Bahamas-Day two

 Friday, December 24^th, 2021 Christmas Eve- at sea in the Atlantic

         We were up at 5 A.M. It was 69 degrees out, with a light breeze seaward. The rose of pre-dawn was just coloring the sky. Mary had retrieved coffee from the Café. We sat on our balcony and watched the sun rise over the eastern horizon. It was a nice start to the day.

          Determined to minimize the caloric onslaught, at 7:15 A.M. we made our way up to the gym on deck 11, forward. The whole front wall of the gym is glass. Located next to the ship’s spa, it contained an entire array of gym equipment. We spent an hour there, working off last night’s dinner, while watching the sea and the sky before us. The gym was crowded with other passengers doing the same. The spa did an active business all day long. It was like a good repair shop where people wandered in to be overhauled and made to run better.

       Walking topside, in the early morning, with a fresh breeze in your face, is delightful. The Oceanside Café is on deck #10. We sat down for some great coffee first, enjoying the glow of a workout and watching the comings and goings of an eclectic passenger compliment. There is an energy to the ship’s passengers this early. They all had things to do and places to go.  Fresh lox, onions and shirred eggs were wonderful.

          After breakfast, we wandered down to the deck 4 excursion desk. A one-hour tour of Nassau’s harbor on Sunday looked mildly interesting. We booked it. Then, a deck 11 trivia contest attracted us. We did moderately well, amazed as always at how people knew some of the arcane information. The cabin welcomed us to read and enjoy a mid-day nap.

          The ship entered the port of Bimini during the late afternoon. There is no real jetty, just a mechanical pier with wood planking extending out into the ocean, where the ship tied up. We had no real plans to exit the ship here. It looked like Bimini is a series of small sandbars, packed with housing. Somewhere out there had to be another “Hemingway House,” where the esteemed author had written “Islands in the stream.” Still, the azure sky, coral blue water and bright tan of the island is visually attractive. Tourism and fishing appear to be the island’s economic mainstays.

          We sat on the balcony, enjoying the scenery and reading. We passed on lunch, hoping to gain back some caloric ground. A large inter-island ferry cruised alongside. Overhead several float planes, with their distinctive pontoons, flew by. They reminded me of Alaska. I would guess they are a popular form of inter-island transport among the Bahama’s 700 Islands. It was a slow and pleasant afternoon.

          The Monzon’s were meeting us at 6:15 P.M., in the deck 4 rendezvous Lounge, for a drink before dinner. They told us of their adventures ashore. By 7:00 P.M we made our way to the deck 4 Metropolitan restaurant for dinner. Mercifully, we didn’t see our wife beater tee shirt friends in line. A glass of Pinot Noir accompanied our perusal of the menu. Everything looked good. A delicious seafood bisque was followed by a tasty Shrimp scampi. The chocolate cake called out to us and we of course listened. It was delicious. Decaf coffee topped off the pleasant repast.

            By now, these seafarers were yawning. Time to head back to the dock. We bid Rick and Linda a good night and set off for our deck 7 abode, where we read for a time and fell asleep to the gentle, rhythmic rocking of a ship at anchor.

                                                      -30-

                                                   (621 words)

                                           Joseph Xavier Martin