as his passenger. Basically he spends far too long trying to analyze when it's his turn to go, randomly decides it is NOW and jets out in front of others and throws every other person's timing off! If you ever see a cluster of total chaos mainly comprised of tires screeching and violent horn honking and hand gesturing in a roundabout, you can safely assume that we are at the root of that fun. And no, I'm not embellishing how bad it is. It really is that bad. To be fair, this time I was digging my nails into his side and screeching into his ear with great intensity and yelling words my Mother would not be proud of, so he was having equal amounts of discomfort during the experience!
Even without this handicap, the traffic is intense and it's a little intimidating if you are the one on a scooter and they are mostly in cars and trucks and buses. Oh and we got lost. In Nathan's words, "Only about five or six times." To further explain the differences in our personalities, that multiplied the fun for Nathan and that multiplied the stress for me. We will reverse this process when we are going over how much we spent on this trip because Nathan is the planner in that area and I leave the details of how it actually works to him, so it'll come out even in the end.
The pros were we got to zip around the island on a scooter and we got to see the entire island. And truly that was a huge pro. It made for a pretty incredible experience!
I read reviews online before our visit that said this island was not worth the trip. It was dirty. It was uninteresting. I recommend those people not visit SE Florida or NY city or Chicago or DC because they would say the same thing there I'm guessing. We pretty much found it to be the same as SE Florida as far as its actual flavor. Maybe the entire island was not the Boca version of S Florida, but it was still interesting and well worth seeing. There were commercial things like Starbucks and McDonald's. And there were the beautiful mansions alongside of the middle class and poverty stricken homes. There were clean places and there were littered filled places. It was real in other words. Which is what we wanted to see.
Mostly though, there was this incredible view of the water almost the entire drive around the island.
Speaking of views, when you are short and sit behind someone on a scooter you can only see things like an infant in a car. By looking directly up, or seeing it as it passes by quickly on your side view. So at some point I asked if we could stop and get my camera out to use. I then held that out over Nathan while we zoomed around and snapped away. I had no idea what I was shooting but it was so cool when I got home and looked at what was on those shots. I could see why Nathan found the scooter thing so much more exciting than I did. I am getting my own scooter next time! Because seriously, how great is this view?
It started to rain at some point, so we pulled over at Stuart's Cove and put the camera away and ate lunch there. I got to chat with the lady who cooked our lunch. She is from Haiti and we talked about our kids. We chatted like Moms everywhere can and beamed with pride over our babies. She had two girls and two boys so we were close in numbers and genders. Her kids were roughly the same age as ours. She was facing empty nest syndrome too. She told me that she came to Nassau to send her son to one of the schools there. She liked it ok there but she missed her family including other kids back home. I told her I understood that all too well. She said Haiti more like "Aiti" so it took me a minute to figure out what she meant. She was the deepest brown that contrasted her whitest teeth and she had the most beautiful smile that reached all the way to her eyes. I wanted to hug her goodbye by the time our food was ready and we left to go eat. She was awesome.
This encounter made the entire day worth it to me. I live for experiences like that. It is what I take from every place we visit and they all become a part of me in some way and change who I am because I realize each time how alike we all are in some way. It is good stuff. Oh, and get the fish sandwich if you eat there. It was incredible!
When the rain stopped enough we could head out again, we did. W drove and drove some more and visited the caves that the scooter guy told us about. Not tons to see here but enough to make it worth the stop and the history is really neat.
After this we hopped back on the scooter and finished our island tour until my back and bum could not handle any more. We took the scooter back to our buddy who boldly begged for a large tip. We then did a walking tour including a trip to the Straw Market and the Pirate Museum. I will share more about the museum in a separate post. To the Straw Market I say a big no thank you to if we go again. Ok to do one time. Don't need to see it again.
This was a super day and left us so tired that we actually took a nap when we got back to the ship. Which is a good thing because we had tons of fun left for the night and since we did nap we stayed up really late to enjoy it!
With the arrival of colder temperatures, my crochet cycling gloves were no longer cutting it. The Co-Habitant came to the rescue with a welcome gift: convertible mittens in a luxuriously soft wool. I love these things!
The convertible mittens are basically fingerless gloves, with extra "mitten flaps" above the knuckles. The flaps can be unbuttoned and folded over the fingers to create mittens. The thumb is full-fingered. The Co-Habitant bought these at the Banana Republic outlet store. They were available in this heathery beige colour, and also in black. Apparently many mainstream apparel manufacturers now sell versions of these.
Aside from being clever and cute, these convertible mittens have several features that make them particularly suitable for cycling. Having the tips of the fingers exposed allows for optimal shifting, braking, and other machinations (such as camera clicks) that do not work so well when the finger tips are covered. The mitten mode makes them versatile as on/off the bike gloves. The 100% wool is great for warmth and moisture-wicking, and is not slippery on the handlebar grips.
An additional benefit, is that these gloves are extra long, which is excellent for protecting cyclists' wrists when they get exposed to the cold air due to the stretching of the arms to reach the handlebars. All those jackets, coats and sweaters with sleeves not long enough for cycling can be supplemented with long gloves like these.
Convertible mittens in action. For those of you who knit, this might make a fun and worthwhile project (see instructions in pdf). Just make sure to use a soft 100% wool yarn (or wool and silk blend) and not an acrylic blend, and to make them extra long.
Although the French aren’t the best in the cured sausage department (the Italians are in my opinion), I bought here a couple of dried French saucissons.
Here I am resting my weary feet before we hit the streets for more shopping. I did not shop a lot though. I only want to buy stuff that I really want.
The beautiful Opera Garnier (back part) on Boulevard Haussmann.
The salad was not bad, 3.8 stars out of 5.
For a couple of months now I've been riding only one bicycle for transportation instead of switching between several, and I've got to say that I like it. Not only that, but I am realising that strictly speaking, the others I own are not really necessary, as this one is sufficiently versatile to do everything I need. I've never felt this way toward another transport bicycle before, which is why I've always had multiples: at the very least one IGH bike for local errands and winter cycling, and a lighter, derailleur-geared bike for long distance trips with hills. But now that division of labor is no longer neeeded.
